? ?A measure declaring English the national
language is under intense debate in the United States. The US Senate passed two
declarations last week. One calls English the nation’s official language and the
other says it is the "common and unifying (统一的)" tongue. But Americans found
themselves divided on the issue. ? ?Since people worldwide know
that most Americans speak only English, many can’t understand why the issue is
so controversial(有争议的). ? ?"The discussion is related to fears of
immigration issues. " says Dick Tucker, a social scientist at Pittsburgh’s
Carnegie Mellon University. "It’s related to a worry about the changing
demography (人口统计)of the US. It’s a worry about who will continue to have
political and economic influence. ? ?In fact, the notion of
protecting the language has been kicked around almost since the nation’s
founding. John Adams lobbied(游说) in 1780 for the creation of a national academy
to correct and improve the English language. But his proposal died, since
lawmakers saw it as a royalist(保皇主义 ) attempt to define personal
behavior. ? ?Since then, the country hasn’t had a national
language, but the idea of recognizing the special status of English lived
on. ? ?The emotions surrounding language resurface(再次浮现) not
because people feel comfortable with English. It is more about the discomfort
many Americans feel with the new languages, says Walt Wolfram, a professor at
North Carolina State University. ? ?"Language is never about
language. " he says. ? ?According to the 2000 US Census Bureau
report, of 209 million Americans over 18 years old, 172 million speak only
English at home. About 37 million speak languages other than English. Among
them, 6.5 million speak poor English and 3.1 million don’t speak English at
all.
? ?A measure declaring English the national
language is under intense debate in the United States. The US Senate passed two
declarations last week. One calls English the nation’s official language and the
other says it is the "common and unifying (统一的)" tongue. But Americans found
themselves divided on the issue. ? ?Since people worldwide know
that most Americans speak only English, many can’t understand why the issue is
so controversial(有争议的). ? ?"The discussion is related to fears of
immigration issues. " says Dick Tucker, a social scientist at Pittsburgh’s
Carnegie Mellon University. "It’s related to a worry about the changing
demography (人口统计)of the US. It’s a worry about who will continue to have
political and economic influence. ? ?In fact, the notion of
protecting the language has been kicked around almost since the nation’s
founding. John Adams lobbied(游说) in 1780 for the creation of a national academy
to correct and improve the English language. But his proposal died, since
lawmakers saw it as a royalist(保皇主义 ) attempt to define personal
behavior. ? ?Since then, the country hasn’t had a national
language, but the idea of recognizing the special status of English lived
on. ? ?The emotions surrounding language resurface(再次浮现) not
because people feel comfortable with English. It is more about the discomfort
many Americans feel with the new languages, says Walt Wolfram, a professor at
North Carolina State University. ? ?"Language is never about
language. " he says. ? ?According to the 2000 US Census Bureau
report, of 209 million Americans over 18 years old, 172 million speak only
English at home. About 37 million speak languages other than English. Among
them, 6.5 million speak poor English and 3.1 million don’t speak English at
all.
What are the two declarations concerned with?
A.The status of the English language. B.The protection of new languages. C.The rights to speak one’s mother tongue. D.The improvement of the English language.
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