Require English Translations, Everywhere

letter to the editor

I have a suggestion [in response to "Bilingual Education Isn't Dead Yet" (11/28/2007)]: Instead of "English Only," how about "English Always"? Here is what I mean:

Have you ever seen a Spanish-language publication and wondered what the headline means? Have you ever driven by a business with signage in Russian/Korean/Arabic etc. and not had a clue what they were selling? Why is that OK? Certainly I understand that merchants in Chinatown are going to advertise in Chinese because of the many local residents who are more comfortable in their native language. That's cool. But doesn't such "Chinese Only" advertising discriminate against English-speaking consumers?

I propose a law be created that requires all non-English commercial signage of any size to include English translations in a smaller but reasonable size; all non-English publications to have English translations of headlines, titles, chapter names, and captions; and all non-English broadcasts to include some English subtitles or second audio.

Such a law will have two powerful benefits: it will encourage the use of English in all commercial settings, thus opening the door for potential customers that otherwise would avoid such businesses due to the language barrier, and it will increase the opportunity for non-English speakers to be exposed to English words for familiar products, thus expanding their ability to shop at English-speaking businesses.

Low Sea
Lancaster, Calif.

Date Posted: 11/29/2007