By LAWRENCE D. PRATT

By LAWRENCE D. PRATT

•“WMMiinock News Contributing Writer

Making English the official language of the United States is an idea ' whose time has come.

It is something that generations of immigrants have taken for granted. when coming to the United States, one learns English. In fact, those immigrants were proud to have learned English. If an American were to move to France, Germany or Spain he or she would expect to learn French, German or Spanish. The American taking up residence in a foreign country would expect to learn that language, but would not expect to have street signs and public services made available to him in English.

It seems unfair for foreign speaking groups to come to the United States and demand the right from their new country not only to have their language put on street signs and used in the delivery of government services, but also to have their children taught in their own languages, rather than in English.

The sons and daughters of the previous decades of immigrants have objected to the demands of the current crop of newcomers who have the audacity to insist that their own languages be used as public languages in their new land. Those objections have been met by a surly gathering of 24 Hispanic and Asian groups who recently denounced their hosts for wanting to have English as the official language of the land.

Those who want to have a common language so that communication can be facilitated, national harmony promoted and economic prosperity maximized are denounced by the Hispanic-Asian coalition as anti-immigrant and xenophobic. They claim that these xenophobes object to people who are bilingual.

Well, let’s take a look at the charges. I am bilingual, having learned Spanish during the 23 years I have been married to my wife who was bom in Panama and whose first language was Spanish. My wife is a naturalized American who passed her citizenship examination using the English which she has mastered quite well. In this respect, my wife is no different from the millions of immigrants who came tb America and learned English as a matter of course.

Let’s face it. The drive to make English the official language of the country cannot be characterized fairly as an effort to stamp out other languages and cultures. It is an effort to have a common language, even to have bilingual people, but to have one plane of communication on which they all can meet. Countries such as France, Germany and Spain which have an official language certainly have no lack of bilingual people.

Secretary of Education William Bennett has put this matter well: “There ought to be no confusion or embarrassment over our goal. The rise in ethnic consciousness, the resurgence of cultural pride in recent decades is a healthy thing; the traditions we bring with us, that our fore