English-Rule Only - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages Advantages of the Rule
The subject that only English should be used at work places creates very strong feelings. Some individuals may believe that it is wrong to speak in a language that others do not understand. In the same way, speakers of languages other than English may believe that complaints against the usage of another language stem from racism or unnecessary suspicion of what is being spoken.
But the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations state that a restriction to speaking English at all times is disadvantageous to an individual’s employment opportunity on the basis of national origin. The commission believes that English-only rules create an atmosphere of inferiority, isolation and intimidation which is based on national origin that could result in discriminatory working environment (Bothwell-Marketing-Inc, 2011).
EEOC regulation clearly states that the rule English-only rule is permissible only where the employer can show that the rule is justified by the necessity of the business. Spun Steak offered a justification that the non-Spanish speaking employees felt bad because they were being insulted in Spanish. The company also noted there were some safety benefits to using a language common to most employees. Employers in areas where the rule applied pointed to safety issues, customer service, and business related justifications which are related to their businesses. But opponents say that the U.S has been a country of immigrants coming from various cultures speaking different languages. In the past the new migrants wanted to quickly assimilate into the local culture and adopt the local language. This helped them in their integration with the local society. However currently, many new migrants foster separate almost ghetto-like communities which interact on a limited basis with the outside. As many of them fail to learn English they do not gain the ability to interact outside their own community and thus cannot easily integrate in the society. This inability to communicate is the basis of mistrust, fear and war among the different cultures (ask-Vile, 2006). Statistics show that about 215 million Americans speak English while only 2 million people speak Spanish (Juggle, 2011). There are already 26 states where English is the only official language Most of the migrants also state that they think everyone should learn English if they are to live in the United States. English is spoken in Congress, courthouses, national parks, and Presidential speeches. It is also spoken in almost every business corner. Every where the English language is spoken (Juggle, 2011). But accounting office report that was released shows that 99.94 percent of all federal government documents are produced in English. The English proponents argue that more than 300 languages are ...Download file to see next pagesRead More