Barack Obama, language, and academic arrogance
Gary Loftis
July 14, 2008
Last week, when Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama announced his opinion that Americans are not really educated unless they are fluent in at least three languages (English plus two others), he perpetuated an arrogant myth long believed in the ivory towers of elite educational institutions that the United States is inferior because it is not European enough.
Language study is a matter of necessity that is as much geographical as it is educational. The countries of Europe are relatively small. For perspective, neither France nor Germany is as large in area as the state of Texas. Americans can travel thousands of miles and never need to speak any language but English to order meals, buy gifts, and conduct business. A European traveling only a few hundred miles may need Spanish, French, Italian, and German to perform the same activities. Foreign language studies make practical sense for European students, but they make less sense for Americans, most of whom will never visit a foreign country.
Beyond practicality is utility. Just as muscles atrophy over time when they are not used, language skills fade from disuse. I had 2 years of high school Latin and 3 years of college Italian -- 41 years ago. Beyond asking for a glass of wine, I would be hard-pressed to put together a grammatically correct Italian sentence. My wife, who was a French major with a Spanish minor 41 years ago is good for the occasional crossword clue in those languages, but would not venture to speak them today. Neither of us would be considered poorly-educated -- we both earned Masters degrees -- but we are fluent today only in English.
Although, over the long run, unused language skills deteriorate, there is a benefit to language study: it makes students more aware of structure and rules in their native language. Such benefit, however, assumes that said students are taught their languageīs structure and rules. Judging from the number and severity of grammatical errors committed by journalists daily in Americaīs broadcast and print media, even the "professionals" lack a proper grounding in their native language.
At a time when American college students are challenged to form a cohesive sentence in English, to locate their state on US a map, to balance a checkbook, or to fathom in what century the American Civil War occurred, our nation should be casting a wary eye at our public education system. But, adding more language studies to satisfy some elitist academicīs notion of education would add nothing to the mix. Worst case, it would take even more classroom time from math, science, and history. Best case, all other factors unchanged, it would yield students ignorant of more than one language!
Copyright 2008, Gary Loftis. All Rights Reserved.
Language study is a matter of necessity that is as much geographical as it is educational. The countries of Europe are relatively small. For perspective, neither France nor Germany is as large in area as the state of Texas. Americans can travel thousands of miles and never need to speak any language but English to order meals, buy gifts, and conduct business. A European traveling only a few hundred miles may need Spanish, French, Italian, and German to perform the same activities. Foreign language studies make practical sense for European students, but they make less sense for Americans, most of whom will never visit a foreign country.
Beyond practicality is utility. Just as muscles atrophy over time when they are not used, language skills fade from disuse. I had 2 years of high school Latin and 3 years of college Italian -- 41 years ago. Beyond asking for a glass of wine, I would be hard-pressed to put together a grammatically correct Italian sentence. My wife, who was a French major with a Spanish minor 41 years ago is good for the occasional crossword clue in those languages, but would not venture to speak them today. Neither of us would be considered poorly-educated -- we both earned Masters degrees -- but we are fluent today only in English.
Although, over the long run, unused language skills deteriorate, there is a benefit to language study: it makes students more aware of structure and rules in their native language. Such benefit, however, assumes that said students are taught their languageīs structure and rules. Judging from the number and severity of grammatical errors committed by journalists daily in Americaīs broadcast and print media, even the "professionals" lack a proper grounding in their native language.
At a time when American college students are challenged to form a cohesive sentence in English, to locate their state on US a map, to balance a checkbook, or to fathom in what century the American Civil War occurred, our nation should be casting a wary eye at our public education system. But, adding more language studies to satisfy some elitist academicīs notion of education would add nothing to the mix. Worst case, it would take even more classroom time from math, science, and history. Best case, all other factors unchanged, it would yield students ignorant of more than one language!
Copyright 2008, Gary Loftis. All Rights Reserved.
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