What’s the problem?

As I was driving home from work yesterday, a car sticker on the car in front of me caught my immediate attention. It read: “Learn English, or leave.”

I knew for sure that this message was aimed at Hispanic speakers who are supposedly tainting the United States and destroying its sanctity - by trying to make it bilingual. I personally do not have any animosity towards being bi-lingual or multi-lingual as I come from a nation that has almost the highest number of languages and dialects. I was born into variety and diversity, thus learning to appreciate it.

I giggled to myself for some time and then began to think of the obvious attitude of some Americans towards other languages. I found it ludicrous that there would be so much intolerance for a language (I have already reconciled to the intolerance that some people here have towards people of color).

Why should everyone speak English? Do they need to? The British were busy colonizing innumerable countries for wealth – I do not see very strong convictions on their part to promote their language. Why did the Americans take this upon themselves then? For crying out loud, English is not America’s language, though they try to patronize it to the best.
May be, tomorrow I will see another car with a sticker that reads: “Speak English the way I do, or leave.” Now, I will have real problems with that – serious problems, and I mean it. I have heard the following statements so many times, that I have lost tolerance for them:

1.Your English is very impressive.
2.You speak very good English.
3.I like your English.

Come on now, do I need to tell anyone that my country (India) has the 2nd highest number of English speakers in the world, after the US. Why won’t we speak English and speak it well? After all, the Indian republic had 2 centuries of romance time with the British – WE ARE MORE ENGLISH. It freaks me out to hear American kids ( from an English speaking country) say things like
1.I didn’t do nothing
2.He don’t know

Come on now, spare me this please. I speak English and there are no two ways about it. If anyone has a problem listening to Spanish or accented English – nothing I can do to help.