COMMENTARY: WE SHOULD CELEBRATE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
by Judge Kaye Tertzag

St. Louis Daily Record/St. Louis Countian (St. Louis, MO)
August 12, 2006 Saturday

When doctors talk to patients, we should be able to understand them.

When college instructors give lectures to students, we should be able
to understand them.

When computer support-staff speak to computer-users, we should be
able to understand them.

Unfortunately, that is not always the case.

I have heard about far too many instances where patients, students and
computer-users cannot understand the very people who are attempting
to service them. More importantly, resentment is developing in our
country because more and more doctors, college instructors and computer
support-staff are unable to be understood when they talk.

If this was an isolated matter, I probably would not be alarmed.

However, I have heard the same complaint from all sorts of people
from every part of the country. I assure you, this is not an isolated
matter!

People are becoming frustrated, even angry, about the condition in
which they find themselves – where doctors, college instructors and
computer support-staff are unable to speak English sufficiently well
to be understood.

This is not good for our country.

Competency is not the issue. Being understood is. The doctor may very
well be an excellent physician or surgeon. The college instructor
may very well be highly knowledgeable with outstanding academic
credentials. The computer support-staff may very well be highly
trained with outstanding skills. But, if they have trouble speaking
English clearly and coherently, and we have trouble understanding them,
we have a problem.

Medical care is dangerously compromised because of a lack of
communication between patient and the doctor. Students are academically
shortchanged when they do not understand what their teacher is saying.

Computer support service becomes highly inefficient if we have
to keep asking the staff to repeat themselves because we do not
understand them.

I am satisfied that my observations and conclusions are accurate.

Check it out for yourself if you are doubtful. Ask your family members,
friends or neighbors whether they have had similar experiences. I am
confident you will hear the same thing from them.

We cannot afford to hold our heads in the sand and pretend that we
do not have a problem. A problem definitely exists. Not addressing
the problem will lead to the festering of an unhealthy, anti-foreign
attitude in our country – something we neither need nor want.

I write this because I want us to come together … as a people …
as a country.

My parents were immigrants to our country from Armenia. As a child,
I spoke Armenian at home even before learning English. People who
speak multiple languages should be proud of that fact. I certainly
am. It is wonderful that we have a diversity of backgrounds in the
United States. We can and should be proud of our respective heritages,
languages and cultures.

After all, people having foreign roots helped make America the great
country that it is today.

Much more, however, is at stake here.

We have so much pulling us apart in our country. We have different
religions. We have different races. We have different ethnic
backgrounds. We have different second-languages. We have different
political viewpoints. One of the few things – maybe the only thing –
we have in common in the United States is our language.

English is the single, common denominator in America. We should
not be apologetic about it. We should not be wary of it. Rather,
we should celebrate it. We should emphasize it. Above all else, we
should recognize that our common language should be a major unifying
force around which all Americans, including newcomers, can coalesce.

Unless we emphasize the importance of the English language as a
unifying force, I fear that we will drift further and further apart
as a society – where emphasis is placed on our differences rather
than on our similarities. As I indicated, we already have enough in
society which pulls us apart as a people. We should not add "language"
to the list. Look at our neighbors in Canada as an example of how
language can become a polarizing force in society.

I am able to raise this matter of the English language without any
concern about being politically correct. My background as a political
liberal has been long established. My years as a political activist
has been long recognized. My commitment to justice in the court system
has long been documented. Hence, I am not as interested in being
"politically correct" as I am in being "correct. "

If progressive individuals do not voice these concerns about the
English language, a vacuum most assuredly will be created to be
filled by others who will want to demagogue the issue. That is why
it is important for liberals and progressives to take the lead in
doing something constructive about this subject. Better we do it.

Otherwise, the malcontent leeches who want to divide Americans along
ethnic, racial or religious lines will do it for their own negative
political motives.

This is an honest effort to have us start working together to deal
forthrightly with a problem that bothers most people. Recognizing
that a problem exists is the first step towards its solution.

We can and must improve.

Servicing the public is vital, meritorious work. So, we should laud
those who want to help their fellow human beings by becoming doctors,
teachers or computer technicians. Having said this, though, we should
also expect that they are able to speak English in a clear, coherent
manner so to be understood by the rest of us.

This may mean those individuals would have to take and pass some kind
of English proficiency course as part of their credentialing process.

Also, the Human Resources Departments of the hospitals, colleges and
computer companies would be well served if they would require speaking
English clearly and coherently as a prerequisite for those employees
who deal with the public on a daily basis.

This would certainly help patients. It would surely assist students.

And, it would definitely benefit computer users. As important, though,
it would help alleviate the antagonism which has been slowly developing
in our country towards immigrants. Hopefully, it will become a small
step towards making ours a better society.

Kaye Tertzag is a retired Wayne County Circuit Court judge from
Brownstown, Mich. Tertzag said these views "were formed, in part,
by my experience with jurors who had difficulty understanding certain
expert witnesses. "

This article was originally published in Michigan Lawyers Weekly,
a sister publication.