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Mindy Hess
interviewed by Brian Hecht on 31 October, 1995
"There needs to be some kind of common bond that ties us all together."
Mindy Hess is Media Relations Coordinator for U.S. English.
Tripod: What's the real message of Quebec's vote against secession?
MH: We think that bilingual government is tearing Canada apart. The fact that they are where they were yesterday, when they came to the point of making that vote, is a perfect example of what bilingual government can do. The reason why we are trying to make English the official language of the United States is to avoid that same problem here.
Tripod: But in Canada, is bilingualism more a cause or a symptom of their division?
MH: Well, Canada has two official languages. Their government provides materials in both English and French. And I think you'll notice in most of the coverage of what was going on, the feeling that Canadians, both French-speaking and English-speaking, there's definitely that division -- "Are you an English-speaking Canadian or a French-speaking Canadian?" There's no common bond among them. That's evident in the fact that Quebec has the desire to separate, the primarily French-speaking province of Quebec.
Tripod: It seems like English is already the language of the United States. Why does it need to be the "official" language?
MH: Exactly. English is the de facto language of the United States. A language policy has not been set, and we desperately need one to be. I think if you look at the number of government services that are being provided in differently languages now, as opposed to 10 years ago, there is a sharp increase, and we are moving in that direction.
There's no doubt the United States is made up of people from all different nations bringing with them their own cultures, their languages, and that's a wonderful thing -- that's what makes us such a wonderful country. But there needs to be some kind of common bond that ties us all together, so that we don't get to the point where Canada is today, where the former Yugoslavia was. And it only makes sense that [the bond] be language so that we're all able to communicate and take advantage of what we have to offer to each other.
Tripod: Tell me about the bills that Congress is currently considering. What would they achieve?
MH: The bill that we support is HR-123, sponsored by Congressman Bill Emerson, he is from Missouri. What the bill would do -- it's a very simple bill -- it would make English the official language of the federal government, meaning that all official government business, hearings, ceremonies, regulations, would all be conducted solely in English. Now there would be some common-sense exceptions for services such as health and safety, tourism, foreign-language instruction, cases where it would make sense that services be provided in different languages for the good of the people who aren't able to speak English. So this present legislation would not affect private business, it won't affect what language you speak in your home, it would simply require that all official government business be conducted in English, and that the money now being spent to provide different services, tax forms -- whatever they may be -- in different languages, be focused more on teaching English.
Tripod: I pulled up a copy of the House resolution before. One of the clauses says "Every person in the United States in entitled to communicate with the Government in English." Is anyone being denied that right? I mean, is that really a problem?
MH: There are cases. I can't give you any specific cases off the top of my head, but I think you'll find this more in areas such as Miami, there are a good many Spanish speakers, where people have gone into try to receive government services, and have not been able to receive those services in English. And that's why there's that specific provision in the bill that, as English speakers in America, have the right to receive our government services in English.
Tripod: You said that there were exceptions. What are the provisions to ensure that an official-English law wouldn't deny critical services to non-English-speaking residents?
MH: They're specifically addressed in the bill. They list out, health and safety services are one of those exceptions. Tourism. So the bill itself accounts for those exceptions, that in those cases, services could be provided in other languages.
Tripod: This cause seems to have natural appeal to people who want to abuse it for racist purposes. How do you deal with support from, say, a white supremacist group, many of which have as part of their platform English-only provisions?
MH: It's very difficult for us to control how other people abuse a particular movement. I think if you'll look at what our group has done, what the bill would do, the bill that would truly have an impact on everyone in this country -- that that is not the aim. There is no way that it can be interpreted as having that kind of aim. And it's really not our responsibility to police how it may be interpreted. We obviously don't support any kind of racist views and would not advocate that.
Tripod: What do you think is the motivation of people who oppose an official-English law?
MH: I think, to be honest with you, the reason most people are opposed to this is because they lack an understanding of exactly what it would do. People jump to the conclusion that, "Oh no, this will take away from my native language. This will make me have to speak only English." And that's simply not what it does. Our chairman, Mauro Mujica, he is an immigrant himself from Chile. He is multilingual. I believe he is fluent in four languages, and speaks Spanish in his home. But the bottom line is that he's able to communicate in English, but he's able to hold on to his native language, as well as several others. So I think that people who are opposed, or afraid of losing their native language don't understand what it would do.
Tripod: What is the proper role of bilingual education?
MH: I think that the goal of bilingual education should be very simple: It should teach the students English and, although there is no provision in the legislation we support, HR-123, to address bilingual education, we do feel it needs to be reformed. We think that the native language approach, which is the most widely used, is working. We support English as a second language-type instruction that provides special assistance, but focuses primarily on English.
Tripod: The Internet is emerging as a truly international means of communication. In some ways it encourages uniformity of language. But in other ways it allows lots of different means of communication to co-exist without boundaries. What's the impact of the Internet on the official English movement?
MH: I'm really not sure about that. We use that as an example of how English is becoming the international language. But to be honest with you, that wouldn't really be affected by anything we're doing right now. What we're doing right now would simply impact government business. But as I said, the bottom line is that there needs to be some kind of unity among everyone who lives in this country. Ninety-seven percent of the people here speak English, and it makes sense that that be language. It can only help immigrants, to learn a language that's spoken by 97 percent of people in the country.
To contact your representatives in Washington about official-English legislation, or any other federal issue, you can get in touch directly through Tripod's Political Playbook.
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