It must be a sign of the times or maybe the ghost of crazy futures? How else do you explain an article like this? According to The LA Times, the state of California faces an interpreter shortage because they speak 220 languages in the court system.
Yes, I said 220:
Federal law enforcement began investigating California’s courts seven years ago after receiving complaints that two Korean-speaking women in Los Angeles had been denied court interpreters.Courts in other states also were examined and faulted. Along with California, they began working to comply with U.S civil rights law, which bars discrimination based on national origin. Failure to act meant the possible loss of federal money.At least 220 languages are spoken in California, and 44% of residents speak a language other than English at home. Seven million Californians say they cannot speak English well.On top of that, California’s court system is considered the largest in the nation, surpassing in size the entire labyrinth of federal courts.But nowhere has the task been so challenging as in California, the most linguistically diverse state in the nation.
With all due respect to the people and their languages, this is no way to run a state, or less a country. At some point, people have to learn English.
Like many of you, I came to the US and remember my parents emphasizing the importance of learning English. “Hay que aprender ingles” was something that we heard often. My father would practice English in his time off.
I do have one last question. There is talk of California seceding from the US. What language will the future nation of California speak?
PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
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