Loading ...Stop the anti-Arab scare-mongering
My mother immigrated to the United States from Syria more than 40 years ago. When she first arrived, she knew no English. Any English she acquired in those first few years, she did from watching soaps: General Hospital and Days of Our Lives. She continued to speak only Arabic at home.
That, of course, gave me the benefit of growing up bilingual, a benefit that would manifest itself decades later when using Arabic in my professional journalism work. But not everyone can appreciate the nuances of the Arabic language.
Newly released Census data reveal that more than 63 million Americans speak a foreign language other than English at home. The anti-immigration group Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) politicized the information in a report, emphasizing that the largest percent increase is among Arabic speakers.
CIS report author Steve Camarota told Breitbart News, “English as our common language is part of the glue that holds our country together. These numbers suggest that the levels of immigration are so high that it may strain that. … With no pause in immigration levels in sight, the nation is headed into uncharted territory.”
Some news media outlets have echoed the alarmist fear-mongering. Headlines scream, “We’re erasing Western civilization” or “New American Century: Arabic is the fastest growing language in USA.” One “scareticle” claims, “The great U.S. melting pot is quickly becoming the ‘Arabic pot’.”
Source: www.usatoday.com