Languages in the Big Apple

Warning: this is a long one!

Living in a multicultural urban environment like New York can really skew your perception of racism in America. Sure, we get regular reminders of xenophobia in many forms – the uproar over Brooklyn’s Arabic school, for example – but more often than not, blatant racism is blurred by the diverse make-up of the city. If you’re a white person who hates brown people, you probably shouldn’t live here.

So it’s both surprising and sobering to come across letters such as this one, from KansasCity.com, in which a woman rants against people who live in America and can’t speak English.

This is in regard to Zdenko Bergl’s letter “Coming to America” (10/5). I agree with Mr. Bergl, who has no sympathy for immigrants who do not learn English. They are just as capable as the immigrants from long ago.

My family came to America from Sicily. They also attended English classes and became U.S. citizens. They were true Americans who loved our country. They and the other immigrants from long ago learned to speak English and adopted the ways of the American people. Why can’t the new immigrants?

I get very upset when I go shopping to hear the salespeople speaking in their language instead of English. I get upset when products we buy today are printed in Spanish. Why Spanish? Why not in Italian, Russian, German, Arabic, etc.? Why has Spanish become our second language? Why can’t the new immigrants use English in America because that is our language?

If the immigrants want to use their own language in their home or with their own people, that’s great. But they should learn English if they want to live in our great country.

Virginia G. - Kansas City

Why Spanish? Well, Virginia, maybe because the Latino population makes up the largest minority group in the country? The question should be, Why not Spanish? The fact is, she and so many other racists continue to misuse the immigrant argument. Yes, the United States is a country of immigrants, many of whom were treated at some point or another with prejudice and contempt. But what these people fail to realize is how everything is arbitrary. Like Saussure’s declaration about the link between signifier and signified, so, too, is the fact that our country chose English as our national language instead of German. (It was a close call.) But what good is there in sanctifying English? Trust me, Virginia, it ain’t going anywhere. The treatment of the most prominent language in the world as a precious, disappearing commodity reminds me of an interview I once saw on a college campus about the importance of Women’s Studies. One boy, when asked what he thought about the department, replied proudly:

“I don’t see any buildings dedicated to Men’s Studies, do you?”

Take a look around, buddy. The whole bloody campus is dedicated to Men’s Studies. And giving Virginia Woolf a room of her own won’t wipe you or your manhood off the map. Nor will the Spanish on your cereal box.

After a summer of heated debate, the Khalil Gibran International Academy, New York’s first Arabic public charter school, opened its doors for the first time on September 4th.

Over at City Hall, those opposed to the academy united to protest. Here’s a quote from Irene Alter, one of the objectors:

“The mayor and chancellor owe the citizens and taxpayers an explanation for the necessity of a school like this. And, additionally, [an explanation of] how they plan to monitor it, since it’s well known that many of the texts emanating from countries such as Saudi Arabia are filled with anti-American, anti-Zionist rhetoric.”

Oh, Irene, let me count the ways your logic falters: First of all, “countries such as Saudi Arabia”? The academy, one of 70 dual-language schools in the city, has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia in particular, but rather will provide a secular focus on Arabic language and culture. Secondly, “anti-Zionist” rhetoric? Since when must America’s public schools adhere to a Zionist regime? True, the separation of church and state has suffered some serious blows in the past few years (prayers in schools, anyone?), but to base your opposition to the Khalil Gibran International Academy on the fact that there are texts in the Middle East that aren’t down with Israel is the fast track to making yourself look like a xenophobic fool.

Hopefully, the school will succeed in teaching its 55 enrolled students to use language with a bit more precision.

Quote source here.

Bloomburg’s got a new agenda: he wants tourists to be treated nicely.

A new ad campaign featuring celebs such as Robert De Niro, Jimmy Fallon, and Julianne Moore aims to give New York a small-town vibe by soliciting tid-bits with explanations such as the fact that Fifth Avenue acts as the divider line between the East Side and the West Side. Just Ask The Locals.

But are New Yorkers even unfriendly? I can’t recall what it was like to be a tourist here, so I can’t say for sure, but at the same time, I myself have never witnessed bumbling tourists being treated with contempt.

I’ve even found that strangers seem to strike up conversations more often here than anywhere else I’ve lived.

So where does the reputation come from? I suppose the only interactions that fall into the ‘unfriendly’ category are the routine exchanges where there isn’t any time for pleasantries. Like at the grocery store, or Duane Reade, where asking How Are You? or leaving with Have a Nice Day isn’t as common as it probably is in, say, Louisville, Kentucky.

But that’s just a by-product of city living — when you have so many interactions with so many people every day, the extraneous gets cut out for the sake of convenience. Not exactly hostility.

Which is why, in New York, these new ads seem just a little hokey.

There’s been a huge controversy in New York lately over the founding of Khalil Gibran International Academy, an Arabic public charter school.

Initially the brainchild of Principal Debbie Almontaser, KGIA was intended to provide students in grades 6-12 with a multicultural environment for native Arabic speakers as well as children who wanted to learn Arabic. By graduation, students would be fluent in both Arabic and English and have a solid background of Arab culture and history. Critics are calling the plan a city-funded Islamic institution.

On August 10th, the Post reported that out of 44 registered students, only seven were enrolled, six of whom already spoke Arabic. They also reported the multicultural ambtitions of Almontaser had failed, as 75% of the student body identified themselves as “black”. What that means, exactly, is left unclear. Five black people and one quarter-black person?

Critics were all too pleased when Almontaser publicly defended “Intifada NYC” t-shirts, made by a group known as Arab Women Active in the Arts and Media, explaining that “‘intifada’ means ’shaking off’ and the shirts represented women ’shaking off’ oppression. She later condemned the T-shirt message’s connection to Palestinian terrorism.”

The t-shirt controversy eventually forced Almontaser to step down as principal; she has been replaced by Danielle Salzberg, an Orthodox Jewish woman with past ties to the Zionist movement.

The school is scheduled to open in Brooklyn in mid-September — we’ll see what happens.