Let Quebec Be Lesson To U.S., Says Gingrich - An English Lesson “Allowing Bilingualism To Continue To Grow Is Very Dangerous,” Says The House Speaker

Quebec’s insistence on pressing the separatism issue over the years should stand as a clear warning to Americans about the threat that bilingualism poses to unity in the United States, House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., said Monday.

“Allowing bilingualism to continue to grow is very dangerous,” Gingrich said after addressing a technology and business forum at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. “We should insist on English as a common language. … That’s what binds us together.”

Clinton administration officials took issue with Gingrich’s statement.

“I think comparing (bilingualism) in Canada and the United States is like comparing apples and oranges,” said Dang Pham, acting director of the U.S. Education Department’s Office of Bilingual Education. Pham stressed that while Canada has two official languages, English is the one national language of the United States.

“Besides, in the United States, language is not the true bond,” Pham said. “The true bonds are our shared values of freedom, democracy and human rights. That is truly the glue that helps people stick together.”

Gingrich said that Congress likely will vote on a measure next year that would make English the official language of the United States. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., also has embraced the idea of making English the official language of the country.

The Clinton administration, however, has argued that English already has the stature of the official language and has criticized congressional attempts to curtail bilingual education.

“Obviously English is our national language,” Education Secretary Richard W. Riley said about the congressional measures. “New immigrants are clamoring to learn it as fast as they can. All over America, people are standing in lines and placing their names on waiting lists to take English and literacy classes.”

Measures that would prevent federal funding for bilingual education or make English the official language of the United States have been introduced in Congress. Hearings on the bills are now under way.