Speaking S

Stumbled unto an interesting article in the Los Angeles Times
about incidents in public places in the US where people were
confronted for speaking Spanish. The speakers feel justified in so doing, and
many argue that it is a form of racism or police profiling for them to be
called out. Often it is a parent addressing a child. We are proud to speak
two languages, it is a form of being smart.

As a Francophone Canadian, I am no stranger to linguistic battles. What strikes me
about these incidents - and the reason I am tempted to meddle in an American situation -
is that we seem to be dealing with some measure of cross-communication.

What is upsetting to people many not be paying taxes to support Spanish speakers,
but the fact that Spanish might be somewhat opaque to an Anglophone. It is a conversation
in a public place and who knows what is being said. Because conversations in public
inevitably have a public component. If you are telling your child to put down the candy,
you are also reassuring the sales clerk that this candy thing is under control. You are
socializing your child in the course of an outing. The mother teaching the child to carry on in Spanish, in turn, is - in this subtext sphere - showing the child to resist intimidation.
Which might not be the primary skill in this situation. The ability to switch back and forth,
as well as to keep a certain distance form the parent, might be more like it. Autonomy is a
delicate thing.

Which is why acquiring citizenship in a new country does involve learning for all members
of a family. Not learning English as such, but knowing where the boundaries and
expectations are. The language issue will resolve itself once that is in place.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-ln-speak-english-20180528-story.html