On the face of it, the United States seems to emphasize the pluralistic nature of its culture, but recently one kind of viewpoint has surfaced in politics and among the general population--"English Only." Ever since the partisan balance of power shifted during the congressional and gubernatorial elections of 1994, some people have remarked that the American continent has had a seismic shift to the right. Several rather conservative ideas, such as slashing social welfare and restricting immigration, have been proffered one after the other. Such ideas as "relative values" and "pluralistic culture" have become remnants of the past, as many people cry out that they produce social disintegration and moral destitution(!).

As a Chinese person living in American society, I am often caught up in the contradictions of my own self-identity. Living in the United States, the biggest problem I encounter is that of language. Not only do I want to speak English as well as I can, I also must understand English spoken in a number of different accents. What the "English Only" movement most readily expresses is "Anglo-Saxon chauvinism," and a denigration of the value of other cultures and languages. Although the majority of people in the USA are white, the largest group of Caucasians are of German descent. This is quite surprising.

One cannot deny that a pluralistic culture has its good points, but it can also easily give one a feeling of not being able to fit in, and it can lead to national separatism. A recent example is the independence movement of the French Canadians of Quebec. When I first came to the United States, my English was not sufficiently fluent. My inability to express myself brought on many complications. I could only hide my feelings inside, and of course, it caused inconvenience for others. When I gradually came to understand "standard English," suddenly the thing I could tolerate the least of all was English spoken with any kind of foreign accent. The biggest reason was because I only had one set of ears, and I could only "switch channels" at a very slow rate. When I heard English spoken with all sorts of accents from various places, they often seemed completely unintelligible. I could accept it when I couldn't manage to chat with people, but sometimes I couldn't even take care of important matters, because I only comprehended half of what I was hearing.

What left me with the deepest emotional impression was when I went to the inner city to take my driver's license test. I took the test ten times without being able to pass. Then I went out to the suburbs and passed with a high score. What was the reason? I simply couldn't clearly understand Afro-American English. The more I failed to understand, the more nervous I became. The more nervous I was, the less I understood. Finally, I was taught one sentence: "If you can't understand what I say, you can't survive here." It really was something I'll never forget as long as I live.

If everyone takes their own standard as the one and only standard, only respecting themselves, one individual's convenience will become another person's inconvenience. And others' inconvenience will ultimately impact oneself. It is best for a nation to have one "administrative language," unless everyone is a linguistic genius. Language is actually a tool. English is not purely the speech of the Angles and Saxons; it is a mix of many different foreign words from different languages such as French. India has more than 2000 local dialects and languages; in the end, they chose English as their administrative language. Nevertheless, even if one can understand Afro-American English, there is still the need for communication among Chinese accents, Hispanic accents, Eastern European accents.... When putting down roots in a foreign land, learning the language is the first and foremost prerequisite for blending into the local environment. If you can't speak English well, even if you have a lot of ability, you can only stay hidden within your own small circle of friends; no matter how learned you are, your skills will go unappreciated. Only if you speak English (or some other local language) well can you stand up straight and add to the glory of Chinese culture.

The first prerequisite for setting down roots in a foreign land is to integrate into the local society, and then develop your own culture. The photo shows the author in front of a naval base in Hawaii.