I was interested awhile back when we talked briefly about the effect that language barriers can have on the economy. I found this web site (http://www.us-english.org/inc/) whose purpose is to promote english as the official language of the United States. I think that english should be the official language of the U.S., and that every U.S. citizen should be required to learn english.
Language barriers can be an extreme problem in the workplace. My boss hired an employee over a month ago who could barely speak any english. After a few weeks of struggling with language barriers, the man was laid off. The result of the language barriers was decreased productivity in the workplace. That's only one example. Imagine what effect language barriers are having now on productivity all over the U.S.
There are some interesting statistics on the website previously mentioned. Of those statistics, I found it amazing how many millions of dollars is spent each year on translators, interpreters, and overall catering to the language needs of those who aren't willing to learn english. On the other hand, it could have a positive effect on the economy by creating more jobs (translators, etc.). Go to the website and check out the statistics and let me know what you think.
3 comments:
Grammar problems in the post by Tennistud, and spelling problems in Morty's and Kid's comments.
The economic take on a national language is that this is an example of a positive network externality. That is a situation in which the value from using a thing increases when the number of other people using it increases. A language is most valuable when you can share it with other people. And, everyone benefits when there are more people that can speak the language. This is the same reason that computers are more productive now that Office has squashed most of its competitors.
An interesting economic problem is why are immigrant so much less likely now to learn English? One reason may be that we have lowered the costs associated with not learning English (by providing bilingual or multilingual signs, education, and so on).
I like Metromut's idea that it is rude not to learn the language. Perhaps there is a correlation between our perceptions of increasing rudeness in this country, and the fact that fewer immigrants seem willing to learn English.
I agree with Rolf Tiblin's and Lizzie's comments. Rolf noted that there is an incentive for immigrants to learn English, and Lizzie noted that many are trying. Our society would benefit by subsidizing this. But ... once again, governments are better at taxing things they don't like than subsidizing those they do.
Dr. Tufte said:
"An interesting economic problem is why are immigrant so much less likely now to learn English? One reason may be that we have lowered the costs associated with not learning English."
Another reason is the large number of immigrants that cross the border every day that form Spanish communities. They have their own stores and so, many times, they don't need to speak English.
This is a way in which the costs have been lowered.
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