马里兰县推翻“惟英语”法律州

AS IT IS 2015-09-16 Maryland County Overturns English-Only Law 马里兰州推翻“惟英语”法律

More than half of all American states have laws making English the official language. In a few areas, state laws require some government documents to be printed only in English.

Three years ago, Frederick County in the U.S. state of Maryland passed just such an ordinance¹. Frederick County is home to more than 230,000 people. A growing number of them are Latino and Asian immigrants.

Supporters of the English-only law say it saved the county government money. But critics say the law sent a message to immigrants that they were not wanted. In 2015, the county government reconsidered the controversial ordinance.

Frederick Country is about 70 kilometers north of Washington, D.C. The population is 80 percent white. But Frederick has a growing immigrant community, mostly Spanish-speaking Latino.

Two and a half years ago, the county government approved a measure that required official county documents to be written in English. It also required that English be used in all government business.

Local immigrant groups strongly opposed the law. Ray Garza heads the Frederick Immigration Coalition². Mr. Garza says the English-only law showed that undocumented immigrants were not welcome.

"… that indeed, undocumented immigrants were not welcome in Frederick County."

Elizabeth Chung is the head of the Asian-American Center in Frederick, Maryland. She agrees with Ray Garza.

"I think that … using the words 'English-only,' it's a perception, it's a projection³ that we don't want anybody else in here but only those who speak English."

Jessica Fitzwater was elected to the Frederick County Council in 2014. She immediately pushed to have the law overturned.

"It was part of a(n) overreaching amount of legislation that aimed to be of an anti-immigrant sort of flavor."

Council member Billy Shreve voted for the measure in 2012. He says the law was never meant to be anti-immigrant. Mr. Shreve says the law was meant to make English the official language for Frederick County. This, he adds, would save money by reducing the large cost of producing documents in other languages.

"It basically said the official language for Frederick County that we do business in as a government is English, and if you need any professional services beyond that, you're responsible for paying for those."

But Ms. Fitzwater says she thinks there was more to the measure than saving money.

"The discussions around the original ordinance, and frankly⁴, also during our public hearing at the repeal⁵, somehow made it sound like English is in trouble, and declaring English as the official language of Frederick County was somehow going to save that."

Last month, the Frederick County Council repealed⁶ the law by a vote of 4 to 3. Jessica Fitzwater says that sends a new message about Frederick. She says it shows that her community is open-minded and accepts people from different cultures.

"… that we're open minded, that we embrace and celebrate diversity, and not that we're close minded, and only accept people whose primary language just happens to be English."

Words in This Story

controversial – adj. relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument

undocumented immigrant – set phrase A foreign-born person who lacks a right to be in the United States, having either entered without inspection⁷ (and not subsequently obtained any right to remain) or stayed beyond the expiration⁸ date of a visa or other status.

repeal – v. to officially make (a law) no longer valid⁹

ordinance – n. a law or regulation made by a city or town government

coalition – n. a group of people, groups, or countries who have joined together for a common purpose

flavor – n. (in this article means) characteristic or strong quality

embrace and celebrate diversity – common phrase when talking about accepting people from different cultures

1 ordinance   

n.法令；条令；条例

参考例句：

• The Ordinance of 1785 provided the first land grants for educational purposes.1785年法案为教育目的提供了第一批土地。
• The city passed an ordinance compelling all outdoor lighting to be switched off at 9.00 PM.该市通过一条法令强令晚上九点关闭一切室外照明。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 repeal   

n.废止，撤消；v.废止，撤消

参考例句：

• He plans to repeal a number of current policies.他计划废除一些当前的政策。
• He has made out a strong case for the repeal of the law.他提出强有力的理由，赞成废除该法令。

6 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

7 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

8 expiration   

n.终结，期满，呼气，呼出物

参考例句：

• Can I have your credit card number followed by the expiration date?能告诉我你的信用卡号码和它的到期日吗?
• This contract shall be terminated on the expiration date.劳动合同期满，即行终止。

9 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？