Published Saturday, September 12, 2009

Land of opportunity

There are a lot of Americans who get irritated with the "Press 2" instructions if you prefer to speak Spanish. If you want to live and work in the United States, they staunchly believe, then you should learn to speak English.

In the days when America became the land of opportunity for so many immigrants, there was a general rule. Speak the native tongue at home but English at school and in the workplace. Those early Americans expected to assimilate. They wanted to become part of the fabric of their new homeland.

There are so many heart-warming immigrant stories -- people willing to leave where they grew up and come to America for opportunity. The hard life prevailed for some, but they knew that, with a few breaks and a strong work ethic, dreams could be realized.

Interesting humor resulted in later years. "His grandfather came to America and amassed a fortune, and he only knew three words of English: 'Stick 'em up!'"

When Ellis Island got its facelift in the 1980s, many tourists to New York took trips to see the Ellis Island museum. It is worth the money and effort. It is also a trip worthy of an encore. I remember, on my first trip to Ellis Island, there was a quote prominently displayed on the wall from an Italian immigrant: "I always heard that the streets in America were paved with gold. When I got here, I found out that the streets were not even paved. And when they were paved, I paved them."

While I don't know the answer to the illegal immigrant problem, I must concede that it is a problem. America remains a land of opportunity. Otherwise there wouldn't be a problem, would there? If you choose to hang out here, is it asking too much to honor American traditions and customs?

I have to say that I hope English prevails. After all, when I am in a foreign country, I expect to adjust to the language challenge. However, I must say that I am especially grateful to the foreigner -- on whose soil I have landed -- who, when I make a fumbling attempt at his language, is accommodating enough to reply back in English.

If you follow the sports pages, you may be familiar with the LPGA tour official who made the assessment that all the Korean women who play the ladies pro tour should be required to learn to speak English. That caused quite a flap. Sounded like a good idea to me.

And when Y.E. Yang, the Korean golfer who defeated Tiger Woods in the PGA championship in August, was interviewed after the final round, he spoke to a national television audience via an interpreter. He probably speaks English, but by using an interpreter, he can ignore or slough off any question he doesn't want to answer.

At the Masters in 1978, Tommy Nakajima, of Japan, hit his tee shot into Rae's Creek to start a saga that left him with a double-digit total when he finished the hole. After taking a penalty drop, he hit the ball into the fairway. His fourth shot found the creek again -- by the 13th green. With a good lie, he tried to hit a wedge shot to the green. The ball popped straight up and landed on his shoe, which resulted in a two-stroke penalty. When he handed his wedge to his caddie, it touched the water -- another two-stroke penalty. Finally, after two more swings and two putts, he posted a record 13 score for the hole.

When he and his interpreter came into the press tent, and he explained through his interpreter how he totaled such a maddening score, he was asked if he "lost heart" during the ordeal.

His interpreter relayed the question and then said, "No, he say he lost count."