Gurza on Losing Spanish

It seems to me that the thing that Agustin Gurza (“A Language Is a Terrible Thing to Lose,” May 18) is forgetting when he talks about “colonial control” is that this is the United States, not Mexico. The fact that people one or two generations removed from the country their family came from originally do not speak that language is not remarkable. We have seen it throughout this country’s history. The language of this country, of business and of general communication, is English. Once the kids learn that, they’re welcome to retain, or learn, any other language they choose. For those adults who didn’t quite get it, here in California we have in place a higher education system that enables us to pursue those things we think are important. This includes other languages, which may be learned, relearned or honed.

ANNIE AYALA JELNICK

Long Beach

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Hundreds of thousands of families (including my wife’s) have chosen to keep, use and pass on their native language and culture. Hundreds of thousands of families have chosen not to do so. Why should the second group now be included in the never-ending list of “victims” of an insidious plot to cleanse languages other than English from the landscape? Every college and high school I know of teaches foreign languages, and enrollment is growing yearly. You can watch TV programs in 20 languages in Los Angeles. The two most popular radio stations in Los Angeles broadcast in Spanish.

I teach English as a second language, so I have firsthand knowledge of the languages spoken by the families of my students. It is a family’s decision to retain or drop their native language. To those family members who decide to drop their native language, I would say “a language is a terrible thing to lose,” but I would not turn them into victims.

A. ROBERT YOUNG

San Pedro