In 2006, a cheesesteak delicatessen in Philadelphia made waves when the proprietor hung up a sign that read: “This is AMERICA: WHEN ORDERING PLEASE ‘SPEAK ENGLISH.’” Reported in national and international news outlets, Geno’s Steaks received the ire of many people and bloggers around the world. Philly Future has a list of Philadelphia bloggers who have expressed their outrage against Geno’s Steaks. Bloggers outside of Philadelphia, like American Humanity and Jewish World Review, have not been shy to share their feelings of dismay.

When the news broke in the summer of 2008 that the LPGA (Ladies Professional Golf Association) was going to require that all of its players pass an English skills test or face possible suspension, journalists scratched their heads and bloggers around the world, particularly those based in South Korea, reacted strongly and negatively. Reacting to the hullabaloo and bad publicity, the LPGA rescinded its plan to suspend LPGA players for not communicating “effective” English.

What’s going on here?

America has always been a melting pot of people from many different languages and cultures. Music, art, food, wine, and even sports, transcend the spoken language. There are so many things that we can share with other people despite the language barrier.

Did the proprietor of Geno’s Steaks really put that sign up to insult current and potential customers, or was it genuinely a way to speed up the ordering process? Did the LPGA intend to institute the English requirement in order to appeal to more English speaking sponsors, or was it an underhanded method of reducing the number of top Korean golfers?

It’s hard to say, and even if we asked, we probably wouldn’t get a straight answer. We’d still be suspicious about their reasons.

Now, Senator Leland Yee of the California legislator has drafted a bill that would permit the “freedom of a person to speak any language he or she chooses in a business establishment” and make it illegal for California businesses to discriminate against persons who chose to speak a particular language unless there was a business necessity for doing so. (The full text of the bill, referred to as SB 242, can be found here.)

It is sad to think that food and sports, Geno’s Steaks and the LGPA, should give us pause to think about what language freedom means to us. In an ideal world, chefs and gastronomists, wine-makers and wine connoisseurs, sports heroes and their fans, should be enjoying the things they share in common without needing to think about the language we speak. But now it seems we are at a point where we may need to think about it. So, what does language freedom mean to you?

© 2009, Matthew Stoloff, Esq.. All rights reserved.

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