The New Bathroom Policy At English High School Summary

Language forms a part of culture and identity. Bilingualism is the right to speak multiple languages. Part of bilingualism is keeping and developing a passion for language. In the essay “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” Martín Espada suggests the definition of bilingualism and the importance of keeping it. Espada understands the difficulty of continuing to speak Spanish. According to Espada, in order to maintain Spanish, people must fight for the right to speak it. English and its speakers deteriorate Spanish by using discrimination, power, and ignorance. In the beginning, Espada argues that many people in the United States want to eliminate all Spanish, cultural warfare. Espada believes that without language, a part of culture is missing. For example, in the United States, a xenophobic group named U.S. English proposes that people should only speak English. Espada informs, “U.S. English devotes its energies to opposing bilingual

Espada implies that English is a language of power. English dialects from professionals “seek to obscure rather than clarify: their intent is not to communicate, but to control” (5-6). Both native and non-native speakers of English do not understand some obscure vocabulary. Moreover, because not everyone understands every complex word, a language barrier forms, putting non-native speakers at a disadvantage. For example, Espada illustrates with a poem “Offerings to an Ulcerated God” the unfair treatment to non-English speakers in court. During a hearing, a judge decided a woman’s fate without giving her a chance to defend herself because she did not speak English. Espada writes, “‘Tell her she has to pay and she has ten days to get out,’ the judge commanded...” (11). Before the woman could testify, the judge dismisses her immediately because she couldn’t speak English. The unfair treatment of the woman exemplifies that English holds power and