Tuesday, January 6, 2009

I was surprised to see the article on "West Side Story" on the Jan. 3 front page instead of in Style; surely it wasn't that slow a news day. Then I read on and was further annoyed to see that the production was being praised for the use of Spanish in the dialogue and lyrics.

For years, I have been bothered by the use of Spanish in schools, on street signs, etc., to say little of the ballot. I am the son of Italian immigrants, and we spoke Italian in the house but English after we went out the front door.

People make a choice to come to the United States, and they should be encouraged to assimilate. Such language concessions do not help immigrants but hinder their advancement; they would be helped a great deal more by being encouraged to use the language of the country they have chosen to live in, much as I and the people of my generation were.

GEORGE J. GALASSO

Rockville