Battle Over Bilingualism : Opposition Intensifies to Ads Using Spanish

Lawrence Auster, like other New Yorkers, tolerated the dirt, noise and graffiti that pollute his city’s subways--but he drew the line at Spanish-language advertising.

Last November, when he could stand it no longer, Auster, a free-lance writer and editor, composed a passionate letter to Citicorp, calling its Spanish subway ads “troubling because they represent a new stage in the transformation of America into a bilingual society.”

The huge banking firm replied that the ads were “helping people become part of the fabric of America” and led to “good business and good citizenship.”

Soup to Cigarettes

Such exchanges, repeated across the nation as Americans complain about the use of Spanish to sell products ranging from soup to cigarettes, represents a new phase in the battle over bilingualism. The debate represents a clash of societal values: While advertisers want to appeal to a growing and lucrative market, critics believe that the ads eat away at the nation’s linguistic heritage and threaten American solidarity.

The issue has spread from classrooms, where debates rage over how immigrants should be taught English, to board rooms, where corporate bosses weigh the benefits of bilingual ads against any possible backlashes over them.

Negative reaction to multilingualism is not limited to Spanish-language advertisements. In cities with large proportions of Asian-Americans, there have been loud cries against ads and other signs aimed at those groups.

Vandals Paint Signs

In Philadelphia, for example, Korean-language street signs were removed last month after vandals damaged and spray-painted them. And, in Southern California, business signs in Chinese have long divided residents of Monterey Park.

But the most widespread attacks center on Spanish-language advertising--the most pervasive sign of linguistic change in America.

There is no way of knowing exactly the extent of the opposition. Pacific Bell reports that it has received 5,000 letters protesting its Spanish-language Yellow Pages; other companies say they have gotten only a few.

But, whatever the number, Latino rights groups and the American Civil Liberties Union take the effort seriously.

Some opponents call for boycotts of companies using Spanish-language ads, but others concede that the firms are protected by the First Amendment and vow to continue writing letters, which they view as a powerful weapon.

$333.5 Million for Ads

According to Hispanic Business magazine, U.S. corporations spent $333.5 million on Spanish-language advertising in 1985--a 17% increase over the previous year--and experts predict that the rise will continue. And, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, it appears to be a worthy investment: An estimated 24 million Latinos spend more than $70 billion a year on goods and services.

John Maloney, vice president of press information at Citicorp, said Latinos “shouldn’t be deprived of our services just because they don’t speak English. We’re there to make a profit, not to tell someone to go away.”

Auster, however, said in an interview that Spanish-language advertising is “destroying the fabric of America” because it “legitimizes the idea that Hispanics do not need to learn English or to assimilate into American society.”

Such talk disturbs officials in Latino rights groups and the ACLU. As legislators and voters consider a variety of measures--including Proposition 63 on the November ballot in California--designed to make English the official language, some believe that opposition to the advertising will lay the groundwork for wider “English-only” measures.

A ‘Spillover Effect’

Wade Henderson, associate director of the ACLU, said opponents to Spanish-language ads “aim to create a climate that chills the willingness” of companies to produce the ads. Thus, Henderson believes, a “spillover effect” will emerge, “contributing to an overall anti-immigration climate.”

While many of the opponents to the ads may belong to national organizations that campaign for English-only legislation, the organizations say they are not coordinating the battle against the ads.

Gerda Bikales, executive director of U.S. English, a Washington-based group that promotes the primacy of English nationwide, said that “I get complaints all the time” about the advertising. She said she believes that the ads “make it much more difficult to learn English.”

Nevertheless, her group recognizes that attacking the ads would create a “very real constitutional problem,” Bikales said. The organization, co-founded by former Republican California Sen. S. I. Hayakawa, claims 203,000 members nationwide--93,000 in California alone.

‘A Dynamic . . . Market’

An April newsletter from Bikales’ group noted the continuing rise in Spanish-language ads, referring to “a dynamic and aggressive speciality market.”

For now, however, advertisers seem sold on Spanish-language advertising. Spokesmen at Campbell Soup Co., McDonald’s hamburger chain and Philip Morris Cos. Inc.--the nation’s biggest Spanish-language advertiser, reportedly spending $7 million last year--all said they were not intimidated by opposition to their ads.

For its part, Pacific Bell is expanding dramatically its Spanish-language Yellow Pages, a resounding commercial success, said Fernando Rios, a sales manager in East Los Angeles. He said the telephone books were first distributed in Los Angeles in February, 1985. Since then, Rios said, they have gone to Orange County and San Diego.

Although Pacific Bell appears to be unfazed by its 5,000 letters of protest, there are signs that other companies are beginning to feel the pressure from complaints about their advertising.

Cracker Box Labels

An example: A Texas woman wrote a letter to Keebler Co., complaining about cracker box labels printed in Spanish. “Texans speak English,” she wrote. “The taxpayers have spent billions of dollars on bilingual education in order that everyone will learn English.”

In a reply, Keebler thanked the woman for “taking the time to tell us of this situation” and enclosed coupons good for other Keebler products “with our appreciation for bringing this to our attention.”

Replying to a similar letter from a customer in Monrovia, Calif., General Biscuit Brands said its cookie labels are printed in foreign languages because the products are sold in different countries.