Spielberg's West Side Story shows us the value of multilingualism
CNN
Director Steven Spielberg deliberately omitted subtitles for scenes in Spanish in his remake of the film "West Side Story'' which is currently in theaters. "If I subtitled the Spanish I'd simply be doubling down on the English and giving English the power over the Spanish. This was not going to happen in this film, I needed to respect the language enough not to subtitle it," he said. This is a bold move, as speaking a language other than English in this country inherits an apology.
Please, forgive my occasional verbal stumbles and awkward English pronunciation. English is not my first language. Sounds familiar? The term "nonnative speaker" is commonly used to describe people like me who grew up with another language and then learned English later on in life. It's time to change this demeaning adjective for one that respectfully refers to our linguistic identity. In the spirit of respect, stop making us apologize for who we are.
A CIA assessment circulated among US officials this week concluded that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely judges he can get away without defining a post-war plan — even as the Biden administration has launched a full-court press to pressure him to bring an end to the conflict in Gaza.