法拉盛是纽约皇后区的唐人街，也是纽约的第二个唐人街。曼哈顿的唐人街大都是以早期的广东话移民为主，而法拉盛是以普通话为主的移民。因为法拉盛离我们家远，所以很少去。每次去，走在马路上，飘入耳朵的大都是上海话。法拉盛的东西比曼哈顿的唐人街东西便宜很多，食物也更正宗。不过，曼哈顿的唐人街离我们更近，所以我们大多数都是去曼哈顿的唐人街。但是说实在，我更喜欢法拉盛的食物，正宗，便宜，更有亲切感。
     多年前以为只要到了国外，到了母语以讲英语为主的国家，英语自然而然地会提高。我想和我有类似想法的人很多，可是来了之后发现很多人在美国一辈子都不用讲英语，因为他们住在他们那个移民区，不止是很多中国人不会英语，就是很多墨西哥人，俄罗斯人，韩国人等等都不会英语。在布鲁克林就有个俄罗斯犹太人移民区，他们那里就像是我们国内的温州，讲的都是他们的语言，英语根本行不通。我一直想去那个地方，可是老公说那里不是很安全，不是一个很好的区，所以一直没去。
      这次周五的华尔街日报也有对法拉盛的报道： Signs of Change in Flushing .报道中提到法拉盛很多商业服务的标语大都是中文，他们的雇员不会英语，餐馆没有英语菜单。即使美国国家法律规定商业服务必须用英语注明名字和路名，可是很多人并没有真正执行。
      不过一位中国人指出问题并不只唐人街有，韩国移民区情况更严重。很多招牌只有韩文，根本没有英文。一位韩国人承认道这个问题，不过她也指出不止是韩国人有这个问题，西班牙语区的人也存在同样的问题，招牌只有西班牙文，没有英文。这位韩国人说道即使招牌上写上英文但对老美还是糊涂，因为老美还是不会明白是什么意思。那条街上住的都是韩国人，所以店家只想招来韩国顾客，只想和韩国人做生意。还有很多店家雇员根本不会英语，他们也怕会英语的客户和他们做生意。这和歧视一点关系都没有，只是很多人怕说英语。

Forget Manhattan's Chinatown: Flushing is where it's at. Save the $1,000-plus you'd need to fly to Beijing or Seoul and hop on the No. 7 train to the last stop in Queens for a glimpse of this neighborhood galloping to catch up with 21st century Asia.

Sleek new restaurants and malls push up against Chinese matchmakers' shops and driving schools. Duck sandwiches go for a buck and gaggles of teenagers crowd bubble-tea joints.

Look up, look down—it's easy to forget where you are, lost in a sea of signs sporting Chinese and Korean characters. But who cares? Just flash the mighty dollar; the language of commerce speaks to all.

Not everyone feels this way. While Flushing is becoming a favored attraction for foodies and even some tourists, some who live there say they have never felt more alienated.

It's not easy going from being the majority to the minority, but that's what has happened in this north central neighborhood of Queens. Longtime residents say they find themselves lost in their own neighborhood. Literally. They complain of stores where employees can't speak English, restaurants with no translated menus and especially businesses with signs that have nary a word of English.

"This is what we need: We need the English," said Mary Ann Boroz. "It's important to get this neighborhood to unite."

But a City Council proposal that would appease those like Ms. Boroz is antagonizing many on the other side. Council members Peter Koo and Dan Halloran have introduced a bill that would authorize the city's Department of Consumer Affairs to enforce a state law that requires that business names and addresses be listed in English. The law has been on the books for some time but it's unclear what, if any, city agency enforces it.

Most Flushing business owners have little problem with this part; they insist that most signs already include English names and addresses.

The second and more controversial proposal—which is expected to be introduced to the City Council by September—would require signs to be at least 60% in English.

Now this could be a problem.

Dian Yu, director of the Downtown Flushing Business Improvement District, said that for most businesses the ratio is the opposite. To flip-flop the ratios, he said, would require almost every business in Flushing—and in many other ethnic neighborhoods—to install new signs.

"Ninety-five percent of the businesses in the BID have English signage," he said.

Take a walk around downtown Flushing and Mr. Yu appears to be mostly correct. From afar, the bold glare of Chinese characters stands out. But on closer inspection most signs include English, albeit in much smaller lettering in some cases. There are exceptions. On 40th Road, a cluster of signs includes no English. Mr. Yu explains that two are signs for driving schools, one is a matchmaking service and another is a spa.

Peter Tu, head of the Flushing Business Association, says the problem is not the Chinese businesses: it's the Korean ones. "A lot of the Korean signs, they have no English," he said. (So much for the idea of Asian unity.)

Stroll through the Korean section of Flushing and there are many signs that have large Korean characters with small English lettering. A few signs have no English at all. (One says: "Agencia de Trabajo," followed by the same in Korean. No English.)

Sunny Hahn, a Korean Flushing resident, admits that the sign issue is a problem not just in Flushing but in Korean enclaves throughout Queens. But she notes that the same problem exists in Spanish-speaking areas of Jackson Heights and in the largely Russian neighborhood of Brighton Beach in Brooklyn.

The issue, it seems, is more symbolic than anything else. "You write the name of a store in English and it doesn't mean anything," said Ms. Hahn. "An American still wouldn't know what it is."

The Union Street clientele is 100% Korean, she explains, "so they try to put the sign in Korean to attract and advertise to Koreans who pass by."

There is another motive as well. Many employees don't speak English and therefore are afraid of English-speaking clients coming into their businesses, she said.

"It has nothing to do with hostility at all—this is a big misunderstanding," she said. "It's fear and language deficiency."

Some think the signage regulation should go even further, to cover font type and size and how much could be written on a sign. Gene Kelty, chairman of Community Board 7, likens the Flushing sign landscape to visual graffiti. He wants regulations along the lines of what you'd find in many Long Island villages. (Gasp!) "When people come over here from other countries they're heavy into advertising and that's fine, we want people to do good business…but we don't want it to be abusive so that it makes the neighborhood look unattractive," he said. "It just gets worse and worse as we get more and more immigrants coming in."

Mr. Kelty and other residents in support of increased regulation have used safety as a rallying point. The fire department battalion chief says prominent English signage is paramount. "As a first responder, I would just want to know what type of store I'm looking for when I go in there," he said.

But as Andrew Silverstein asked in a post on the Feet in Two Worlds website this week, what about all those unmarked residential buildings and too-cool-for-school Manhattan bars and restaurants with no signs?

There are signs of change afoot, taking place as part of the natural evolution of Flushing from a traditional Chinatown to more of an upscale hub of Asian commerce and development.

Charming Aaron Yu, who recently took over the Yee Mei Fong Bakery, says regardless of what happens he's planning to replace the store's sign. He wants to add more English. And Spanish! "Our clients are a lot of Americans and Spanish," he said. "The employees used to be all Chinese-speaking but now most of our employees are bilingual."

Assemblywoman Grace Meng has been struggling to bridge the cultural gap in Flushing for some time. She formed an advisory board on the signage issue but the board itself was often unable to reach agreement on issues.

The assemblywoman is in the process of creating a courtesy and etiquette guide for shopkeepers and consumers.

"It's not just about physical English lettering in the stores," said Ms. Meng. "We're trying to bridge cultures."

But Ms. Boroz, who was on the advisory board, balked at the courtesy pamphlet. "I find that a bit embarrassing," she said. "Who's going to go shopping with a guide where you have to point at it?"

The guide will have key phrases such as "How may I help you?" and "Thank you" and "Please" in numerous languages.

But it appears that for the moment, at least, much will continue to be lost in translation.

— sumathi.reddy@wsj.com