National Language
National Language
[Caption on top:] This happened to my friend:
[Three men and two women are standing in a row.] Cueball: English should be the national language. These immigrants should have to learn English when they come here. Megan: Yeah.
Cueball: When you go to live somewhere, you learn the language they speak there. Cueball: English is the language of the land.
Ponytail: Excuse me, but osio Sarah dawado.
Cueball: What the hell was that? Ponytail: Cherokee.

This comic is about the concept of nativism , which is the view that those who are native to a place should have more rights than immigrants. A frequently expressed view in the U.S. (and in other countries) is that immigrants should learn English, which is the primary language in the United States.
In the comic, one character is arrogantly arguing the nativist position. However, the woman next to him interrupts him and says a phrase in the Cherokee language - "Hello, my name is Sarah" - which is an Iroquoian language used by the Cherokee Native American people. Although Cherokee seems to be a relatively young culture , it is much more native to America than any European culture, such as English.
The woman is therefore effectively suggesting a "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" argument, that if the Europeans did not have to learn the native language, why should current immigrants learn English? She points out that even the English speakers are immigrants who did not learn the native language. Alternatively, she is saying that the term "national language" has no clear meaning, especially in the United States, where there is no official language; therefore, the "language they speak there" can be any of the languages spoken in the country: English, Spanish, German, Cantonese, or Cherokee, to name a few.
The title text reveals that Ponytail is in fact Randall's friend; in the comic it is unclear who his friend is.
[Caption on top:] This happened to my friend:
[Three men and two women are standing in a row.] Cueball: English should be the national language. These immigrants should have to learn English when they come here. Megan: Yeah.
Cueball: When you go to live somewhere, you learn the language they speak there. Cueball: English is the language of the land.
Ponytail: Excuse me, but osio Sarah dawado.
Cueball: What the hell was that? Ponytail: Cherokee.
