The English language has been the language since the beginning of this great Country. In my state we have a growing population that speak Spanish and are unable to understand or speak English. It would be to their benefit and they would prosper if they learned English. So, thumbs up.
YES - English should be declared our national language
I didn't think it mattered before, but when I moved to southern California and when attempting to enroll my kids in a local PUBLIC elementary school, I was told the curriculum was only taught in spanish and I was dicouraged from enrolling my sons because they would not do well and I would be "setting them up for failure". Well Yeaaa! But it wasn't me who was setting them up for failure. I want my tax paying dollars used for education (as poor as it is) at least to be taught in our own psuedo native language.
I believe making it "official" gives us a better foundation to ensure this stops.
I once saw a picture of John Wayne standing in front of a US flag with the caption "Now explain to me again why in the hell I have to press "1" for english?"
I think this good illustration of how we have let those out of the mainstream use our compassion for acceptance of others to go waaaaay too far.
You say that the public elementary school only teaches in Spanish. I would like to know the name of that school district to verify this. It may be so, but I find it difficult to believe.
English is already the de facto national language. What exactly would change if English were to be made the official language of the United States? How would the United States be different after passage of such a bill?
Would this mean that no government publications would be available in translation? Would government agencies cease proactive hiring of bilingual personnel? Would translators no longer be provided in our courtrooms to explain procedures or charges? Would employers be able to prohibit their employees from speaking Spanish or Chinese to one another in the workplace?
Obviously, it is to the benefit of immigrants to learn English and I would encourage everyone to do so. However, it is also a fact that many non-English speaking immigrants will be in this country at any given time. I believe that, whenever possible, the courts and other government agencies should provide these people with essential information in their native language. It would not only be a disservice to them if we quite making this material available, it would also be detrimental to society at large to increase the numbers of ill-informed and disenfranchised among us.
Submitted by Quicksilver on August 13, 2024 - 8:54am.
While I agree with your examples, I am vehemently opposed to driver's tests in Spanish, for example. It's common sense. If you don't undertsand "one way, do not enter" for example, you are a danger to yourself and other drivers.
US Marine vet Vietnam 4/68 - 8/69 5th District, NJ
Submitted by germanicus on August 13, 2024 - 9:11am.
cultural diversity (race, income, politics, religion, language) is/are divisive enough.....aka ~ our "social capital" ~ our place(s) in the sun.
English is one element in the USA that ties USA citizens together as:
families, communities and as a nation.
an Official common language helps those, who choose to be USA citizens, understand not only the past/present/future but (also) the tool by which to influence the future.
Spang^lish or amerindian (all 62 verions of it) will be the result / critical mass of illegal immigration.
Okay, I really do only have two! Every document granting or protecting citizen rights in this great nation is written in English. It IS our official language, as far as I am concerned, always has been and always should remain so.
Should we no longer supply translators for legal cases, or provide ESL classes? Of course we should. Yet I must ask, "Why do I have to bear all the cost, me Mr. Taxpayer? Why should those who must make use of this, because they haven't learned the language of this nation, not bear the lion's share of the cost?" I can think of no more powerful motivator to any non-English speaking immigrant than money, to encourage them to learn it. When not assimilating, to a reasonable degree, costs SOMEONE a lot of money, why should it cost ME and not THEM?
Yes, it is our Official language; Yes, it is our National language and; Yes, those that do not speak it should have to pay a greater share of the costs of providing them with a crutch than the rest of us do.
Phil Rowlands, Stoughton WI
1st Recon Bn., 1st Mar. Div. `82-`86
Why do people fight this? Because by not having this designation they can make taxpayers foot the bill.
When non english speaking people are hospitalized, the hospital is required to find and provide a translator. Those people who do not have insurance pay for it. The insurance industry, medicare and medicaid have contracts that get them reduced fees for care. All increased costs are displaced on those paying cash. That would be the people who do not have health insurance.
English as a second language costs are a major driver for escalating school property taxes. In one rural Pennsylvania district, there are 12 languages spoken by roughly 50 students. Extra cost? $4000 each on top of the $9000 already spent for each child in the district.
In testimony before the PA House, one Adams County district reported they are spending nearly a million dollars/year on ESL.
In the criminal justice system, the taxpayer again assumes the costs of providing translators along with the legal costs if the individual cannot pay.
Where businesses are required by government entities to provide signage in multiple languages the costs are passed on to the other customers.
Electoral bodies are forced to assume the costs of providing ballots and notices in multiple languages. This would not be necessary is these newest citizens made the commitment to learn English.
When I travel to other nations, I am not so arrogant as to expect them to speak one of my languages.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" Benjamin Franklin
Submitted by germanicus on July 12, 2024 - 4:02pm.
about ~ a vote tonight (7/12/2007) in the house of representatives.......
~ Waters (congress woman from Calif.) amendment to HR 1851
~ Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2024 in house ~ is this an entitlement ?
--------------------------
2) This amendment would further entrench President Clinton's
"Multilingual Mandate," E.O. 13166, by establishing a new bureaucracy in
the U.S. Code to force multilingualism on the American people.
3) the Waters amendment would set up a
"1-800" number that would be staffed 24-hours a day with paid interpreters
to provide interpretation services in potentially dozens of foreign
langauges on demand.
4) Please urge the Congressman to preserve English as the unifying
language of our nation and vote "NO" today on the Waters amendment to H.R.
1851 ("Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2024").
Submitted by hobo4unity on July 16, 2024 - 9:25pm.
Our Declaration of Independence is written in English. I already consider the English language to be both the National and the Official language of our country. The only ones who would question that issue would be peoples of non English speaking foreign nations. As one group of non English speaking foreigners tend to dominate the illegal entry into this country, it seems to me that they also tend to dominate the dissatisfaction with the success of our country, and the way the Americans Citizens chose run it. I would suggest we start to view those illegals who seek to change our wonderful country from two hundred years of English speaking tradition, as Enemies of the United States of America, and treat them as such. I do not believe the cost of language conversion, for any purpose, should be shouldered by the American tax payers of this country. I believe all and any signs or displays of any kind should be in the English language only, everywhere in the United States of America, so that any American citizen of any state can read what anyone has put on display. I guess this means I give the English Language, both National, and Official, a big "THUMBS UP". Joseph E Russell, Lancaster, Ca.
I totally agree with that statment. When our ancestors came to America, they had to learn English themselves in order to survive. Why do the people seeping across our border get to have their own language codominate billboards and other signs when everyone else was forced to learn English the hard way?
YOu said, "The only ones who would question that issue would be peoples of non English speaking foreign nations" well...
I question it greatly as an English speaking person, because I know that this is a BS political issue that is designed to play on the xenophobia of Americans. This is just the type of garbage issue that Unity '08 is trying to overcome. My tax dollars go to many things I do not approve of, but I can't just pick and choose where my dollars go. I think we would save more money fighting the lobbyist and defense industry than the hapless immigrants who do not speak English. What about legal immigrants who do not speak English? What about freedom of expression? What about the pursuit of happiness? These are all written in English in the constitution but seem to imply that one can speak any language they so choose.
I grew up in El Paso, Tx. My parents never spoke Spanish to me and made it a point to speak English around me at all times. My relatives spoke Spanish unless the kids were around. The idea I learned later was to become Americanized and not to have a "Mexican" accent which was seen at that time as a bad thing then and now. They limited my contacts with the Old Country with the exception of ocassional trips across the border to Juarez where THEY spoke English, kind of. I learned Spanish on my own in college. I see the trend toward language multiculuralism as detrimental to the American culture. This is the US and English is the language of this country, period.
YES to English as both National and official language.
English is the de facto official language in this country. It has been, and always will be. But to make it an official language, so that no others could be used for legal matters, would be against the principals of this nation. For 200 plus years, we have been tolerant of other language groups. Dutch was one of the main languages in New York for a long time, but we didn't make any laws against that language. Spanish has been a major language in this country since the 1850's, when we took Spanish-speaking lands from Mexico, with Spanish-speaking individuals still living upon them. For some reason this movement to make English the official language reminds me of the Nativist movement of the 1850's and 60's.
And I fear that those who are really affected by a bill proposing English as the official language would be Spanish-speaking child citizens of this country. Like it or not, children born to illegal immigrants in this country are citizens, as much as your or I. ESL programs in many states where these children are in abundance already underfund the programs. These children cannot learn English at home, and they cannot learn English properly and fully in school because funding is not there. In Arizona, the state legislature has come under fines by the Federal courts because they have failed to provide adequate funding for ESL programs.
Do I think all people in this country should speak English? Yes. Do I think they should be required to to get services? No.
Most of the comments about making English the official language of the country are xenophobic in nature. What you don't seem to realize is that not supplying translators in hospitals, not having signs in different languages and the like ignores the fact that this would cause death, injury and confusion unnecessarily. We, being a country of compassionate people, would still need to provide translators in hopitals because we want to care for people, not press a political agenda. People cannot learn the language immediately just because they have come to the country. It is extremely difficult for an adult to learn a new language (try it yourself) especially one as confusing as English. Face the facts; making it the official language of the country would not solve any of the problems. It would just make it easier to discriminate against certain groups of people. An Englishman could come to the U.S. and have a discussion with a citizen about trucks and cookies and you might not understand him due to colloquialisms. The cost of ESL is nothing compared to the cost of killing Iraqis as we are doing currently. We spend great amounts of money on military equipment like the Osprey that performs poorly; I think we can spend some on ESL in order to educate young people who can become productive citizens. I do not buy into the comment that some California school district does not teach in English as proposed earlier. You'll need to provide some source for that information.
Submitted by shleym2007 on July 30, 2024 - 2:44pm.
One language, or US will be balkanized (with ethnic wars attached to the package) in one generation. Lack of English skills should be viewed by all people not as a crime, but as weakness which person must be eager to correct. US Government should not make it easy to live in US with only Spanish, Chinese or Russian language skills. US Government can provide network of English-as-Second-Language grants and classes to speed up absorbtion.
Yes and...
If you know anything about the history of English you know that it will change into something new. If alot of Spanish speekers come to America we will all start speeking Spanglish, just because English will steal all the Spanish we think sounds nice or otherwise like. You can't make English official since in 90 or 150 years its not the same. Just try holding a conversation with a Civil War reenactor.
Submitted by shleym2007 on August 2, 2024 - 10:31am.
Lots of countries have an official language. Mexico has one, even though, their Spanish is very different from the Spanish language of Christopher Columbus.
Language will always drift, but it will drift similarly for the whole country and there will be no regions, where you will fill yourself a foreigner (will be able to order food, to ask for help, to buy a ticket, etc.).
Alternative - Mexican states which will eventually try to secede from US to Mexico in more or less bloody way.
Submitted by germanicus on August 2, 2024 - 11:00am.
about ~ Is it really such a huge problem?
i'm thinking..........
when i visit my parents...I/we use sign-language...they can neither hear or speak.
in my youth i've studied, read & written: greek, latin, spanish & german.
learning to speak & understand a language requires "immersion" (aka- you gotta live it)...for someone of my limited capacity...(ugh).
i have a hard enough time understanding english (not to mention, "do you speak american ?".....another ugh).
i guess if we want to plan for our futures (& our childrens) what language would you tell them (your children) to study.....?
do we plan for the future or just let it drift / evolve into something called "american" or spanglish or chinglish or ?
Submitted by shleym2007 on August 2, 2024 - 11:47am.
My case is similar, to some degree, because I had started to study very limited British English in middle school with the full understanding that I will never ever use it. So I could read only simple technical texts. I picked up English only after immigration to US at age 30.
In addition, sign language here is based on English words and whole continent of English language literature is still open to these unfortunate people.
Not everybody knows 5 languages here and having enclaves inside a country, where peoples can not understand each other, creates condition for tensions and eventually to ethnic wars (Yugoslavia) or at least to breakage into separate countries (Soviet Union).
1% of educated people will not be able to stop it.
That is why it must be one language, every boy and girl will study at school, every government employee will understand and almost every employee will be able to communicate.
Now, which one language? Should it be English, Spanish, Arabian, Russian, Chinese?
The answer is easy – which couture laid the political, judicial and cultural foundation of this attractive to immigrant country we live in.
Choosing any other language than English will sharply break the continuum of tradition which made this country and will replace it with ideas in foundation of other counties their citizens are dying to leave now.
That is why I am for English as the official national language.
Submitted by germanicus on August 12, 2024 - 12:21pm.
i used to think assimilation happened by the 2nd or (at the very least) by the 3rd generation...
but with organizations like La Raza Unida ("the Unified Race"), and the sheer critical mass (both legal & illegal) of the latino, hispanic, mexican & amerindian movement(s)....does cause me to ponder.....their insistence on isolating themselves, as well as their children.
i'm thinking: the first & second rules of social capital being skin color & language, will forever be with us ~ where it always starts & where it always ends (ugh).
undoubtably, the colloquial languages of the new locals will be the amerindian languages (all 62 of them), etc.......
in my youth; i spent 5 years studying, reading & writing ~ greek, german, latin & european-spanish.
Both of my parents were born deaf ~ at home & in unique circles, sign-language is/was the "spoken" language.
I've concluded; no matter how multi-lingual one is, English will continue to be the ultimate / universal "unifying" standard of communication here in the states & reinforced by the global community.
illustrated by ~ english being the 2nd language taught in most other developed/developing countries.
:-)
Submitted by CHRIS H. on September 3, 2024 - 7:37pm.
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........My dad immigrated here from Switzerland when he was in his early 20's and he didn't know any English but overtime he learned the language and now runs a multi-million dollar factory in S. Carolina. These immigrants need to stop being so damn lazy AND LEARN OUR LANGUAGE NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
Submitted by Zappafan on October 1, 2024 - 4:24pm.
I am willing to give them the time needed to learn a new language
But If you want to live in America, speak our language. If I move to a different country that spoke another language I would work my hardest to learn it. Why, make things easier for me.
----JOIN MY UNITY 08 TRAILBLAZER GROUP AT unity08trailblazers.com/teams/zappafication----
The English language has been the language since the beginning of this great Country. In my state we have a growing population that speak Spanish and are unable to understand or speak English. It would be to their benefit and they would prosper if they learned English. So, thumbs up.
English as our National Language? = YES
English as our Official Language? = NO
Joe - 5th Congressional District, Pennsylvania
YES - English should be declared our national language
I didn't think it mattered before, but when I moved to southern California and when attempting to enroll my kids in a local PUBLIC elementary school, I was told the curriculum was only taught in spanish and I was dicouraged from enrolling my sons because they would not do well and I would be "setting them up for failure". Well Yeaaa! But it wasn't me who was setting them up for failure. I want my tax paying dollars used for education (as poor as it is) at least to be taught in our own psuedo native language.
I believe making it "official" gives us a better foundation to ensure this stops.
I once saw a picture of John Wayne standing in front of a US flag with the caption "Now explain to me again why in the hell I have to press "1" for english?"
I think this good illustration of how we have let those out of the mainstream use our compassion for acceptance of others to go waaaaay too far.
You say that the public elementary school only teaches in Spanish. I would like to know the name of that school district to verify this. It may be so, but I find it difficult to believe.
Think also of the comfort and rights of others
My parents were immigrants and went nights to learn English and became citizens. That's how it works.
US Marine vet Vietnam 4/68 - 8/69 5th District, NJ
Richard S. Poleet Jr
Thumbs up! Yes!
Absolutely. YES
Betty McLeod
PA 06
Betty327@ptd.net
I said earlier that it should be and I never said invade mexico. I orginally said it should be the official language. Not invade mexico
On both National and official!!
English is already the de facto national language. What exactly would change if English were to be made the official language of the United States? How would the United States be different after passage of such a bill?
Would this mean that no government publications would be available in translation? Would government agencies cease proactive hiring of bilingual personnel? Would translators no longer be provided in our courtrooms to explain procedures or charges? Would employers be able to prohibit their employees from speaking Spanish or Chinese to one another in the workplace?
Obviously, it is to the benefit of immigrants to learn English and I would encourage everyone to do so. However, it is also a fact that many non-English speaking immigrants will be in this country at any given time. I believe that, whenever possible, the courts and other government agencies should provide these people with essential information in their native language. It would not only be a disservice to them if we quite making this material available, it would also be detrimental to society at large to increase the numbers of ill-informed and disenfranchised among us.
While I agree with your examples, I am vehemently opposed to driver's tests in Spanish, for example. It's common sense. If you don't undertsand "one way, do not enter" for example, you are a danger to yourself and other drivers.
US Marine vet Vietnam 4/68 - 8/69 5th District, NJ
National Language yes
official no
cultural diversity (race, income, politics, religion, language) is/are divisive enough.....aka ~ our "social capital" ~ our place(s) in the sun.
English is one element in the USA that ties USA citizens together as:
families, communities and as a nation.
an Official common language helps those, who choose to be USA citizens, understand not only the past/present/future but (also) the tool by which to influence the future.
Spang^lish or amerindian (all 62 verions of it) will be the result / critical mass of illegal immigration.
Keeping it simple: YES!
"The harder the conflict the more glorious the triumph," Thomas Paine
National Language - Yes
Official Language - Yes
Okay, I really do only have two! Every document granting or protecting citizen rights in this great nation is written in English. It IS our official language, as far as I am concerned, always has been and always should remain so.
Should we no longer supply translators for legal cases, or provide ESL classes? Of course we should. Yet I must ask, "Why do I have to bear all the cost, me Mr. Taxpayer? Why should those who must make use of this, because they haven't learned the language of this nation, not bear the lion's share of the cost?" I can think of no more powerful motivator to any non-English speaking immigrant than money, to encourage them to learn it. When not assimilating, to a reasonable degree, costs SOMEONE a lot of money, why should it cost ME and not THEM?
Yes, it is our Official language; Yes, it is our National language and; Yes, those that do not speak it should have to pay a greater share of the costs of providing them with a crutch than the rest of us do.
Phil Rowlands, Stoughton WI
1st Recon Bn., 1st Mar. Div. `82-`86
Yes English should be our official language.
Why do people fight this? Because by not having this designation they can make taxpayers foot the bill.
When non english speaking people are hospitalized, the hospital is required to find and provide a translator. Those people who do not have insurance pay for it. The insurance industry, medicare and medicaid have contracts that get them reduced fees for care. All increased costs are displaced on those paying cash. That would be the people who do not have health insurance.
English as a second language costs are a major driver for escalating school property taxes. In one rural Pennsylvania district, there are 12 languages spoken by roughly 50 students. Extra cost? $4000 each on top of the $9000 already spent for each child in the district.
In testimony before the PA House, one Adams County district reported they are spending nearly a million dollars/year on ESL.
In the criminal justice system, the taxpayer again assumes the costs of providing translators along with the legal costs if the individual cannot pay.
Where businesses are required by government entities to provide signage in multiple languages the costs are passed on to the other customers.
Electoral bodies are forced to assume the costs of providing ballots and notices in multiple languages. This would not be necessary is these newest citizens made the commitment to learn English.
When I travel to other nations, I am not so arrogant as to expect them to speak one of my languages.
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch.
Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!" Benjamin Franklin
about ~ a vote tonight (7/12/2007) in the house of representatives.......
~ Waters (congress woman from Calif.) amendment to HR 1851
~ Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2024 in house ~ is this an entitlement ?
--------------------------
2) This amendment would further entrench President Clinton's
"Multilingual Mandate," E.O. 13166, by establishing a new bureaucracy in
the U.S. Code to force multilingualism on the American people.
3) the Waters amendment would set up a
"1-800" number that would be staffed 24-hours a day with paid interpreters
to provide interpretation services in potentially dozens of foreign
langauges on demand.
4) Please urge the Congressman to preserve English as the unifying
language of our nation and vote "NO" today on the Waters amendment to H.R.
1851 ("Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of 2024").
Our Declaration of Independence is written in English. I already consider the English language to be both the National and the Official language of our country. The only ones who would question that issue would be peoples of non English speaking foreign nations. As one group of non English speaking foreigners tend to dominate the illegal entry into this country, it seems to me that they also tend to dominate the dissatisfaction with the success of our country, and the way the Americans Citizens chose run it. I would suggest we start to view those illegals who seek to change our wonderful country from two hundred years of English speaking tradition, as Enemies of the United States of America, and treat them as such. I do not believe the cost of language conversion, for any purpose, should be shouldered by the American tax payers of this country. I believe all and any signs or displays of any kind should be in the English language only, everywhere in the United States of America, so that any American citizen of any state can read what anyone has put on display. I guess this means I give the English Language, both National, and Official, a big "THUMBS UP". Joseph E Russell, Lancaster, Ca.
I totally agree with that statment. When our ancestors came to America, they had to learn English themselves in order to survive. Why do the people seeping across our border get to have their own language codominate billboards and other signs when everyone else was forced to learn English the hard way?
YOu said, "The only ones who would question that issue would be peoples of non English speaking foreign nations" well...
I question it greatly as an English speaking person, because I know that this is a BS political issue that is designed to play on the xenophobia of Americans. This is just the type of garbage issue that Unity '08 is trying to overcome. My tax dollars go to many things I do not approve of, but I can't just pick and choose where my dollars go. I think we would save more money fighting the lobbyist and defense industry than the hapless immigrants who do not speak English. What about legal immigrants who do not speak English? What about freedom of expression? What about the pursuit of happiness? These are all written in English in the constitution but seem to imply that one can speak any language they so choose.
Think also of the comfort and rights of others
YES!
English is this countries language, everyone must learn it..
Jim Stewart
Medford, OR
I grew up in El Paso, Tx. My parents never spoke Spanish to me and made it a point to speak English around me at all times. My relatives spoke Spanish unless the kids were around. The idea I learned later was to become Americanized and not to have a "Mexican" accent which was seen at that time as a bad thing then and now. They limited my contacts with the Old Country with the exception of ocassional trips across the border to Juarez where THEY spoke English, kind of. I learned Spanish on my own in college. I see the trend toward language multiculuralism as detrimental to the American culture. This is the US and English is the language of this country, period.
YES to English as both National and official language.
Gilbert Garcia
Virginia Beach, VA
English is the de facto official language in this country. It has been, and always will be. But to make it an official language, so that no others could be used for legal matters, would be against the principals of this nation. For 200 plus years, we have been tolerant of other language groups. Dutch was one of the main languages in New York for a long time, but we didn't make any laws against that language. Spanish has been a major language in this country since the 1850's, when we took Spanish-speaking lands from Mexico, with Spanish-speaking individuals still living upon them. For some reason this movement to make English the official language reminds me of the Nativist movement of the 1850's and 60's.
And I fear that those who are really affected by a bill proposing English as the official language would be Spanish-speaking child citizens of this country. Like it or not, children born to illegal immigrants in this country are citizens, as much as your or I. ESL programs in many states where these children are in abundance already underfund the programs. These children cannot learn English at home, and they cannot learn English properly and fully in school because funding is not there. In Arizona, the state legislature has come under fines by the Federal courts because they have failed to provide adequate funding for ESL programs.
Do I think all people in this country should speak English? Yes. Do I think they should be required to to get services? No.
Most of the comments about making English the official language of the country are xenophobic in nature. What you don't seem to realize is that not supplying translators in hospitals, not having signs in different languages and the like ignores the fact that this would cause death, injury and confusion unnecessarily. We, being a country of compassionate people, would still need to provide translators in hopitals because we want to care for people, not press a political agenda. People cannot learn the language immediately just because they have come to the country. It is extremely difficult for an adult to learn a new language (try it yourself) especially one as confusing as English. Face the facts; making it the official language of the country would not solve any of the problems. It would just make it easier to discriminate against certain groups of people. An Englishman could come to the U.S. and have a discussion with a citizen about trucks and cookies and you might not understand him due to colloquialisms. The cost of ESL is nothing compared to the cost of killing Iraqis as we are doing currently. We spend great amounts of money on military equipment like the Osprey that performs poorly; I think we can spend some on ESL in order to educate young people who can become productive citizens. I do not buy into the comment that some California school district does not teach in English as proposed earlier. You'll need to provide some source for that information.
Think also of the comfort and rights of others
Thumbs up on Both
------http://www.myspace.com/sketical_believer OR zappafication@hotmail.com------
------PROPS 4 BUDDHA------
One language, or US will be balkanized (with ethnic wars attached to the package) in one generation. Lack of English skills should be viewed by all people not as a crime, but as weakness which person must be eager to correct. US Government should not make it easy to live in US with only Spanish, Chinese or Russian language skills. US Government can provide network of English-as-Second-Language grants and classes to speed up absorbtion.
Yes and...
If you know anything about the history of English you know that it will change into something new. If alot of Spanish speekers come to America we will all start speeking Spanglish, just because English will steal all the Spanish we think sounds nice or otherwise like. You can't make English official since in 90 or 150 years its not the same. Just try holding a conversation with a Civil War reenactor.
I think that only applies to American English really, but it is completely true.
A good portion of our language is stolen from others.
------MYSPACE URL myspace.com/sketical_believer OR E-MAIL zappafication@hotmail.com------
------PROPS 4 BUDDHA------
Lots of countries have an official language. Mexico has one, even though, their Spanish is very different from the Spanish language of Christopher Columbus.
Language will always drift, but it will drift similarly for the whole country and there will be no regions, where you will fill yourself a foreigner (will be able to order food, to ask for help, to buy a ticket, etc.).
Alternative - Mexican states which will eventually try to secede from US to Mexico in more or less bloody way.
Think of Yugoslavia.
about ~ Is it really such a huge problem?
i'm thinking..........
when i visit my parents...I/we use sign-language...they can neither hear or speak.
in my youth i've studied, read & written: greek, latin, spanish & german.
learning to speak & understand a language requires "immersion" (aka- you gotta live it)...for someone of my limited capacity...(ugh).
i have a hard enough time understanding english (not to mention, "do you speak american ?".....another ugh).
i guess if we want to plan for our futures (& our childrens) what language would you tell them (your children) to study.....?
do we plan for the future or just let it drift / evolve into something called "american" or spanglish or chinglish or ?
My case is similar, to some degree, because I had started to study very limited British English in middle school with the full understanding that I will never ever use it. So I could read only simple technical texts. I picked up English only after immigration to US at age 30.
In addition, sign language here is based on English words and whole continent of English language literature is still open to these unfortunate people.
Not everybody knows 5 languages here and having enclaves inside a country, where peoples can not understand each other, creates condition for tensions and eventually to ethnic wars (Yugoslavia) or at least to breakage into separate countries (Soviet Union).
1% of educated people will not be able to stop it.
That is why it must be one language, every boy and girl will study at school, every government employee will understand and almost every employee will be able to communicate.
Now, which one language? Should it be English, Spanish, Arabian, Russian, Chinese?
The answer is easy – which couture laid the political, judicial and cultural foundation of this attractive to immigrant country we live in.
Choosing any other language than English will sharply break the continuum of tradition which made this country and will replace it with ideas in foundation of other counties their citizens are dying to leave now.
That is why I am for English as the official national language.
i used to think assimilation happened by the 2nd or (at the very least) by the 3rd generation...
but with organizations like La Raza Unida ("the Unified Race"), and the sheer critical mass (both legal & illegal) of the latino, hispanic, mexican & amerindian movement(s)....does cause me to ponder.....their insistence on isolating themselves, as well as their children.
i'm thinking: the first & second rules of social capital being skin color & language, will forever be with us ~ where it always starts & where it always ends (ugh).
undoubtably, the colloquial languages of the new locals will be the amerindian languages (all 62 of them), etc.......
in my youth; i spent 5 years studying, reading & writing ~ greek, german, latin & european-spanish.
Both of my parents were born deaf ~ at home & in unique circles, sign-language is/was the "spoken" language.
I've concluded; no matter how multi-lingual one is,
English will continue to be the ultimate / universal "unifying" standard of communication here in the states & reinforced by the global community.
illustrated by ~ english being the 2nd language taught in most other developed/developing countries.
:-)
YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.........My dad immigrated here from Switzerland when he was in his early 20's and he didn't know any English but overtime he learned the language and now runs a multi-million dollar factory in S. Carolina. These immigrants need to stop being so damn lazy AND LEARN OUR LANGUAGE NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND.
I am willing to give them the time needed to learn a new language
But If you want to live in America, speak our language. If I move to a different country that spoke another language I would work my hardest to learn it. Why, make things easier for me.
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