America + English = National Language

[Nightwolf]

W00T, been really busy this week and just saw this.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/18/AR2006051800242.html

[Nomad]

It's a bunch of symbolic malarkey. They've better things to do than dick around with what the 'national language' is. There shouldn't be one in my opinion.

[TheSmJ]

No, America needs one defined. If we didn't we'd be stuck in the same situation as Canada: Every public entity is forced by law to put everything in both english and french (or in our case, spanish) without any choice in the matter.

[Leonardo]

I think it is very important to have an "official unifying language", if not an "official language." Diversity is fine, but not all aspects of it. Before anyone accuses me of 'intolerance' or some such, let me state that in my household there are three languages known. Also, my wife is an immigrant.

There needs to be pressure for immigrants to learn English - for THEIR own good. Avoidance of learning the main language of any country in which you live, or clinging tenaciously to a community where your native language is spoken, is a crutch. Let me tell you, you can't run fast with crutches, in school or in the economy. The more crutches you make available, the more you hold people back by making it easy for them to not progress.

In the Army, I had two tours in Germany. The first tour, I lived and worked primarily with Americans. My little English speaking community was my crutch. Sure, I studied some German, and saw lots of forms and papers printed in both languages, but my German never progressed much. My second tour in Germany, I lived in a German village and worked with both Germans and Americans. I HAD to learn German to have a semi-functional life. No crutches. I learned German and living was so much better.

[jradmin]

I think we've given up enough in this country without having to give up our language also. If your gonna move here, then learn english! If you don't want to then take your ass back to your country.

We've been speaking english in this land since the redcoats owned it in the 1600's. Why should that change after 400 years?

[MrBill]

It's about time. I had this debate with my son a year ago and he said then that as long as the U.S. does not have an official language, we (U.S. citizens) can't complain about immigrants coming here and not learning english.

Guess I'll have to re-visit that debate with him now. :D

If I was to go live in a country that didn't speak english you can bet I would learn the language and not expect everyone in that country to adapt to my language.

[CB]

If I was to go live in a country that didn't speak english you can bet I would learn the language and not expect everyone in that country to adapt to my language.

ditto.

There's that Golden Rule again.

[Crazy Joe]

If an American went to a foreign country and refused to learn the language and expected everything to be given to them in English then they would be considered an arrogant American who refuses to adapt. If a Mexican came to the US and wanted everything in Spanish, people would expect America to cater to his needs in the name of diversity...

[GHoosdum]

I don't quite understand this.

First: We stole England's language.
Next: We corrupted it.
Now: We've declared the corrupted form our "official" national language without changing the name.

Colour me confused.

[TheSmJ]

But.... were' AMERICA! Home of the frivelous lawsuits and cooshiy welfare laws. You don't want to be a RACIST, do you???? :hair: :type:

[CB]

Yes, well, I'm assuming that when they say 'English' they mean 'American English' (which is a seperate linguistic group (has it's own Syntax and Lexicon), not just a dialect of British English).

Otherwise, I'll have to totaly change the curiculum for my classes!

[Leonardo]

We've declared the corrupted form our "official" national language without changing the name. LOL. The English language has not stood still in the United Kingdom either. You want to hear some corrupted English? Just listen to Cockney and some of the other near-dialects over there!

[Clutch]

I can't belive this bull**** actually had to go to Senate and get voted on. I mean jesus ****ing christ we have spoke English for how many years in this country? If you come here and don't want to learn the language that is printed in every telephone book, every billboard, every "open" sign on every door then get the **** out of our goddamn country.

[Nightwolf]

I can't belive this bull**** actually had to go to Senate and get voted on. I mean jesus ****ing christ we have spoke English for how many years in this country? If you come here and don't want to learn the language that is printed in every telephone book, every billboard, every "open" sign on every door then get the **** out of our goddamn country.
And how did Native Americans feel? We've only been a country for 230 years.

[TheSmJ]

Native Americans all spoke a different language within each tribe, and of those who still speak these languages, the vast majority of them also speak English.

And you can't argue "but we took this country from them", because nobody alive today was even a sparkle in their father's eye over 200 years ago. The Europeans won and the natives lost. Get over it.

[Black Hawk]

To me this isn't about appeasing or being politically correct. It's a statistic thing. Only 17.89% (from 2000 Census (http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf)) of the population speak English and another language or no English at all with 10.71% of those speaking Spanish. That's not enough to warrant a another language or not make English the default one.

[Thrax]

I'm going to agree with the general tone of the thread. Other nations have national languages, and I don't see why it should be any different for the US for the sake of convenience in future signage, documentation, etc.

[madmat]

But.... were' AMERICA! Home of the frivelous lawsuits and cooshiy welfare laws. You don't want to be a RACIST, do you???? :hair: :type:


Racist? No. Fascist, well, sorta. In the words of S.O.D. "Speak english or die!"

[Leonardo]

OK guys, let's tone it down a little. Let's discuss this issue on it's merits. I realize we've been skating on thin ice around politics. Perhaps this can't be discussed without political commentary. If that's the case, I'll need to close the thread.

[a2jfreak]

<sarcasm>How horrible are you people? You are carrying on this thread in English-only! Now our friends that can only read Spanish cannot participate in a conversation that affects them.</sarcasm>

:usflag: Learn English! :usflag:

[QCH]

To be fair... one language or every language. I cannot begin to think how a police officer would possibly learn EVERY language in order to read someone their rights. Right now, there is some room to debate whether or not a person can be read their rights in any language that is not their native one.

If I only spoke Russian and a police officer yelled for me to "Halt"... whose fault is it that I didn't understand him? There is no law stating that I HAVE to understand English.

This law helps force everyone in the US to try to become more unified in language. Might as well pick a language that most people are fluent in and is used worldwide...

[madmat]

Sorry but I'm tired of people emigrating here, getting low (read that zero) interest government loans to start businesses when natives to this country can't get any assistance and then raising a stink that they can't walk into the DMV and take their tests in their language of birth. It actually sickens me that tax payers are funding multi-lingual government pamphlets, help lines and other things because we're too worried about cowtowing to the people that move here and are too lazy (or stuborn) to learn the language of the country they live in.

Name any other country (that isn't an english speaking one) where we could move to and get that kind of treatment. It's not going to happen.

Sadly I doubt this thing'll make any difference, back 23 years ago CA had an iniative voted in by the populace to make english the official language of CA, some bleeding-heart group took it to court and the Supreme Court over-ruled it.

[DogDragon]

I can't voice what I think cause I know I'll PISS off someone
But what I will say if you are planning to work in the U.S
You should be able to speak the language or NOT WORK.
To me that would be fair.
Just because you are willing to work CHEAPER should not count
But sad to say it does

[airbornflght]

I say speak english or leave, and to quote a guys t-shirt at school that angered some of the<political correct filter>latino chicana's</filter> the shirt read:

Front: Proud To Be American.
Back: Love it or Leave It.

Which is how I feel, I am also against letting the flood of (here it goes again) <filter>latinos</filter> into the country like a flood, just because "the immigration process is to time consuming..etc. bulls***. Just about every nationality did. The germans, irish, dutch, even the asians. Come on now, why should we open up the flood gates in order to look good to everyone, time for use to stop putting on the show and to start protecting our own interest like every other country does. I'm not saying dont let anyone in, but we have an imigration process to go through, and that does not include swimming accross a river and jumping a fence.


And to the English purist out there, I speak American:thumbsup:

[Missileman]

Well I'll just add one thing. I have many hispanic and Filipino friends. One of my Filipino friends waited 17 years to enter this country legally. Her husband still can't join her because his number hasn't come up for an immigration visa. We are all about fairness. Letting these people in or stay just because they committed a crime by entering illegally is a crime and an insult to the people who wait and work their whole life to come here legally.

[airbornflght]

Yeh, thats a good point, not only are the people here that entered illegally breaking the law, (what a good way to be a citizen) they are cheating the people that have gone through the process of becoming a citizen, how selfish.

[DogDragon]

I think airbornflght is right!
If you want to come here DO it right by the law.
Is that asking to much?
At least than you will respect America enough to learn its' Lanuage.

[Nomad]

In my opinion it's simply stupid because declaring English the national language does not commit more people to learning English. Do I agree that people who come to America should learn English? Yes, absolutely, but I don't see how this manages to do that at all really aside from stamping a label on something already widely known--the majority of the United States speaks English.

[profdlp]

I don't think it will necessarily result in more people learning English, but it ought to help eliminate some of the legal questions which arise whenever someone decides that their civil rights are being violated because the door to the bathroom in the public library isn't marked in Hungarian or whatever.

[Missileman]

I don't think it will necessarily result in more people learning English, but it ought to help eliminate some of the legal questions which arise whenever someone decides that their civil rights are being violated because the door to the bathroom in the public library isn't marked in Hungarian or whatever.


Exactly right. Without this then immigrants (legal or otherwise) can try to force all government documents/laws/literature to be printed in many languages. Big cost to the taxpayer. They even tried to force spanish only public schools down here. I'm willing to help them learn english. I am not willing to rewrite everything to make life easier for them and harder for me. They chose to come here. This has a simple cost in most cases. Learn to read/write/speak english. They need to be given an incentive to learn our language. This is only a small step toward that.

[Crazy Joe]

Hey MM, I am moving down to the Orlando area in a few weeks... I might hit you up for some pointers of fun stuff to do...

[Esso]

In Sweden they are using the English or American words constantly,.
They changes them into Swedish words, believing that they are more important then others.
A person to be reckon with.

For instance "Committed" becomes "Comitta", etc.
Some people are starting to use foreign words, when they can't find the Swedish words.
Simply because they lost it ..:wink:

One day I had enough of these stupid people (my brain jumped from 2 % to 100 % of activity),, this was long time before AMD cool'n Quiet, it was Hot'n Loud !

I started making translation in real time from English to Swedish, with an stupid translation of an "a" or similar letters at the end of the words.

They didn't like it at all.
It wasn't cool when they couldn't understand a thing.

Well I strongly purpose that the English language should be the first language in Sweden, and Swedish language should be banned forever.

All immigrants in Sweden and Swedes will then be totally equal, without the discrimination of language when they are applying for work.

And they will be able to talk and write "proper" English, not some god forgiven "Swenglish" mess.

But then of course the people will be able to move to UK/USA and Canada :wave:
when they got feed up with the Swedish, eh the English government in Sweden eh wrong again. . :D

The language has always been changed over time, some words has been forgotten and some words has remained.
But replacing good words with another foreign words is not good.

And also as stated by Leo, without the native language skill you will not be able to read newspaper, get some works and most of all, be part of the society.

If I come to USA I promise that I will always keep the speed limit, and never talk "Swenglish"

Now were is my passport, to heaven ?

[profdlp]

...Now were is my passport to heaven?
Are you a good swimmer? :hiding:

[Esso]

I'm from the north of Sweden, were the lakes are frozen.
I can walk on water :respect:

[Thrax]

Esso, I pledge my firstborn to you. Know this.

[profdlp]

Assuming by "heaven" you meant Ohio, I'd start in the Winter, walk as far as you can before the ice thaws, then swipe a kayak somewhere to get you to the east coast of the US. A few weeks of brisk walking and you ought to get here by Spring. First round's on me. :cheers:

[Missileman]

Hey MM, I am moving down to the Orlando area in a few weeks... I might hit you up for some pointers of fun stuff to do...


Just give me a holler. I don't get out much anymore, but I'll be glad to help you as much as I can. ;)