English as official language amendment

[Cecilie1200]

Yes it should and all government documents for use within the USA should only be printed in that language. All government offices should only have external communication (spoken or written) in it too.

Too much money is wasted by catering to people who come to a country and expect to be communicated with in their native tongue. If you want to live here, learn the language.

If I go to France, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Nepal, do I expect them to cater for me...no...nor should they.

I can make exceptions for occasions when the government could reasonably be expected to be dealing with a new immigrant, because it takes time to learn English, or a visitor, but we're talking about VERY LIMITED exceptions. I see utterly no reason why the Presidential ballot, for example, should be printed in any language other than English. If you've been here long enough to legally vote for the President, then you've been here long enough to read the native language, damn it.

 

[Againsheila]

I can make exceptions for occasions when the government could reasonably be expected to be dealing with a new immigrant, because it takes time to learn English, or a visitor, but we're talking about VERY LIMITED exceptions. I see utterly no reason why the Presidential ballot, for example, should be printed in any language other than English. If you've been here long enough to legally vote for the President, then you've been here long enough to read the native language, damn it.

I don't see any exceptions at all. When my friend and I went to Japan, we sure as heck didn't expect them to speak English. We had a Japanese friend that worked for a businessman's hotel chain in Japan and she made our reservations for us. We ended up with them having to call her to help us out of a scrape. We managed and we were grateful when we found someone who spoke English, but we sure as heck didn't expect it. We carried the names and numbers of our Japanese friends around with us, just in case we got into trouble.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I don't see any exceptions at all. When my friend and I went to Japan, we sure as heck didn't expect them to speak English. We had a Japanese friend that worked for a businessman's hotel chain in Japan and she made our reservations for us. We ended up with them having to call her to help us out of a scrape. We managed and we were grateful when we found someone who spoke English, but we sure as heck didn't expect it. We carried the names and numbers of our Japanese friends around with us, just in case we got into trouble.

Well, obviously you would expect INS and Customs to have provisions for dealing with people who don't speak English. I also don't have a problem with things like the police and other emergency services having provisions for working with those who don't speak English, at least where I live, since it's so close to the border. I don't mind the courts arranging for interpreters if someone is arrested and doesn't speak English, because I don't want anyone being denied their right to a fair trial because they couldn't understand what was going on.

But again, precisely because I live so close to the border, it's also not very difficult for all of these agencies to acquire bilingual employees. And I think for pretty much everything else, you should either speak/read/write English, or provide your own damned interpreter.

 

[NOBama]

It depends on what you mean by “official language”. Will private businesses be required to only use English? Will government be required to only use English? The devil is in the details.

Why does "official language" have to mean "only language"?

Surely you would agree that every single person who works for the US government should be able to speak English fluently. No?

Conversely, why would any private business want to limit their business to English speaking only? We'd be dead in the water if we didn't have a fluent Spanish speaking secretary.

Capisca?

 

[Unkotare]

It is the language the Country was founded under and should be the acknowledged official language of the Country.

However I also support that all schools 1-8 should teach Spanish as a mandatory second language. And when and if Hispanics become the majority that Spanish be added as an official language.

I disagree. I have no problems with a mandatory second language, but who says it has to be spanish? Let's face it, you're going to go further in life if you speak Japanese or German or Chinese or even Russian, than if you speak Spanish.

Pretty hard to see any "mandatory" language being imposed in the US.

 

[InMyOpinion]

I voted yes because a common language gives coherence to a common nation.

Are coherence and uniformity the same?
Languages are the result of evolution and mix of cultures. For me a world with an unique language is like an orchestra exclusively formed by violins.

Life needs diversity: men and women, Rock is a mixture of Country, Western, Blues, etc...
America is the result of mixing Europeans with Jews, Africans and native communities (invaders, deported, slaves and oppressed people).

 

[Unkotare]

We already have a common language in America. Codifying an "official" language wouldn't work legally or practically.

 

[manifold]

We already have a common language in America. Codifying an "official" language wouldn't work legally or practically.

Quebec seems to do alright with one.

 

[NLT]

I believe that English should be the offical language of the US. I also believe that it should be mandatory that every US child be required from the first day of school until graduatioon to learn a second language.

 

[Unkotare]

We already have a common language in America. Codifying an "official" language wouldn't work legally or practically.

Quebec seems to do alright with one.

Not so sure about that.

 

[Unkotare]

I believe that English should be the offical language of the US. I also believe that it should be mandatory that every US child be required from the first day of school until graduatioon [sic] to learn a second language.

First day of what school? Kindergarten? Jr high? High school?

 

[NLT]

I believe that English should be the offical language of the US. I also believe that it should be mandatory that every US child be required from the first day of school until graduatioon [sic] to learn a second language.

First day of what school? Kindergarten? Jr high? High school?

Kindergarten

 

[Unkotare]

I believe that English should be the offical [sic] language of the US. I also believe that it should be mandatory that every US child be required from the first day of school until graduatioon [sic] to learn a second language.

First day of what school? Kindergarten? Jr high? High school?

Kindergarten

Ok, why and which one?

 

[NLT]

Learning another language assists in the development of critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and memory. As far as which one, that is up to the parents and the school. My kids learned Castilian Spanish from my wife, a former teacher. I would suggest US kids learn spanish or Mandarin Chinese, they will be the most dominante besides english in the future.

 

[manifold]

Learning another language assists in the development of critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and memory. As far as which one, that is up to the parents and the school. My kids learned Castilian Spanish from my wife, a former teacher. I would suggest US kids learn spanish or Mandarin Chinese, they will be the most dominante besides english in the future.

The same can be said about learning to read music and play an instrument. Should that be mandatory too

 

[editec]

If we declared ENGLISH the official language half the people in the South would have to relearn how to speak English.

 

[Katzndogz]

I voted No.

Language is a living and vibrant form of human communication.

An example is when we have a war. Many foreign language words of the country were fought with become part of our english language.

The English language is dynamic. In that different words are incorporated and disguarded in an almost Darwin like process.

To legislate that English be the official language would slow or stop this process and inhibit one of the greatest features of the English language.

No it wouldn't.

An official language only means that all government employees and all official documents must be in English. It has nothing to do with what language people speak.

 

[Unkotare]

Learning another language assists in the development of critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and memory. As far as which one, that is up to the parents and the school. My kids learned Castilian Spanish from my wife, a former teacher. I would suggest US kids learn spanish [sic] or Mandarin Chinese, they will be the most dominante [sic] besides english [sic] in the future.

Fair enough, but do you think that a second language is essential for American students whose first language has become the de facto lingua franca of international business and diplomacy?

 

[Unkotare]

Learning another language assists in the development of critical thinking, creativity, problem-solving and memory. As far as which one, that is up to the parents and the school. My kids learned Castilian Spanish from my wife, a former teacher. I would suggest US kids learn spanish or Mandarin Chinese, they will be the most dominante besides english in the future.

The same can be said about learning to read music and play an instrument.

Do you think it's really the same?

 

[Unkotare]

If we declared ENGLISH the official language half the people in the South would have to relearn how to speak English.

And you come from MAINE?


*ahem*