Should English Be The National Language of USA?

[DudleySmith]

So all of those criminal illegal aliens mass 'naturalized' via 'Amnesty' by Carter and Reagan all spoke English? Rubbish.

 

[Unkotare]

Yes it should.
...

The US Constitution disagrees with you.

 

[Mushroom]

To a very limited degree, and for a few minutes and never again.

Notice I said "basic". Not "Fluent".

 

[Unkotare]

There are many beautiful languages in the world. I always have a good amount of respect when I hear another language besides English being spoken. The second most common language in this country, Spanish, has many qualities that are intriguing and poetic, although many English speaking people find the language to be superfluous. I've heard some Spanish speaking people go on for minutes describing something that would take one sentence in English

Nowhere in the Constitution is there anything about English being a national language. If you do a search on this topic, the results seem to have been very much skewed in favor of NOT declaring English as the official language in the USA. This is a big change from what I've perceived in the years before internet search engines. I wonder if these results are being skewed by big tech companies (operated mostly by non-American, non-English speakers) and those with deep pockets who sell language teaching services.

The truth is that having multiple languages can cause dis-trust among the citizens. It's human nature: If you hear someone speaking a language you don't understand, you immediately wonder what they are talking about and if maybe they are saying something "behind your back". This is one of the biggest reasons in favor of a single national language. For many, many years, basic English competency was a requirement for acquiring citizenship. My mother came to this country not knowing a word of English (only French), but she explained that she did not regret for a moment the fact that she was required to learn English in school.

Why shouldn't the USA declare English the national language and require basic competency among its citizens? People are free to speak anything they want at home or even in the workplace, that should be a fact. But doesn't it make sense to require a common language to foster better communication?

1st Amendment.

 

[Samofvt]

1st Amendment.

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies on this thread. I'm a big fan of 1st Amendment. Big fan of all the Amendments, for that matter, particularly the Bill of Rights. The men and women behind our constitution and bill of rights put their hearts and souls into crafting something that is enduring. I say "men and women" because, if I know human nature, I'd have to guess there were some influential ladies behind those men who signed off on things.

It is a shame today that so many people think they are so much smarter. Despite advances in technology, I don't believe we are any more advanced than they were in 1787. If anything, I'd say we are much poorer in our classical (historical) education, and as a result, poorer in our intellectual abilities.

First Amendment​

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I agree that nobody should prevent anyone from speaking in any language they choose at home or in public. I do not believe this applies to requirements for conducting business, including governmental communications. If someone wants to live in the USA, I don't believe it is unreasonable that they should make an effort to communicate in a common language.

Should I, a taxpayer, be forced to pay for an interpreter for someone else just because they don't want to put in the effort to learn the basics of English? No, I don't think so. It should be at their expense to get a translator. Not at my expense.

 

[Unkotare]

Thanks for all the thoughtful replies on this thread. I'm a big fan of 1st Amendment. Big fan of all the Amendments, for that matter, particularly the Bill of Rights. The men and women behind our constitution and bill of rights put their hearts and souls into crafting something that is enduring. I say "men and women" because, if I know human nature, I'd have to guess there were some influential ladies behind those men who signed off on things.

It is a shame today that so many people think they are so much smarter. Despite advances in technology, I don't believe we are any more advanced than they were in 1787. If anything, I'd say we are much poorer in our classical (historical) education, and as a result, poorer in our intellectual abilities.



I agree that nobody should prevent anyone from speaking in any language they choose at home or in public. I do not believe this applies to requirements for conducting business, including governmental communications. If someone wants to live in the USA, I don't believe it is unreasonable that they should make an effort to communicate in a common language.

Should I, a taxpayer, be forced to pay for an interpreter for someone else just because they don't want to put in the effort to learn the basics of English? No, I don't think so. It should be at their expense to get a translator. Not at my expense.

You say you’re a fan of the Constitutional amendments, but you don’t seem very concerned with the equal protection clause of the 14th.

 

[Unkotare]

...

Should I, a taxpayer, be forced to pay for an interpreter for someone else just because they don't want to put in the effort to learn the basics of English? ....

"Don't want to put in the effort" is an ignorant assumption.

 

[Samofvt]

"Don't want to put in the effort" is an ignorant assumption.

There are costs to freedom.

 

[Unkotare]

There are costs to freedom.

Think about that.

 

[Samofvt]

Think about that.

Let's think: Freedom requires effort. Should someone who emigrates here expect to pay a small price, such as effort? Or should they come here for free: riding on the backs of my Mother, my Father, my Grandparents' brothers' and sisters' efforts? Or how about *my* efforts (military veteran, among other things)? Should I pay these people out of my own meager pocket so that they can have a personal assistant to translate all documents to their liking?

No, my friend. You think about that. Freedom requires effort to maintain, and if you are so stupid to think it doesn't, you do not deserve it. So be it.

 

[frigidweirdo]

First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, in part: "The freedom of speech shall not be infringed (shortened, curtailed). The only enforcement of speaking English, should be in the form of business/legal documentation, to observe consistency in contracts, et cetera.

Having an official language does NOT force people to speak that language at home, in bars etc.

What it might mean is A) The government is done in English. B) That education is done in English (where appropriate, like Swahili language lessons might be done in Swahili, for example).

Other countries have this. Take Germany. Germany has an issue. They have twice changed their writing system to formalize it, make it more logical and easier. The Swiss on the other hand didn't bother following Germany's lead.

So, "daß" was daß is German German and Swiss German and Austrian German until 1996 when the second German writing change was implemented and it became "dass". People can write "daß" all they like, as long as they don't work for the government of German (and probably Austria), in Switzerland it is still "daß".

Now this is official language stuff, Germany has lots of dialects of German that are still used. Hochdeutsch is the official language, it's kind of modern version that was used in the east of the country when lots of people with different dialects went and moved to the east (now Poland etc).

 

[Unkotare]

Let's think: Freedom requires effort. ...

Enough effort to follow our own laws?

 

[Unkotare]

...Should someone who emigrates here expect to pay a small price, such as effort? ...

And how exactly would you quantify "effort"? I won't bother asking you to so much as define "fluency."

 

[Unkotare]

....A) The government is done in English....

14th Amendment.

 

[Unkotare]

...That education is done in English ...

It is.

 

[Unkotare]

Let's think: Freedom requires effort. Should someone who emigrates here expect to pay a small price, such as effort? Or should they come here for free: riding on the backs of my Mother, my Father, my Grandparents' brothers' and sisters' efforts? Or how about *my* efforts (military veteran, among other things)? Should I pay these people out of my own meager pocket so that they can have a personal assistant to translate all documents to their liking?

No, my friend. You think about that. Freedom requires effort to maintain, and if you are so stupid to think it doesn't, you do not deserve it. So be it.

Know-Nothing party | Definition, Platform, & Significance

Know-Nothing party, byname of American Party, U.S. political party that flourished in the 1850s. It was an outgrowth of the strong anti-immigrant and especially anti-Roman Catholic sentiment that started to manifest itself during the 1840s. A rising tide of immigrants, primarily Germans in the...

www.britannica.com

 

[Hellbilly]

There are many beautiful languages in the world. I always have a good amount of respect when I hear another language besides English being spoken. The second most common language in this country, Spanish, has many qualities that are intriguing and poetic, although many English speaking people find the language to be superfluous. I've heard some Spanish speaking people go on for minutes describing something that would take one sentence in English

Nowhere in the Constitution is there anything about English being a national language. If you do a search on this topic, the results seem to have been very much skewed in favor of NOT declaring English as the official language in the USA. This is a big change from what I've perceived in the years before internet search engines. I wonder if these results are being skewed by big tech companies (operated mostly by non-American, non-English speakers) and those with deep pockets who sell language teaching services.

The truth is that having multiple languages can cause dis-trust among the citizens. It's human nature: If you hear someone speaking a language you don't understand, you immediately wonder what they are talking about and if maybe they are saying something "behind your back". This is one of the biggest reasons in favor of a single national language. For many, many years, basic English competency was a requirement for acquiring citizenship. My mother came to this country not knowing a word of English (only French), but she explained that she did not regret for a moment the fact that she was required to learn English in school.

Why shouldn't the USA declare English the national language and require basic competency among its citizens? People are free to speak anything they want at home or even in the workplace, that should be a fact. But doesn't it make sense to require a common language to foster better communication?

No.

 

[Mr. Friscus]

There are many beautiful languages in the world. I always have a good amount of respect when I hear another language besides English being spoken. The second most common language in this country, Spanish, has many qualities that are intriguing and poetic, although many English speaking people find the language to be superfluous. I've heard some Spanish speaking people go on for minutes describing something that would take one sentence in English

Nowhere in the Constitution is there anything about English being a national language. If you do a search on this topic, the results seem to have been very much skewed in favor of NOT declaring English as the official language in the USA. This is a big change from what I've perceived in the years before internet search engines. I wonder if these results are being skewed by big tech companies (operated mostly by non-American, non-English speakers) and those with deep pockets who sell language teaching services.

The truth is that having multiple languages can cause dis-trust among the citizens. It's human nature: If you hear someone speaking a language you don't understand, you immediately wonder what they are talking about and if maybe they are saying something "behind your back". This is one of the biggest reasons in favor of a single national language. For many, many years, basic English competency was a requirement for acquiring citizenship. My mother came to this country not knowing a word of English (only French), but she explained that she did not regret for a moment the fact that she was required to learn English in school.

Why shouldn't the USA declare English the national language and require basic competency among its citizens? People are free to speak anything they want at home or even in the workplace, that should be a fact. But doesn't it make sense to require a common language to foster better communication?

People get caught up on diversity for no reason, as if it's some sort of virtue....

it's about function. How is it easiest to communicate. The answer in America = English.

 

[Unkotare]

People get caught up on diversity for no reason, as if it's some sort of virtue....

it's about function. How is it easiest to communicate. The answer in America = English.

That's why immigrants know better than anyone how important it is to learn English if they do not speak it well.

 

[Mr. Friscus]

That's why immigrants know better than anyone how important it is to learn English if they do not speak it well.

Modern 1st world leftists don't understand what utility and function is... they only see it was un-diverse, as if the goal of life is to enforce a dynamic representation in everything, everywhere, no matter how inefficient or lacking it becomes.