Should English be the official language of US ?

[Annie]

Whatever separates us divides us. Yes, good old American English should be the official language. I remember children coming from other nations and learning English in grade school. My own father, a Puerto Rican, never learned his native language, his parents wanted him to be an American.

I'm not against the immigrants teaching their children their home language, but I do think they should insist they learn the language of the country they choose by choice, English in the US.

 

[midcan5]

I'm not against the immigrants teaching their children their home language, but I do think they should insist they learn the language of the country they choose by choice, English in the US.

The issue is they become isolated in their own communities, I see it here in Philly. Bilingual is fine but learn the language of the society you reside in. We have many Russian Jews as well but they learn both as well as Hebrew.

 

[Kid Pickle]

Whatever separates us divides us. Yes, good old American English should be the official language. I remember children coming from other nations and learning English in grade school. My own father, a Puerto Rican, never learned his native language, his parents wanted him to be an American.

Absolutely!!

The problem is now that for the sake of "diversity" we allow our society to become compartmentalized. People are not encouraged to learn English anymore. In fact, they are more often than not, encouraged to speak Spanish and everyone is bending over backwards to cater to the demand of people who need goods and services, but cannot speak or understand the common trade language. This is bad for our society. How can we maintain any semblance of cohesion in our society if we have two languages and many who cannot or will not learn the other?

A melting pot needs time to melt. It takes time to sew the patches together in a quilt. Now the ingredients or the patches are being piled in faster than they can combine.

We are a nation of laws. How can we be strong if a large portion of the population violated the law to get here and violates the law to make a living? How can we be strong if a large portion of our population cannot even understand the letter of the law, let alone its meaning, or its history, not to mention the enourmous expenditure to make sure everything is written in two (or three or fifteen) languages? How can we be strong if some of us are Mexicans living in America and some of us are wedos living on land that should rightfully be Mexico?

We can't. Those who support these things either don't care, just want to accumulate power, or both. It must stop.

 

[Alpha1]

What is the national language of Switzerland? Why are there enclaves in Paraguay and Uruguay that speak only German? Do you know where Paraguay and Uruguay are?

Are you this way because you weren't required to have a language credit for your G.E.D.s?

Just axing.

I AM

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  [
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[Detmurds]

Like I said...do you LIKE lettuce? who the fuck is going to work for the wages that the growers pay migrant workers? YOU pay somebody minimum wage with benefits to pick vegetables and only the very rich will be able to eat them. wake up and smell the coffee.

As I recall from history,...the youth did most of this work,..now look, the youth is horrible. Give them a job! Have inmates do this for free,..what is your point?

 

[Alpha1]

Vast Majority of Americans Support Official English

National polling data indicates that the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Hispanics, support making English the official language.

* 85% of Americans, including 92% of Republicans, 79% of Democrats, and 86% of those not affiliated with either party, favor making English the official language of the United States of America. [1]

* 77% of Hispanics believe English should be the official language of government operations. [2]

* 82% of Americans support legislation that would require the federal government to conduct business solely in English.[3]

Government should do more to preserve role of English

* 92% of Americans believe that preserving English as our common language is vital to maintaining our unity; 69% agree that the United States is at risk of becoming 'disunited' by language. [4]

* 78% of Americans believe that the government should do more to help immigrants learn English; More Americans also believe that Congress and the President aren't doing enough to preserve America's unity in the English language (60%-26%) [4]

* 79% of Americans believe immigrants should be required to learn English before they are granted citizenship; only 14% disagree.[5]

* 68% of Americans oppose bilingual or multilingual election ballots. [6]

Most immigrants say learning English is essential.

* 91% of foreign-born Latino immigrants agree that learning English is essential to succeed in the U.S., according to a 2002 Kaiser Family Foundation poll.[7]

* A 2002 Carnegie/Public Agenda poll found that by more than a 2-1 margin immigrants themselves say the U.S. should expect new immigrants to learn English.[8]

Most immigrants reject "bilingual education."

* The 2002 Carnegie/Public Agenda poll found that 73% of immigrants believe schools should teach English as quickly as possible. 63% said that they believe that all teaching should be done in English, while only 32% supported allowing some teaching in their native languages.
[8]

 

[RetiredGySgt]

Vast Majority of Americans Support Official English

National polling data indicates that the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Hispanics, support making English the official language.

* 85% of Americans, including 92% of Republicans, 79% of Democrats, and 86% of those not affiliated with either party, favor making English the official language of the United States of America. [1]

* 77% of Hispanics believe English should be the official language of government operations. [2]

* 82% of Americans support legislation that would require the federal government to conduct business solely in English.[3]

Government should do more to preserve role of English

* 92% of Americans believe that preserving English as our common language is vital to maintaining our unity; 69% agree that the United States is at risk of becoming 'disunited' by language. [4]

* 78% of Americans believe that the government should do more to help immigrants learn English; More Americans also believe that Congress and the President aren't doing enough to preserve America's unity in the English language (60%-26%) [4]

* 79% of Americans believe immigrants should be required to learn English before they are granted citizenship; only 14% disagree.[5]

* 68% of Americans oppose bilingual or multilingual election ballots. [6]

Most immigrants say learning English is essential.

* 91% of foreign-born Latino immigrants agree that learning English is essential to succeed in the U.S., according to a 2002 Kaiser Family Foundation poll.[7]

* A 2002 Carnegie/Public Agenda poll found that by more than a 2-1 margin immigrants themselves say the U.S. should expect new immigrants to learn English.[8]

Most immigrants reject "bilingual education."

* The 2002 Carnegie/Public Agenda poll found that 73% of immigrants believe schools should teach English as quickly as possible. 63% said that they believe that all teaching should be done in English, while only 32% supported allowing some teaching in their native languages.
[8]

Liberals only believe polls when they support their position, the rest of the time they are just not important.

 

[Gunny]

Uhh, thats what we have right now.

But only someone who believes in big government would agree with the government legislating a national language. What we have now is fine.

My first question would have to be to ask where you live. Here in the Southwest, it's a much bigger issue and problem.

I have no problem with people speaking their native, or more than one language. But, as a Nation, we should have a single language that everyone understands.

 

[Alpha1]

Whats really amazing, immigrants themselves have more brains than some Dimocrats......at least more than MM....of course, they arn't brain-washed hacks........ he is...

 

[Kid Pickle]

Uhh, thats what we have right now.

But only someone who believes in big government would agree with the government legislating a national language. What we have now is fine.

Which is a bigger gov't, one which has to hire interpreters and liasons for all of the myriad languages and subcultures which need to know what the government is saying and doing, as well as for multilingual education, or one which has one language in which everything will be printed, explained, and taught in that language?

 

[Dr Grump]

So the US wakes up tomorrow and you have an official language. What does it mean? What does it change? We have two official languages - doesn't mean jack in everyday living.

 

[Gunny]

So the US wakes up tomorrow and you have an official language. What does it mean? What does it change? We have two official languages - doesn't mean jack in everyday living.

Depends on whether or not it's enforced. If you can't get a drivers license or anything else from local, state, or Fed gov't's without filling out applications in English you got a problem.

If non-English-speaking children are suddenly no longer catered to in public schools, you've got a problem.

So, it could change a lot.

 

[Dr Grump]

Depends on whether or not it's enforced. If you can't get a drivers license or anything else from local, state, or Fed gov't's without filling out applications in English you got a problem.

If non-English-speaking children are suddenly no longer catered to in public schools, you've got a problem.

So, it could change a lot.

True!

 

[DiogenesDog]

My former Iranian neighbor and I would exchange bit of Turkic and Persian. His growing up years were done in both those languages. Ethnically, his family in Tabriz followed more Azeri cultural practices than Persian. When he arrived in NYC to make his way in the US, he could say yes, no, I don't know. In the early 90s, I was a manager at a Circuit City. I was able to sell and help sales staff serve Croats, Bosnians,and other assorted Serbs and Slavs by sorting through my doggerel collection of Russian, Slovak, Czech, Greek, Arabic and mangled together with French, Spanish, and Italian. I still see some of those customers today. We have a big laugh and we comment on how we became a community.

I AM

QUOTE=Alpha1;623180]

• Afghanistan Dari Persian, Pashtu (both official), other Turkic and minor languages

[/QUOTE]

 

[jillian]

Depends on whether or not it's enforced. If you can't get a drivers license or anything else from local, state, or Fed gov't's without filling out applications in English you got a problem.

If non-English-speaking children are suddenly no longer catered to in public schools, you've got a problem.

So, it could change a lot.

So, other than no longer being annoyed by having to "press 1 for English" how does it change *your* life?

 

[RetiredGySgt]

So, other than no longer being annoyed by having to "press 1 for English" how does it change *your* life?

The Country should declare a National Language. It is a failure that encourages separation and legal difficulties for some communities.

We can have a legal National Language and still continue to provide instruction in other languages for major Governmental documents and forms. Further having a national language will not result in not having to" press 1".

It will establish the LEGAL background that all OFFICIAL records and documents of the Government will have an English Version as the master.

 

[Gunny]

So, other than no longer being annoyed by having to "press 1 for English" how does it change *your* life?

It means I spend a lot less time attempting to communicate with unskilled labor on construction job sites en Espanol, "Spanglish," and/or sign language. It means I don't have to walk into stores or restaurants and require a translator to get service.

Besides, why should I (or we) have to learn a second language to communicate with immigrants who just refuse to spend any time learning to speak OUR language? It isn't like I moved to their country.

When I go to Mexico, I speak Spanish. When I lived in Okinawa, I tried to learn Japanese. When I lived in Greece, I was learning to speak Greek.

You don't walk into someone else's house and demand they run the household to your liking.

 

[maineman]

In the workplace, no language but english, anyone who comes here must learn english before coming here

so back in the kitchen in the chinese restaurant, english only? really?

 

[actsnoblemartin]

oh common, that is different and you know it

their are exemptions to every rule

so back in the kitchen in the chinese restaurant, english only? really?

 

[Alpha1]

and what would you do with the millions of immigrants who are here illegally?

Oh gosh!!!!!
\what will we do .....what will we do ??????

Same thing Ike did....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wetback

Burgeoning numbers of illegal immigrants prompted President Dwight D. Eisenhower to appoint his longtime friend, General Joseph Swing, as INS Commissioner. According to Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr., Eisenhower had a sense of urgency about illegal immigration immediately upon taking office. In a letter to Sen. William Fulbright, Eisenhower quoted a report in The New York Times that said: "The rise in illegal border-crossing by Mexican 'wetbacks' to a current rate of more than 1,000,000 cases a year has been accompanied by a curious relaxation in ethical standards extending all the way from the farmer-exploiters of this contraband labor to the highest levels of the Federal Government."[1]

Eisenhower became increasingly concerned that profits from illegal labor led to corruption. The operation was modeled after the deportation program that invited American citizens of Mexican ancestry to go back to Mexico during the Great Depression because of the bad economy north of the border.