do people seriously think that english is the official language of the united states???

Question

i think its ignorant when people say "youre in america so you have to learn the official language - english!"

guess what! the united states does NOT have an official language!!!

also, people shouldnt call the united states "america" cause keep in mind that there is a south america too where people consider themselves "american".

im not saying that you shouldnt have knowledge of the english language if youre in the united states...because it is the most widely spoken language in the united states....but its NOT the official language....thats a big difference.

in any country, it helps to have knowledge of the language most spoken there.

Giggly Giraffe, i am latina and clearly i speak english. so your comment is completely irrelevant.

Answer 1

right on lola....i LOVE argentina

Answer 2

Ok first off, English is the official language of the United States. Congress passed a bill stating that less than a month ago, and it is no way arrogant to require people to speak the official language of this nation. It is very rare in this world to be able to go to another country and not speak its native language and be able to work or even live. Also how is it arrogant to call ourselves Americans? It seems like a totally unrelevent point what we decide to call ourselves. Stating that we are Americans is not a slant or insult to people living in South American countries. It is simply the name of a people. You need to stop the prejudice statements and actually learn American laws before you start calling them arrogant or wrong.

Answer 3

I second everything you say, completely. The USA has no official language. I like to think that that is one of the things that makes us more welcoming...at least in a de jure sense.

Also, before I met people and became friends with some people from Latin American countries, I never thought twice about using the word "American" to describe myself. Then I quickly realized that, yes, everyone from the Americas is American. Unfortunately in English, we really don't have a word like "estadounidense" (and even that's not accurate, either--it could mean someone from los Estados Unidos Mexicanos tambien). To get around this, I've gotten used to saying "I'm from the US" or "vengo de los EEUU," as the case may be. To the other people from the US: it's not much harder to say that, and it doesn't require too many more syllables, so it really shouldn't put you out that much...

But, yeah, you've got total agreement from me. It is incredibly ignorant (and incredibly embarrassing to me) when people say things like the line you quoted in the question. The US Embassy in Mexico (a long time ago, before Veracruz, I believe) used to have a sign out front saying "Welcome to America," which is both inaccurate and, frankly, rather rude. It was changed to "Welcome to the United States of America," which is much better for a lot of reasons. I'm not sure if our embassies in other countries still have signs saying "Welcome to America," but I sure hope they've corrected that mistake.

Oh, but to answer your question, I'm a political science grad student at a public university in New York who has TAed for Intro to US Politics classes, and the ignorance about the laws of the US that college students have would shock you. So, yes, unfortunately, many people actually do think the US has an official language, and that it is English. (By the way, your English is a lot better than many of these college students of whom I speak)

Answer 4

The United States of America lacks an official language, yes, but the dominant language, and the one used in commerce, is English. So it makes some manner of sense to learn it, rather than for immigrants to expect the people born here to learn their language. It may seem ethnocentric, but if you come to a country you should at least make an effort to learn the language most commonly spoken there rather than expect them to adapt to you. If I moved to Germany I wouldn't expect to be able to just keep speaking English.

And which is easier to say The United States of America? Or just America? Americans are as American as Canadians and Mexicans and Peruvians.

Answer 5

Just thought i'd share some ideas going through my mind...

what i don't get is why people think English is the official language...first of all...English is probably 3rd or 4th language to enter North America...the first were the ancient indians (from Mexico and US), second were probably the Spaniards, and finally the English...so my question is..Why don't we speak Nahuatl or Mayan, or any other Native American language?

Just because english is the most spoken language in America doesn't mean we have to speak it...maybe people who speak a different language don't want you to know what they're saying

I feel that this is should be protected by our freedom of speech...the Constitution doesn't state that we have to speak in frikin english. I feel that the people who know more than one language are smarter than people who know just one...if you don't agree with me...then pick up a language book and prove me wrong.

Remember...SPANISH IS THE FASTEST GROWING LANGUAGE IN AMERICA!!!!

Answer 6

The Constitution of the United States is written in English. Therefore, English is the official language. Get a clue!

Answer 7

I think that people are pretty arrogant when they are in the US, don't speak English, and expect everything to come to them. True, English is not the official language, but it is the majority language. If I only spoke Latin, I wouldn't expect the entire New York to put up new signs and retrain all the customer service representatives just so I could get around.

As for the 'American' issue... true, it may not be totally correct, but most people have accepted that use of the word. It's pretty similar to teh face that you said 'youre', which isn't a word, but we all understand it to mean 'you are,' contracted, but without the apostrophe. What do you suggest, 'United Statesers?'

Answer 8

People should call the United States of America, America if they want to. Just because there is a North America, Central America and South America does not affect the fact that THE United States of America can be shortened to America.

Where did you get your education?

Talk about ignorant and close minded, you are a perfect example of same.

Answer 9

English isn't the official language (yet), but answer me this:

How many classes at Yale or Harvard (other than foreign language classes) are taught in a language other than English?

How many board meetings at Fortune 500 companies are conducted in a language other than English?

The fact is, if you want to succeed in America, you have to know English. It's silly to pretend otherwise.

I lived in Singapore. The population consisted of Chinese, Indonesians, Thai, Malays, Philipinos, etc. You know what the official language of Singapore is? English. They knew making everyone speak English would make them an economic powerhouse in the region, and they were right. This is a country where NO ONE spoke English as a native language. And yet, everyone managed to learn it. Imagine how easy it would be in a country where nearly everyone speaks it as a native language.

Answer 10

What does "official" really mean? Nothing. . .which is why it was silly to adopt such a standard in Congress!

Very few people seem to remember this from their American (USA) History class:

On 4th July 1776. . .and later in the year when all 13 original colonies finally had given authorization to have their representatives sign this important document:

*A majority of Pennyslvanians spoke German or Dutch, not English;

*The idea of a language or dialect separate from "King's English" was unheard of by those in authority (Noah Webster's Dictionary and the widespread usage of American style spelling plus idioms had not yet taken place);

*You had to own land, even be a member of a certain Christian denomination (e.g., Roman Catholic in Maryland) in order to "vote"!

The history of our country has made this point at least reasonably clear but for present day thinking: language has never been how we define ourselves as a people and nation. . .more our ideals!

Also. . .there would not be this "linguistic xenophobia" if all citizens took up the study of at least one language other than their native language (taught by their parents). For many USA citizens born on this soil. . .that language would be Spanish!

But what we most need right now is to remember how we got started. . .to appreciate and respect that all of us, if only through our ancestors, started here first as immigrants. . .and may not have known English. . .and, depending on their age, that their children may be the first ones in the family to master the use of English!

Btw. . .you are so right. . .The USA is part of the "Americas". . .and residents from Canada to Argentina and Chile have a natural right to reference themselves as "Americans", not just USA citizens.

Answer 11

English is my second language but if it ain't the official language of the United States it should be. because I work with people who speak many different languages and come from many different cultures and we all need a basic way to communicate people who come here should not have to learn have to learn 10 different languages just to go to work or the store