should America accept other languages besides English?

Question

Should the U.S. start to print signs, or voice recordings etc. (I know they do a lot in spanish already) in other languages such as polish, chinese, arabic just to accommodate immigrants? Or should learning English be recquired for citizenship?

The other cultures would still be allowed to speak in their foreign toungue, and take place in tratditions or rituals

If we were to do this, what do you think the outcome would be?

Answer 1

Senators and congressman enact laws to accomodate other languages because they want those votes.

But this is America. "E pluribus Unum", is on our coins. It means many into one. It's okay to have your own culture and honor it, but I don't believe we should rearrange America to accomodate people without a knowledge of the English language.

It's the same with the trouble makers bent on destroying the very moral fabric of this country which is Christianity. Practice your religion BUT DON'T TELL ME I CAN'T PUT MY RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS UP IN PUBLIC IN MY OWN COUNTRY!!!

To those who don't like it, please feel free to go back to your own country and tell them what you want to do and how to run the government. Right, they will kill you.

Answer 2

The Spanish were in USA for an overly very very long time. USA is a multicultural nation and it's ridiculous to mention different languages are unacceptable. The English language is always evolving and continually has been. America spells a few phrases in a different way and American-English and has triggered terms and sayings which might be absolutely grammatically unsuitable to English men and women, however that is simply what occurs with time, matters difference. As a multicultural, just about totally immigrant, society the English language isn't your 'countrywide glue' and I guarantee you that deciding on among English and Spanish is not anything in comparison to English men and women being compelled to decide upon among 'English' (american) and 'International English' (the english language).

Answer 3

Every nation should have an official language. Without that, every law, traffic sign and who-knows what has to be written in multiple forms- which won't always translate identically. Lawyers would love it, everyone just "didn't understand the rules". Lack of communications is a severe handicap in medical treatment, law, employment and more. It puts the burden of communicating on others- because one doesn'tt want to learn the language of the land. Having a standard language is as important as having a standard system of measurements or a standard meaning for a red traffic light.

If you come to America to be an American- then adopt the language as your primary one. And yes, fluent engllish should be a requirement for citizenship.

Answer 4

All languages are equally valuable as forms of communication. English just happens to be more popular in the U.S. because it's the language of people with economic power. But there are many people who grow up in the U.S. whose native language is not English, so it's not just about accepting the cultures of immigrants.

It's moot anyway because everyone knows that English is the language of power in the U.S. I know VERY few people who don't want to learn English. So making an English-only policy for the U.S. would be redundant at best.

Perhaps printing street signs in many languages would not be necessary. But translating official documents so that people who didn't speak English can use them is nice. Remember that not being able to read English was one of the things that was used for many years to try to keep black people from voting. We should take care to make sure that we are not discriminating in a similar way now by making it so that speakers of other languages are not able to have access to official documents.

And, by the way, an English test is part of the current requirements for U.S. citizenship, according to my understanding.

Answer 5

So what, has America stopped being America already?
"Give us your down trodden, your poor, yada yada yada...", "Oh wait, sorry we were here first, we've changed our minds. We don't want your kind here any more".
It's pretty straight forward actually. You see, you created, or rather your forefathers created this melting pot of nationalities. With this influx of divergent personalities, you were bound eventually to get a load of races that would supplant the race of the founding fathers. So now you're faced with sucking it up and getting along the best you can, any way you can, or instituting some form of racist law that would undo all the work your forefathers did. That of course would require reworking the constitution and some various amendments.
Hummm, what a dilemma!

Answer 6

A decade ago to learn English, you had to attend costly English classes or purchase course material like tapes and books. Now you can learn English for free from the comfort of your home using the Internet. The BBC and the British Council offer a number of on line courses, which teach written and spoken English. You can also improve your English by watching television programs and reading English newspapers. For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/qnzpt

Answer 7

I think that in order to gain citizenship into the United States...you should be required to speak English. This is our native language! Yes, the US is a "melting pot" of different ethnic groups but there has to be a common thread somewhere, otherwise, could you imagine how hectic and chaotic everything would be? When I travel to China or Japan, Mexico etc, their language is prominently displayed and it is up to me to learn to interpret. I am proud to be an American, otherwise I would move somewhere else!

Answer 8

What goes into print isn't decided by America, but it's decided by the company who orders the printing. It would cost a lot of money for manufacturers to be so diverse as to include every language spoken in the U.S. in their printed materials. The manuals for electronic equipment would become heavier than the equipment itself (sometimes it already is, imagine if you multiplied that by 100).

Nationally, we have the 1st Amendment, and with that, Freedom of Speech. All languages can be spoken.

Answer 9

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!! A country's common language is a critical part of what makes it a cohesive nation, and is imperative to maintaining growth and development.

Not only is it an outrageous and prohibitively expensive burden on the taxpayers to accomodate such a breakdown, it fractionalizes both the country and its inherent culture.

What IS it that makes foreigners think they have a right to invade a country and expect its native citizens to accomodate their foreignness? Assimilate or LEAVE!!!

Answer 10

Um no, because most of the populationg doesnt speak those languages...its already bad enough americans have to be bilingual (spanish speaking) in their own country to get some jobs..So i say that signs and recordings and stuff will onlybe in english and sometimes spanish..Not enough people speak other languages...and most people just learn english

Answer 11

Yes! And Lithuania should start using Greek and Chinese and Hungarian, just in case there would be some immigrants to accommodate.