Spanish Language in America?

Question

Im an open minded person, but why is the Spanish language posted on signs and/or automated phone services? This is America and the official language is English. Are we suppose to accomodate every language known to man?

Do you feel that anyone who wants to come here should learn our language? We would have to learn other countries languages if we were to go elsewhere.

What do you think?

Answer 1

Yes.!!!!!!!!! and all the damn forms that are in multiple languages..It cost us (American citizens) more for everything including taxes to accommodate everyone..Go to France and see if you find any government documents in English..And they owe us.......!!!!

Answer 2

i think this is America so, why don't speak different languages?probably you don't notice yet that is not just Spanish signs is a lot like Chinese and Arabic too.I think you are right about learn English but if you go elsewhere around the world ,you don't learn their language or do you?because when i lived in Mexico all the Americans spoke to us in English..they don't care about if we understood or not, otherwise the Chinese people ,when they go to Mexico they speak Spanish ...anyway because we live in America we must to be open mind like you and try to learn from all the other cultures too. here is some information you should know, After Chinese and English, Spanish is the third most spoken language in the world today. It is the official language of 21 countries and the second language in many more, such as the U.S.A. In countries like Japan and Brasil, the study of Spanish as a foreign language has been growing at a very fast pace indeed in recent years. Around 400 million people speak Spanish worldwide and the number continues to grow.
The use of Spanish is also growing in the business world. As the Spanish and South American economies continue to grow and develop, along with the Hispanic market in the United States, interest in Spanish and Hispanic is also increasing.

Spanish is the second most used language in international communication, and it is an official language of the United Nations, the European Union, Mercosur and many other important organizations.

Answer 3

The US does no longer have an professional language identical to Japan and Australia. EDIT: Selecting an professional language is a political message that is why it's most commonly forgotten. There are plenty of indigenous languages within the United States comparable to Native American languages and Spanish was once spoken via a few Californians even earlier than California joined the US. One of the founding fathers desired Hebrew to be the professional language due to the fact it might ship a message that Americans are actually impartial from the English executive.

Answer 4

I have traveled to South America (Chile) and to most of Western Europe, and as common courtesy signs are in both English and the native language. In Chile in both English and Spanish and in Spain in English, Spanish, French, German and Japanese. Some places such as airports and train stations even had signs in more languages. I know for a fact that most well-educated people in South America and Europe speak more than one language, and that most speak or understand some English, as being a common language used in business. Why should we be so ethnocentric to think that we do not have to learn any other language but English! Research shows that speaking more than one language stimulates the brain more and usually individuals who speak more than one language and/or read music tend to be more intelligent and achieve more academically. So I am glad that we are sensitive enough to the needs of a minority group (fast becoming a majority in California) and have signs in Spanish. It is just the right thing to do, communication is very important, no matter what the language is. I often think how wonderful it is that in Spanish there are two words for language. "idioma" and "lenguaje". Idioma is the sound we apply to the symbols to communicate speech and lenguaje is the actual thought process of language, regardless of whether we speak English, German, Italian, French, Chinese, etc. We all have language. I do feel that everyone who comes to America should speak English, and learn to speak it. But language acquisition theory says that it usually takes 5 years to fully learn a language, that is listening, speaking, reading and writing. So we do need to accomodate all those in the process. How would you like it, if you went to a foreign country and you were expected to speak their language instantly? I think not...

Answer 5

There is no official language in the US.

the United States currently has no official language, English has long been the de facto national language. English is spoken by about 82% of the population as a native language and nearly everyone in the United States uses it as a daily language. On May 18, 2006 the Senate voted on an amendment to an immigration reform bill that would declare English the national language of the United States.[1] The immigration reform bill itself, S. 2611, was passed in the Senate on May 25, 2006, and now has to go back to the House of Representatives in conference to make sure amendments are agreed upon.

Answer 6

Well English is pretty much spoken everywhere as far as tourist places, but I guess when ppl can't afford classes to learn English, what else is there to do? We have to all understand each other and the only way we can connect is if we have little signs with two languages on it. I believe in the future, America will probably have two main spoken languages: English and Spanish. And thats why I'm trying to learn Spanish now! lol
Saludos! =]

Answer 7

It would be nice if people who chose to live in America learned to speak English, however, it's unlikely you can force it on anyone.

Since we seem to have a huge influx of Spanish immigrants to the U.S., it doesn't bother me much to see/hear of Spanish options. In fact, I think it helps me learn their language, little by little. Spanish sounds beautiful (at least to my ear) and sexy. I've love to know how to speak it, but I doubt I'll be learning any time soon. But just to be able to recognize a word or phrase or two is, in itself, satisfying.

There is, however, a danger in immigrants to America not knowing the English language. For example, if they need to call 411 in an emergency, they'd better be able to explain their location and the problem, quickly, and in English. (yes, there are bilingual operators, but in a true emergency, every second counts).

And yes, my Polish-speaking ancestors had to learn English when they came here. And they did. No big deal.

Answer 8

Absolutely. There are plenty of opportunities in America, and if you want them you should be willing to do the amount of work required to learn English. I will be more than accomodating to someone who is trying. However, it ticks me off when people are ignorant enough to assume I can understand their spanish (i speak german). Here's a good story:

In California, a small child was riding on a ferris wheel in his own cart. He shouldn't have been allowed on, because he was too young and too small. However, he was let on and when he got to the top, he freaked out and started panicking. He tried to climb out of the cart. The mom ran up to the worker and told him to stop the ride, but he didn't speak English, so he had no idea what she was saying. While he was trying to see what she was talking about, the kid fell out of the cart 50 feet (maybe more, I don't exactly remember) to his death. The amusment park is now being sued and people are outraged that someone put in a position that requires emergency skills couldn't even speak english.

And a bill was recently passed making English the official language of the U.S.

Answer 9

Well, If you come to Chile there are many places that have both English and Spanish languages, even if our official language is Spanish.

It's common courtesy, if you have tourists or, in the case of the US a great part of the population that speaks another language then you should have signs in both languages.

Answer 10

English is not the official language of the U.S., simply the language of the majority. The U.S. has no official language.

Answer 11

Unfortunately, the United States has never made English its official language. So if we wanted to make that argument we wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Still, if a person is going to move to another country that speaks another language than your own, I think you should have to assimilate. "When in Rome...."