Should English be the official language for all goverment situations in the United States of America?

Question

this is a ddebate i am working on and i have confused facts about it...... i really think that it should be the official language because it is the immigrants and foriegn peoples responsibility to learn Enlglish because they want to live in the U.S. and should learn our language if they want to live here.

Answer 1

I think that anyone of us Americans can go back far enough into history and find some of our immigrant ancestor's and find that they have learned the language of the land in which they live. I do believe that our country's native language should be English...it is what our Constitution is written in..it is our heritage and I don't think that the American culture should be compromised or changed to suit someone else. I also think that whether you believe in God or not...we should NOT take God out of our country or our historical documents or out of our government..it too is a part of our heritage and culture. I do think that freedom of religion should be honored....NOT ALTERED!!!! By saying this I don't I don't think that everyone should change their beliefs or feel left out...just deal with it...it is too late to change history. It should be honored as that!!!
Tolerance is to make room for all....not cater to all!!! We all have a right to our personal preference...however, the foundation for our establishments are being compromised every day because some one screams " I'm offended"...get over it. Those are the people who need to show tolerance for what this country was founded on!!!!

Answer 2

English already is the "de facto" language of the the US, even if it technically isn't official. However, 30 of the 50 states have voted to make English the official language of their state.

However, I don't believe English alone should be used for all government situations. Then you will have a lot of people unable to comply with what they need to do because they don't properly understand the instructions. For example, say you have a Spanish speaking (legal) immigrant come to the DMV. He knows a small bit of English, but hardly enough to hold a coherent conversation in it. But he needs to get a state ID so he can get a job. And the person working the booth he goes to also speaks Spanish. Why should they be prohibited from communicating in Spanish? As long as he can read numbers and arrows (which most of our signs are, and Spanish uses Arabic numerals just as English does) and knows that "rojo" means "parar" and "verde" means "vaya", then there shouldn't be much of a problem. Same goes if the person speaks only French, or only Japanese, or only whatever their native tongue is.

I'm Korean, and think it would be great to have more stuff in Korean. The biggest problem I have is that Spanish is being shown FAVORITISM and all the other 300+ languages that are spoken in immigrant homes in the US are being ignored. There should be equal treatment for ALL languages.

Answer 3

English should be the official language, period. Any other language you learn or know is great for translators or dealing with travelers that visit here. But to live here. Learn English. No citizen of this country that knows English should be denied employment or aid because they don't speak a foreign language to do a job. No new immigrants should be forced to learn 2 different languages to be able to function in this country. Bi-lingual education which means "must speak Spanish" should be abolished since it is catering to one specific group at the expence of other immigrants learning English and our own childrens education as well and the right to choose what other language a person wishes to learn. English is the official language in over 1/2 the states and it's time English be demanded to be spoken. I don't care what you do in your personal life.....but enough of not being able to order a burger or get directions because 1 group refuses to speak English. Enough of trying to get out of legal trouble by playing stupid and claiming you don't understand "stop". It's just another excuse to be not be held accountable for their actions. You don't live in another country for 15 years and not learn something. You can't take a drivers exam and not know it's illegal to drive without insurance or have your children in safety seats or that you don't drive drunk. Even translated it's still the same laws. I've personally had enough of this catering to no avail. They expect government funded everything to keep from doing 1 thing....speak English.

Answer 4

There is no official language of the United States. Statistically, English is most common, followed by Spanish.

Answer 5

I agree with the previous poster who commented on having to read, write, speak and understand English to becfome a naturalized citizen but Spanish language signs being posted when you go to vote. I actually think that is a very good point. No one in authority has explained to me why that should be (although I did write a paper on the Voting Rights Act which mentioned it and the professor was impressed).

Of course, there is the issue of Puerto Rico. The primary langauge there is Spanish. We must make sure we do not disenfranchise Puerto Ricans with a dash towards all English.

We must also accept that we are, indeed, a nation of immigrants (I am one myself - first generation). I came from an English-speaking country so it is no big deal for me. However, what about those who come here legally and who would benefit from some information being provided in their native tongue? It might be something as simple (and beneficial to society) as tax and immigration information leaflets, for instance. I am reminded of a friend who escaped from Bosnia with only the clothes on his back. He needed language assistance to begin with. He has been here seven years now, speaks English and is a proud citizen. People like that need, and deserve, appropriate support.

There is no easy answer for this. I am certainly opposed to election materials being prepared in any language other than English. Congress missed a chance to send a message when they renewed the Voting Rights Act. However, I think we are not helping ourselves if we make it a blanket ban. If translating leaflets, etc into other languages serves the common good, I am all for it. If it is merely to pander to minority communities so that they vote for the incumbents, I am implacably opposed.

Answer 6

English has always been the official language in the United States of America. In fact, the INS requires all those who want to be naturalized American citizens to be able to speak and write English.

I am not aware of any other language that Americans have used for a long, long time but English.

Answer 7

Well, I have mixed opinions on the subject, but I believe that it shouldn't be, because when the English first came here in the late 1500's, and we met the Native Americans, we wanted to change their language, which is being completely hypocritical. People freak out how there was a sign in New Jersey advertising McD's in spanish, but meanwhile, this is the most diverse country in the world! People really have the nerve to say that American's should not learn spanish or such and such because the cases of people jumping the border, meanwhile as I said before, WE came here and gave no resepct to the Native American's language. In my opinion, we should should all be speaking Native Tribe languages.

Answer 8

In a manner of speaking, it already is, though the US also posts written notices in spanish. However, too few people speak, read, and write spanish for spanish to be seriously considered as a national language, at this time. So, we get English. German was once the contender for our nation's official language. Wow, huh?

Answer 9

I believe Enlish should be the official language of the US. If you come here, learn the language. If you were to go to Mexico, Japan or whateve country, do you think they would all learn English for me? Heck no. They have their official language and so should we.

Answer 10

Yes as english is the language of our nation called america