I believe America should be an English only country.?

Question

I served in the Navy for 20 years and I had the privilege to visit and live in many countries. Japan for example, where the official language is Japanese. If you wanted something translated you paid for it. But they offered Japanese language lessons, writing and speaking for free.
I am not saying that you have to lose you ethnic identity, but if you want to be an American citizen then you should be proficient in English. Official documents or documents that the Government gives out for free should be in English, anything else should be charged for. This would add revenue and help people who don’t speak English to learn it.
America is a great country and one of the reasons it got that way was because of a common language. Immigrants of generations gone by went out of their way to learn and teach their children English, now it seams that we no longer put the onus on the individual. Now it seams that we cater to everyone’s likes and dislikes instead of standing firm.

California DMV has several driver handbooks in many different languages.
Recently in the news sample voting ballets were mailed out to the residents of Beverly Hills in English and Farsi. Which, by the way upset some of the Farsi speaking residents.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/03/04/for_some_in_beverly_hills_new_ballots_went_too_farsi/

The official language in Germany is German, but other languages are recognized. France; French, Italy; Italian but other languages are recognized, Japan; Japanese.
All of these other countries have official languages that are used throughout their respective countries.
I am not saying that English would be the only language; just that it would be the official or common language. If you want to use you native tongue with your children fine, but if they are going to citizens of America they should be proficient in English.
What has become America was founded by English speaking colonist, yes there are many languages that went into the making of this great country, but until recently we have always had English as a common language. Our Founding Fathers, while I am sure spoke several languages, wrote our Constitution and Bill of Rights in English.

It seems now it politically incorrect to expect someone to learn English, so instead we go out of our way to be a multi-language society.
The United States of America is the sole Superpower left in the world. One of the reasons we have that distinction and reasonability is because we have always had a common language. How long will it last when we worry more about what is politically correct instead of what is right?

Answer 1

I agree. English (at least a good grasp of it) should be required for citizenship. And yes, it makes sense to charge for documents in languages other than English (it is very common to see forms in Spanish in most places, some areas print government documents in as many as 6 languages). It does not take away from anyone's ethnic identity to learn the language of the country you live in, it is expected in other countries so I do not understand why people here get so upset about this concept. I think if you want to only speak Spanish then you should live in a Spanish speaking country...the same goes for any other language.

Answer 2

1. English was not the first language of the U.S.
2. It is a land OF immigrants, therefore MANY people here speak another language.
3. If you cannot speak the language that you desire and feel comfortable with, then you are truely not free, and isn't freedom the idea that the U.S. is based on?
4. Why do you want people to forget where they are from? Their language is part of their culture, and THAT is part of them. How can you take away something like that?
5. If that ever happens, which I highly doubt, the U.S. would just be contradicting itself, the national anthem and pledge of allegiance would have to be changed as well as the statue of Liberty. For that is not true freedom, justice, or liberty.

Peace.

Answer 3

I'm just curious if you have ever seen official government documents in any language other than English. I certainly haven't. If you are suggesting that people be forced to learn English or that private corporations be forced to publish only in English, then I think that would be against the very freedoms that the US should stand for.

But if there are a host of documents in other languages that are official government documents, I think that's a waste of cash spent catering to the few. Unless it is some emergency literature that the government must give out, they should stick with the de facto (not de jure) official language, English.

Answer 4

I disagree with this because you cannot compare the United States to Japan of all places. In terms of the English language you can only compare Japan to England as the English language and English people are indigenous to England and England only. I would ordinarily advise you to move to England if you dislike other languages but I hear they are trying hard to be like the U.S. in terms of having more variety.

The United States is completely different from England or Japan. Until the 20th century for example many in southern Louisiana still spoke their own version of French and what happened to them in terms of beating schoolchildren is a complete disgrace to this country. P.G.T. Beauregard spoke English as a second language but he was still as patriotic as other English speakers in the South. Many Native Americans still have their own languages that were actually CREATED here and many of them love this country more than you because their people go back thousands of years. The same goes for many people in Hawaii and other places. Most of my ancestors spoke English but some spoke other languages like French, German, and Dutch but I can't say that this country is so very much better we got rid of some of these other languages. I really wish we had kept more in all honesty. I'm certainly not aware of any time when the U.S. had a common language and the English language is more popular now than it's ever been.

One of the biggest problems with the U.S. right now is unchecked Mexican immigration and how it's ignored by politicians and excused by the media as just another melting pot immigrant issue. It's completely illegal but the whole thing goes on because corporate types everywhere like saving money and have become blood suckers with no allegiance to this country whatsoever. Telling some Apache to stop speaking their ancestral language because it's not English won't solve this problem. If you really want to cut costs let's stop fighting so many wars as that is the biggest waste of money we have right now. This costs far more than a translation here and there. The problem you describe is not so much people speaking another language but government inefficiency and bad priorities but you get that in any language.

My personal philosophy is I don't care what language a person speaks so long as their heart is in the right place and they don't expect everyone to bend over backwards to please them- which is the real problem with what you describe. Most people of the world are trying hard to speak English, including here, so if people don't speak English it hurts them far more than you. This country is great because of all the different cultures and variety. Canada recognises more than one language so do you think they are stupid or something? I say once you have 300 million people a little too similar I'm leaving this place and with all the strip malls and fast food chains it's getting pretty close. We don't need more sameness. The world is fast turning into one big California. It bothers me that so many people everywhere, including Britain, Canada, and Australia, talk about overbearing American influence yet so many Americans always complain everything is never American enough.

Answer 5

As far as this should be "English" speaking country. I disagree. The south west was colonized by the spanish and owned by the mexicans before it ever became part of the united states. The louisiana territory was owned by the french then the spanish then the french again THEN the US. Hawaii had its own language before the U.S sent their troops there. And most importantly the Native Americans had their own language too and lived here before any colonizing power came and changed their language and culture all together. As you can see this country never was and probably never will be an english only country as it should be. As far as the U.S being too lenient on people that speak other languages. No, I disagree. I as an Immigrant myself know that it is not at all easy to make it in this country not being able to speak english. Unless you want to spend your life picking fruit. To get ahead you HAVE to learn english.

Answer 6

I don't entirely agree. I would not frown on those who use languages other than English in their private dealings. But English should be the official language of the country -- the one that is used for all government purposes. Immigrants must learn it to become citizens, and anyone born a citizen certainly has ample opportunity to learn it.

Answer 7

A very well-posed question! It leaves a lot of room for interpretation. I you're asking whether English should be the "official" language of the U.S., I say, "Yes". If you're asking whether only English be spoken at official functions where there might be a large contingent of non-English speaking people, I would say, "No".

I applaud the Japanese government for their position. I believe that it is a good way for people to become acclimated to their society and I believe it might work here.

Answer 8

i think people who choose not to assimilate into society, learning the language as an example, put themselves in a situation where they will never be able to fully get ahead and enjoy the fruits of this great nation. But that's their right, as long as I'm not forced to pay the bill for their inability.

Answer 9

America was built upon immigrants. Those immigrants don't come here speaking english. They can learn to speak english, good, but we have to realize america is what it is because it is truely a melting pot and that requires other languages and cultures. Take that away and you kill america for what it is.

Answer 10

ummmmmmmm no.
america is all about diversity.
if we only wanted this country to speak english than we should have only let Americans live here.
speaking different languages makes American better..who wants a country where all you do is speak english?
that would be crazy.