English ...Should it become official?

Question

I say yes for many reasons. However we also need to have certain things in other languages. We do get tourists here and they should feel welcomed. But in our schools and elsewhere English should be encouraged. If only to keep ALL people on an equal footing as far as advancement.

We could use the civil rights movement as an example. Students in inner city schools were left behind because of lax and inept schools. The civil rights movement brought to light that these kids were being left out of opportunities just because of this lack of educational goals. Wouldn't the same thing apply to immigrants? Isn't pandering to their language of origin actually holding them back from advancement?

It's not. The U S doesn't have an "official" language. That's where we run into problems.

Bi-lingual is great. I'm not saying don't teach other languages. I'm saying English should be a priority not an option.

Mona...I speak 4 languages fluently. My parents are immigrants from Denmark. I do not expect people to learn Danish to suit me. Neither do my parents.

Answer 1

It doesn't matter if it's the "official" language. It's still the COMMON language by the overwhelming majority of Americans, and will continue to be so at least for most of OUR lifetimes.

ALL immigrants (legal of course) should learn English.

Most Americans don't really care if illegal aliens "assimilate". Most Americans and legal immigrants only want them deported.

If we "pander" to one language and not others, it's discrimination. Period. We have immigrants in this country comprised of DOZENS of languages. All should learn English, not vice versa.

Answer 2

With the Denomination of "de facto" language is sufficient. English is a consistently changing language. unlike Spanish, Portuguese or French,the English language isn't controlled via making use of an academy that watches over the right and magnificent utilization.English evolves so at as immediately as that fairly some my friends ought to no longer understand The seventeenth century's English. Now, making the words as we prefer is a tragic actuality. "U" understand.... subsequently , if organisms or classes to standardize English do no longer look, English will stick to a matching path as did Latin in historic Rome. yet yet another reason it shan't be made professional is by the reality something that obvious heavily isn't properly rather well worth the time of our congressmen. There are diverse subject concerns to make regulations approximately.

Answer 3

Hey! I'm going to butt in here, if I could. There is nothing that says everyone should be at the same level of advancement. That doesn't even make sense. If everyone knows just as much as everyone else, there is no reason to progress and innovate. The economy would stagnate, because without new ideas and changing situations, capitalism would not survive. Some of the most innovative people in the history of the united states have been from sub-cultures and immigrant backgrounds. We need new ideas, and we need an influx of people. That is the nature of the beast. When it comes to pandering, I do not believe that is what we are doing. Sure, certain schools educate mainly in another language other than english, but those are by far the exception. This is really an incongruent arguement, because it is more likely that a child will keep up to the pace of educational goals if he is instructed in a language he understands. That's just my two cents... good topic though...

In response to "NO ILLEGALS": The United States does not have an official language... that's a lot better than the province of Quebec, where they have a French "Language Police".

Answer 4

I do not agree that we need to have "certain things" in other languages. For tourists, SURE!! Not for citizens or permanent immigrants.
In our schools and elsewhere, English should be REQUIRED, not "encouraged".

Here's an example for. You have 15 new students to a school in Bellevue, Nebraska. NONE of them speak English, but they all speak different languages. .

Obviously we will not and CANNOT have teachers to "pander" to students of every "language of origin". To "pander" to only one of these students is DISCRIMINATION, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

Here are the students language in my example.

1. Spanish
2. Chinese
3. Japanese
4. Italian
5. German
6. French
7. Indian
8. Portuguese
9. Tagalog
10. Thai
11. Greek
12. Vietnamese
13. Russian
14. Egyptian
15. Turkish


Should we "pander" to each and every one of them?? Should we "pander" to none of them? Or should we "pander" to ONLY ONE of them? If only one, which one? If some, which ones? Your answer defines YOUR agenda.

The correct answer is ALL or NONE. Period. We have immigrants in the U.S. from dozens of countries. They must learn English, not the other way around.

Answer 5

Why not. If there are any naysayers who believe there will be witchhunts for those who don't speak English, know that many countries even have more than one "official language" without any problems.

With an official English declaration, the liberals won't be as quick to flood the USA with non-English speaking illegals (perhaps).

Answer 6

Yes!

http://www.us-english.org/inc/
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/troosevelt.asp

Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American ... There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag ... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language ... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt 1907

Answer 7

Snort.

Oh, sure, why not. It has made SUCH a difference in California when we made English the official language in the 1980s.

Do what you like about this one, just don't make anything ELSE an official language.

Answer 8

Ms Dog Tricks:

I disagree with the idea of English "becoming" official. It is extraofficial already. In the county where I live, the County Commissioners drafted a resolution to make English the official language in which county officials and staff would conduct business. Although the intent of the resolution was to standardize services. The result has been to provide for openly racist remarks by public servants deriving their pay from tax dollars. It has alienated anyone (citizen or not) who's English is limited or thickly accented from accessing services at the Courthouse and any other County offices.

If people that think like you were able to communicate with some of these people in their native language, you would see that many of them are quite literate and knowledgeable.

Answer 9

Yes pandering to their language is holding them back.
SHHHHhhhh this is a government secret to keep them on the underpriviledged rolls. It's best if they just think speaking Spanish is giving into their demands.

Answer 10

Yes , we need to make English the official language of the US govt and to repeal Slick Willie Clinton’s Multilingualism Order -
http://capwiz.com/ef/issues/alert/?alertid=9323616&type=CO

The traitorous Demoncrats, like Hillary and Nobama, voted against make English the official language. Make certain neither of those two idiots become president.