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Official Languages for the US

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  • #61
    Which version of English should be the national standard? You might think I'm being glib, and I kinda am, but you travel around the US and tell me there isn't a sometimes substantial difference.

    I don't mean accents either, there's entirely different words for things depending on which part of the US you happen to be in at the moment.

    Should it be Southern US English? Midwestern English? Hell, even here in Pittsburgh we have our own "Pittsburghese" which can be almost as baffling to newcomers as a totally foreign language.

    I don't see what's so bad about Spanish being a secondary language in areas with a significant Hispanic population. It's like the parts of Maine that are predominantly French speaking because of their proximity to Quebec. I wonder why that's never the source of outrage like Spanish is............

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    • #62
      It doesn't matter where you go, something, despite the many variations, all have at least one meaning that people understand. For example, some places call it pop, some places call it coke, many others call it soda. No matter where you go, you say soda, and they will know what you are talking about. Faucet and tap are the same deal. The only times I can't understand someone is because of their accent and I can't even make out the word they are saying.

      I'm not saying it's a bad thing that some people speak Spanish. I just thinks it's totally rude to permanently move to another country and not bother to learn their main language.
      Violence has resolved more conflicts than anything else. The contrary opinion that violence doesn't solve anything is merely wishful thinking at its worst. - Starship Troopers

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      • #63
        Why is it so horrible for there to be another language spoken? People speaking Spanish in areas where Spanish-speaking people have been for generations is not going to mean little Mary Sue in Boston is going to be forced to stop speaking English.

        Most other countries in the world have several languages spoken, some even have more than one official language, and it hasn't caused problems anywhere else I can recall.

        Most countries in the Middle East understand English despite the main language being Arabic. Most countries in Europe have at least a basic understanding of English, French, Spanish, or German.

        Maybe its just me, but people who freak out over another language being spoken always strike me as a bit xenophobic.

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        • #64
          No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

          I'm not saying other languages SHOULDN'T be spoken. I'm just saying that English should be the official language of the US and that's it for now. There's no reason why any other language SHOULD be an official language of the US.
          Violence has resolved more conflicts than anything else. The contrary opinion that violence doesn't solve anything is merely wishful thinking at its worst. - Starship Troopers

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          • #65
            Here in Canada, when Trudeau was Prime Minister, his government made English and French our two official languages. Our federal government must now offer all services in both languages. This makes it difficult for English-only speakers to get a job with the federal government. So of course a lot of people got pissed off.

            But I say, what's the big deal? Our schools offer French courses from grade 1 to grade 12. Many in an immersion environment. And if you haven't picked up enough French by the time you've graduated, the government offers FREE intensive French courses for those who want to become bilingual. Same thing for French speakers who'd like to learn English.

            Additionally, to be hired for very important positions in the government, like agencies that require extensive scientific qualifications, you only have to speak one of these languages, not both.

            I have to agree with what CancelMyService said. It seems somewhat xenophobic to get that worked up about an issue that boils down to a simple communication problem.

            America put a man on the moon, for god's sake! Certainly something as minor as language barriers aren't beyond you to work out.

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            • #66
              I agree with a lot of what i've seen here. I think English "should" be the official language. Of course people can choose other languages to speak, but the primary one to communicate with everyone should be english.

              I know a lot of people that came here from other countries, and they are making great attempts to learn our language to communicate with us. They still speak their native language and thats great. I even attempt to learn some of it because I respect that they've done sometime i might not have done. (moved a very long distance, away from everything they've ever known, to come here and try and fit in.) I love learning about places I may never see, and if I can make them feel good by trying to learn some of their language, maybe it will show some people that we're not all as ignorrant and stuck up as we may be percieved to be. Now, maybe it doesn't make them feel good to do this and I just don't know, but whenever I'd converse with them, they seemed to whole heartedly enjoy teaching us about their cultures and languages.

              Anways....sorry for veering so far off the path there, to the point about the Native Americans being here first and we didn't adopt their language and forced ours. I agree that what we did was wrong. And we were very arrogant in making them learn our language and thinking that it was vastly superior. However, whats done is done, and changing anything now would be a fiasco. It's already bad enough that in order to get certain jobs in the United States you have to speak Spanish as a second language. That is absolutely killing a lot of my job prospects in HR and it really really irritates me. If I was going to another country, there is no way in hell I would expect them to tailor their language to suit me. I expect this: I will learn the language of the country I am going to call home or I expect that nobody needs to lift a finger to help my lazy ignorrant ass.

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              • #67
                If you went to another country, they wouldn't need to tailor their language to suit you since most countries have a basic understanding of English in a buisness setting. Mostly every other country on the planet (including that frosty one right above us) are either offically or unoffically multilingual.

                Also, I'm not suggesting we should adapt Native American culture and language now because of what was done in the past, I was just pointing out that now the shoe's on the other foot and it's another example of the American and/or English-speaking superiority complex that tends to pop out at the oddest times.

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                • #68
                  I think the problem will resolve itself in time, because English is quickly becoming not the national language, but the international language. The U.S.'s economic power influences people all over the world to learn English in order to do better business. I've done a little travelling, and whether I was in France, Costa Rica, or Singapore, I could easily find natives who could speak English. And now the internet and its many English sites are pushing it further. Give it a few hundred years, and I'm putting my money on the entire world having an official language.

                  But I find it a little humorous that so many places are trying to learn the language of the U.S., and we don't even know what our own language is.

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                  • #69
                    Originally posted by Greenday View Post
                    No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

                    I'm not saying other languages SHOULDN'T be spoken. I'm just saying that English should be the official language of the US and that's it for now. There's no reason why any other language SHOULD be an official language of the US.
                    but here's where you fall into slippery constitutional law.

                    amendment x of the bill of rights states "the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." a number of states have declared official languages, or have legally recognized de facto official languages, and not all of these are english. hawaii, for example, has constitutionally recognized hawaiian as co-official with english. louisiana legally recognizes both french and english as de facto official languages, and new mexico does the same with spanish and english per the provisions of the 1848 treaty of guadalupe hidalgo. not to mention unincorporated territories, which enjoy some constitutional protection and have their own native languages such as guam (chamorro), the northern mariana islands (chamorro and carolinian), american samoa (samoan), or puerto rico (spanish). also, many reservations have declared tribal languages as official within the confines of the tribes' sovereign territories.

                    to declare english only as the federally recognized official language of the united states would trump all these other states and territories, which would in effect violate the 10th amendment (and be a treaty violation in the case of new mexico).

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                    • #70
                      That's total garbage. So a few states have made exceptions because a lot of people speak a different language in those states. Good for them. The fact is, Spanish, the second most spoken language in America, doesn't even come close to being a language spoken by a majority. 4/5 of the country's population have English as their primary language. 4/5! That's overwhelming numbers! How can you compare 80% to 10%? As far as statistics go, the difference is positively laughable! 10% cannot possibly be considered a majority.
                      Violence has resolved more conflicts than anything else. The contrary opinion that violence doesn't solve anything is merely wishful thinking at its worst. - Starship Troopers

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                      • #71
                        Originally posted by Greenday View Post
                        That's total garbage. So a few states have made exceptions because a lot of people speak a different language in those states.
                        These are not "exceptions". These states are honouring long standing political and constitutional agreements with their native residents, especially New Mexico.

                        Linguist is right - a national language would pose a constitutional nightmare in a country known for its strict adherence to state rights.

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                        • #72
                          Originally posted by Greenday View Post
                          That's total garbage. So a few states have made exceptions because a lot of people speak a different language in those states. Good for them. The fact is, Spanish, the second most spoken language in America, doesn't even come close to being a language spoken by a majority. 4/5 of the country's population have English as their primary language. 4/5! That's overwhelming numbers! How can you compare 80% to 10%? As far as statistics go, the difference is positively laughable! 10% cannot possibly be considered a majority.

                          actually, not many people in hawaii speak hawaiian, though thankfully that is changing. the hawaiian government declared hawaiian as a co-official language in an effort to save an ancestral language that was dying largely due to the imposition of english as a sole official language. now that it's given more official recognition people are beginning to learn and use it in everyday life once more. the government has even set up immersion schools for children so that it can be passed on to future generations.

                          never in my post did i say that 10% could or should be considered a majority. in fact, those "statistics" (quoted because i don't trust random numbers without citations) had nothing whatsoever to do with what i posted. what i said was that the constitution does not give the federal govenrment the power to declare an official language, nor does it prohibit the states from doing so. under the provisions of the 10th amendment this explicitly gives states the right to choose their own official language(s). many have done so. in some cases english is not the only language chosen. this is fact, both historical and legal. the treaty of guadalupe hidalgo is fact, both historical and legal. to declare an official language at the federal level and impose it on every state and territory that enjoys constitutional protection would be a violation of both the treaty and the amendment. nowhere did i make any mention of the numbers of speakers of any language.

                          and somewhat off topic, i was under the impression that this board was for respectful debate. disagree all you'd like, that's your right, but calling my assertions "total garbage" is hardly respectful, is it?

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                          • #73
                            My apologies. This week is extremely stressful for me as I have two different Chem tests, a Physics test, and three different labs to prepare for. That and I just found out earlier today my grandfather is in the hospital again. Hooray Murphy's Law.

                            State Laws and Federal Laws aren't always the same. The states can have their own languages, but as English is the most spoken language in America, that gives it validation for being a main language. Spanish is the main language of much smaller areas. Nearly everywhere in the US, people speak English. Venture towards the northern border and Spanish is rarely heard.

                            As for my statistics, some people may be unethical in their data, but I don't fudge data. I prefer wrong answers over BS answers. For something like this, CIA World Factbook is amazingly reliable to find info on this stuff.
                            Violence has resolved more conflicts than anything else. The contrary opinion that violence doesn't solve anything is merely wishful thinking at its worst. - Starship Troopers

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                            • #74
                              Originally posted by Greenday View Post

                              Spanish is the main language of much smaller areas. Nearly everywhere in the US, people speak English. Venture towards the northern border and Spanish is rarely heard.
                              On your coast, perhaps. Come up the I-5 corridor and then see how often you hear and read Spanish.

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                              • #75
                                One of the towns right next to the one I live in at home, there are plenty of Spanish speakers. There are still a lot more that speak English. I move two hours away, and all of last year and this year so far, I haven't heard one person speak Spanish.
                                Violence has resolved more conflicts than anything else. The contrary opinion that violence doesn't solve anything is merely wishful thinking at its worst. - Starship Troopers

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