GOOD JOB CONGRESS!!

This might sound like a weird thing to be excited about, but other countries have had an official language for centuries. We have not LEGALLY/TECHNICALLY ever had one here in the US even though it's pretty obvious that English is it. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



FINALLY, WE HAVE AN OFFICIAL LANGUAGE!!

My main problem is if we have 'Spanish', why not German, Japanese, Chinese, French, etc...

Why is 'bilingual' just assumed to be 'Spanish'?

This is the only country I am been in that you have to press '1' to speak the language of the country.

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted by sr081906

My main problem is if we have 'Spanish', why not German, Japanese, Chinese, French, etc...

Why is 'bilingual' just assumed to be 'Spanish'?

This is the only country I am been in that you have to press '1' to speak the language of the country.

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Maybe because Hispanics are the largest minority in the US? We may all come from different countries, but we all speak the same language...Spanish.

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by sr081906

My main problem is if we have 'Spanish', why not German, Japanese, Chinese, French, etc...

Why is 'bilingual' just assumed to be 'Spanish'?

This is the only country I am been in that you have to press '1' to speak the language of the country.

---

Maybe because Hispanics are the largest minority in the US? We may all come from different countries, but we all speak the same language...Spanish.

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I don't speak Spanish!!!!

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Posted by sr081906

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by sr081906

My main problem is if we have 'Spanish', why not German, Japanese, Chinese, French, etc...

Why is 'bilingual' just assumed to be 'Spanish'?

This is the only country I am been in that you have to press '1' to speak the language of the country.

---

Maybe because Hispanics are the largest minority in the US? We may all come from different countries, but we all speak the same language...Spanish.

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I don't speak Spanish!!!!

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Are you Hispanic?

I'm not sure what your gripe or question is, honestly. The largest minority is Hispanics. There is a language associated with this minority. That language is offered as an option.

What exactly is your problem with this?

No I am not hispanic.

I am just glad they are making English the 'official' language.

Just my opinion!

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Posted by sr081906

No I am not hispanic.

I am just glad they are making English the 'official' language.

Just my opinion!

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Are you sure you don't live in Georgia, or the South? :scratch

Anyway...happy to hear you're so happy!

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by sr081906

No I am not hispanic.

I am just glad they are making English the 'official' language.

Just my opinion!

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Are you sure you don't live in Georgia, or the South? :scratch

Anyway...happy to hear you're so happy!

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I live on LI and have no ties to the South.

Why are you saying that? And why Georgia?

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Posted by sr081906


Are you sure you don't live in Georgia, or the South? :scratch

Anyway...happy to hear you're so happy!

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I live on LI and have no ties to the South.

Why are you saying that? And why Georgia?

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I live in GA. And you sound like some Southerners. But whatever, it isn't the first or last time...so I shouldn't be surprised. I forgot that exists everywhere.

I am totally lost with your post what make you think I am like someone from the South. How does someone in the South 'think'?

it's very interesting to hear that we have picked ONE language out of the DOZENS of languages that the people that BUILT this country speak.

this country wouldn't be what it is today if people OTHER than the English hadn't landed on Plymouth Rock.....

having a universal language is obviously in everyone's best interest, and that is fine...but it seems...dare I say, racist,...or in the least, extremely ETHNOCENTRIC to proclaim English as the language of a land that is supposed to be this great melting pot.

haven't posted much I know, but i couldn't let this one go by...

The 'rumor' is:

General Lafayette, for his help in fighting against the English, was asked why he wanted as a 'reward'.

He would have been told:

1/ Do you want French to be the 'official' language?
2/ Do you want the French to never be able to be sentenced for the 'death' penalty?

The story is that he would have pick #2

The majority of the population is from English decent. French owned a lot of land by eventually sold it to the US when it became an independent country. Through wars, etc... the south border extented. Deutsch, Germans, Italians, Chinese, etc.. also came but the majory was really English speaking and took over all the other languages.

I just wanted to add something to this thread.

I think it is great that we pick an 'official language'. most other countries have one, we should too.

ETA: not to say I am offended by other languages being used.

NOT to jump on a name-calling bandwagon at all...but all of our government documents just so happen to be in English, we gained our independence from England (hence the word, English) in 1776 not from France, Germany, Spain or Italy, I would bet that a good majority of the [US] people speak it as their first if not only fluent language and that it's incredibly ignorant to blame a region of the country for views you oppose. Nearly every country in the world has an official language, we have been lacking for over 200 years. It's not about suppression or segregation, to succeed in our country, one must have a grasp on the language most of us speak....that's is just a fact. You wouldn't move to Russia and open a business and expect to succeed never learning the language or customs because you would never be able to communicate with your customers. In reality, this opens the door to promote unity.

now, everyone play nicely.

chacun jouent bien

cada uno juega agradable

(and if those translate incorrectly, it's not my fault...i used a translating website)

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Posted by dleeny

I just wanted to add something to this thread.

I think it is great that we pick an 'official language'. most other countries have one, we should too.

ETA: not to say I am offended by other languages being used.

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Ditto! My Fh is Bilingual (english/spanish) and he also agrees. Although we are a melting pot...we are a predominately english speaking country. Speak any native language that you want, but if you live here you must accept that the native tongue will be english. Just like if you go to Brazil the native language is Portugese. many spanish people live there, but the native tongue is portugese. I don't think anyone should be offended. JMHO!!

everyone KNOWS that English is the 'main' language...what I do not understand is what difference it makes whether or not it's official....who 'wins' here...no one.

13 colonies gained their independence from England...when no one even KNEW of the existence of more than half this land...the south (Florida) was Spanish territory...as was Texas and California WELL after Paul Revere's legendary ride...

and that is not even getting into all of the NATIVE languages there were before Columbus (under the SPANISH flag) landed a few hundred miles off course...

just saying...this is no victory for the people...it's a bad attempt to get middle America loving the govt again...

I am happy this is going through.

It annoys me when I go to certain locations and the store signs are in another language like Korean, Russian, Indian etc. but there is nothing in English.

I can understand having signs in English and another language, but when a place is trying to exclude people who speak English but not the other language, it is wrong IMO.

Official English Legislation: Myths and Realities
HUMAN EVENTS ^ | July 29, 2003 | Mauro E. Mujica


Posted on 07/29/2003 4:40:33 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe


For the past 11 years, I have been the Chairman of U.S. ENGLISH, Inc., the nation’s oldest and largest citizens’ action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. During that time, I have encountered many myths about official English legislation.


A few of these myths were recently repeated in an opinion piece in the Contra Costa Times. In his column, Domenico Maceri, a foreign language instructor at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California writes, '…the anti-bilingual education movement and the English-only movement could easily be labeled an anti-Spanish movement.'

In that one sentence, Mr. Maceri repeats two of the most ridiculous myths about official English. There are other distortions as well. These will likely come up as Congress debates HR 997, the English Language Unity Act of 2003, which would make English the official language of the United States.


Here are five of the most common myths about official English and the realities behind them.


Myth No. 1: Official English Is Anti-Immigrant


Declaring English the official language benefits all Americans, but it benefits immigrants most of all. Immigrants who speak English earn more money, do better in school and have more career options than those who do not.


As an immigrant from Chile, I can testify that English proficiency is the most important gift we can give to newcomers. In fact, polls show that 70% of Hispanics and 85% of all immigrants support making English the official language of the United States. Learning English is the key to assimilating into the mainstream of American society. That is why our organization, U.S. ENGLISH, Inc., advocates for English immersion classes for immigrant students and adults.

Myth No. 2: Official English Is 'English Only'


Many far-left opponents of official English, such as the ACLU, refer to our legislation as 'English Only.' Official English simply requires that government conduct its business in English. It does not dictate what language must be spoken in the home, during conversation, cultural celebrations or religious ceremonies. It does not prohibit the teaching of foreign languages. It does not affect private businesses or the services offered by them. In addition, HR 997 makes exceptions for emergency situations.

Myth No. 3: Today’s Immigrants Are Learning English Just Like the Immigrants of Old


The United States has a rapidly growing population of people—often native born— who are not proficient in English. The 2000 Census found that 21.3 million Americans (8% of the population) are classified as 'limited English proficient,' a 52% increase from 1990, and more than double the 1980 total. More than 5.6 million of these people were born in the United States. In states like California, 20% of the population is not proficient in English.


The Census also reports that 4.5 million American households are linguistically isolated, meaning that no one in the household older than age 14 can speak English. These numbers indicate that the American assimilation process is broken. If not fixed, we will see our own 'American Quebec' in the Southwestern United States and perhaps other areas of the country.

Myth No. 4: The Founding Fathers Rejected Making English the Official Language

English has been the language of our nation from its earliest days. In 1789, 90% of our nation’s non-slave inhabitants were of English descent. Any notion that they would have chosen another language or used precious resources on printing documents in multiple languages lacks common sense.


The issue of an official language was never discussed at the Constitutional Convention as the topic was not controversial enough to be debated. Even the Dutch colonies had been under English rule for more than a century. Contrary to popular belief, Congress never voted on a proposal to make German the official language. This myth is probably based on a 1794 bill to translate some documents into German (it was defeated).

Myth No. 5: In a Global Culture, an Official Language Is Anachronistic


Ninety-two percent of the world’s countries (178 of 193) have at least one official language. English is the sole official language in 31 nations and has an official status in 20 other nations, including India, Singapore, the Philippines, Samoa and Nigeria.

There has never been a language so widely spread in so short a time as English. It is the lingua franca of the modern world as much as Latin was the common tongue of the Roman Empire. Roughly one quarter of the world’s population is already fluent or competent in English and this number grows by the day.


English is the global language of business, communications, higher education, diplomacy, aviation, the Internet, science, popular music, entertainment and international travel. Immigrants who don’t know English not only lose out in the American economy, but also in the global economy.

These are just some of the myths that must be corrected if we are to have a debate on a coherent language policy. This policy should be built on fact, not myth. Multilingual government is a disaster for American unity and results in billions of dollars in unnecessary government spending. We need only to look at Canada to see the problems that multilingualism can bring. HR 997 could be our last best chance to stop this process and we cannot let distortions about official English sidetrack this legislation.




Providence has been pleased to give us this one connected country, to one united people, speaking the same language.
— John Jay, “The Federalist Papers”


The ultimate way to bring this nation to ruin, or preventing all possibility of it continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities. We have but one flag; we must also learn one language, and that language is English.
— President Theodore Roosevelt


'[W]hen men cannot communicate their thoughts to each other, simply because of difference of language, all the similarity of their common human nature is of no avail to unite them in fellowship.'
— The City of God, St. Augustine, circa 420 A.D.


But when states are acquired in a country differing in language, customs, or laws, there are difficulties, and good fortune and great energy are needed to hold them — Macchiavelli, 'The Prince'


Vast Majority of Americans Support Official English

National polling data indicates that the overwhelming majority of Americans, including Hispanics, support making English the official language.

· 84% of Americans, including 77% of Hispanics, believe English should be the official language of government operations, according to a 2006 Zogby International poll. [1]

· Support for making English the official language is bi-partisan: 92% of Republicans, 82% of Democrats and 77% of Independents favor making English the official language, according to that same poll. [1]

· 82% of Americans support legislation that would require the federal government to conduct business solely in English, according to a 2004 Zogby International poll.[2]

· 79% of Americans believe immigrants should be required to learn English before they are granted citizenship; only 14% disagree.[3]

Most immigrants say learning English is essential.
· 91% of foreign-born Latino immigrants agree that learning English is essential to succeed in the U.S., according to a 2002 Kaiser Family Foundation poll.[4]

· A 2002 Carnegie/Public Agenda poll found that by more than a 2-1 margin immigrants themselves say the U.S. should expect new immigrants to learn English.[5]

Most immigrants reject 'bilingual education.'

· The 2002 Carnegie/Public Agenda poll found that 73% of immigrants believe schools should teach English as quickly as possible. 63% said that they believe that all teaching should be done in English, while only 32% supported allowing some teaching in their native languages. [5]