GOOD JOB CONGRESS!!

Here's my opinion:

If we've gone on this long w/out an official language and everythins has been fine - why change it now?

If it ain't broke...don't fix it!

This country was founded on immigrants - plain and simple. If anyone is entitled to an offical language - it's the Native American's, and they CERTAINLY did not speak English.

Anyone in the mood to learn some Iroquois, Cherokee, Navajo, Ojibwe, or Sioux???

another take: (c&p)

'I expect some portion those reading this post to be thinking, “So what? The United States is an English-speaking nation. That’s our language.” However, this is not actually true. The United States does not have an official language. A nation does not speak any language: only its people do, and there are millions of Americans who speak a non-English language. English may be your language, but it isn’t exclusively ours. There are many places in this nation where English is not even the majority language; areas of Native American language dominance exist, and there are also places where French, Spanish, Korean and Chinese rule the roost. No, these places may not be where you live, but surprisingly, the world is not all about you. H.R. 997 is not simply an exercise in restating the obvious or the status quo; it is an affirmative decision to move toward taking the language of some of us and using it as a tool to exclude the rest of us.

Why is there such a push on language? After all, it’s not as though the nation is falling apart because people speak different languages. Indeed, our nation’s history from beginning to end is replete with diversity of tongue as people bring their language with them from elsewhere as a marker of their ethnic culture and identity. Yes, ethnic culture and identity. Language is a marker of ethnicity, but the words “ethnic” and “ethnicity” are so tricky to use when you want to be getting rid of diversity. I mean, who wants to be known as a proponent of “ethnic cleansing,” or to be opposed to America’s ethnic diversity? No, it’s much easier to say that it’s all about language, isn’t it? So they make the bill a bill about language, but make no mistake: the effect of the bill is to divide people according to ethnicity, and to assign those Americans with less-valued ethnicity to an official lower-tier status. The supporters of this bill talk about ending division, but legislating diversity away will not make it disappear. On the contrary, this legislation will only divide the nation into a privileged English-speaking clique and an untouchable caste of non-English speakers who are denied access to government, to civic participation, and even to the private workplace. This is not what America stands for.'

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Posted by vixchik

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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Agreed....

For the records, I was not born in the US and English is not my native language.

Yet, 'I' decided to move to the US. I trully believe that it is 'MY' duty to integrate myself to this country, learn the language and follow the rules/laws. I don't expect any special treatment, somebody speaking my native language, press '3' to speak my language, etc....

If I don't like.. well, nobody asked me to move here in the first place!!!!!

I could care less about Congress pushing to make English the official language. I'm from Puerto Rico, the ONLY commonwealth left in the WORLD and the official languages are Spanish and English. It's not either or. And if they made it just English or jsut Spanish I couldn't care. People will speak what they're taught at home, at school, etc. So again, my gripe is not with Congress passing English. Again, I could care less.

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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.

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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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I don't speak Spanish!!!!

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HOWEVER, I do have a HUGE problem with blatant ignorance and THIS is what upset me. The discussion turned into something else, but it originated from this. I answered her 'why' question...

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Posted by SomethingBlu

I could care less about Congress pushing to make English the official language. I'm from Puerto Rico, the ONLY commonwealth left in the WORLD and the official languages are Spanish and English. It's not either or. And if they made it just English or jsut Spanish I couldn't care. People will speak what they're taught at home, at school, etc. So again, my gripe is not with Congress passing English. Again, I could care less.

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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.

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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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I don't speak Spanish!!!!

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HOWEVER, I do have a HUGE problem with blatant ignorance and THIS is what upset me. The discussion turned into something else, but it originated from this. I answered her 'why' question...

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Are you calling me 'ignorant'? Why are you upset?

I was voicing my opinion.

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Posted by SomethingBlu


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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HOWEVER, I do have a HUGE problem with blatant ignorance and THIS is what upset me. The discussion turned into something else, but it originated from this. I answered her 'why' question...

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I believe she read it the way I did at first as well...'We may all come from different countries, but we all speak the same language...Spanish' I am sure you actually meant Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain and Brazil all speak Spanish....but I think that if you read it again, you can see the confusion possibly that you were saying everyone speaks Spanish and not 'hispanic' nations.


no hard feelings from me that's for sure.

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Posted by sr081906


Are you calling me 'ignorant'? Why are you upset?

I was voicing my opinion.

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No quotation marks...and yes. And it's the US, you're free to voice your opinion. And I'm free to find them ignorant. The end.

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Posted by vixchik

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Posted by SomethingBlu


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.

---

HOWEVER, I do have a HUGE problem with blatant ignorance and THIS is what upset me. The discussion turned into something else, but it originated from this. I answered her 'why' question...

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I believe she read it the way I did at first as well...'We may all come from different countries, but we all speak the same language...Spanish' I am sure you actually meant Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain and Brazil all speak Spanish....but I think that if you read it again, you can see the confusion possibly that you were saying everyone speaks Spanish and not 'hispanic' nations.


no hard feelings from me that's for sure.

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Me neither... but I don't like being called 'names'. I don't insult anyone and we are all entitled to our opinions. We all come from different background.

Being someone from a different country, I am the first one to admit that I did not come here to change the country.

not to overstate the obvious, BUT the reason there are so many language CHOICES is because there are so many languages SPOKEN here...

anyone that has tried to learn a foreign language can understand how hard it is to grasp, and english is one of the hardest languages to learn. It would be awful for someone to move here and not have access to some of the most important information b/c of a language barrier. No language is learned over night.

the ONLY good I can see coming out of this is that perhaps people will learn how to speak it correctly...I dare say a HUGE number of the (navtive BORN) population does not.

And, there is NO OTHER COUNTRY IN THE WORLD that sees the immigration that we do (trust me, I work for the Dept of Justice, I KNOW) or has the sheer numbers of immigrants from various countries, speaking various languages. it is a very UNIQUE place, and thus should not be compared to countries NOT in the same situation.

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Posted by vixchik

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Posted by SomethingBlu


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.

---

HOWEVER, I do have a HUGE problem with blatant ignorance and THIS is what upset me. The discussion turned into something else, but it originated from this. I answered her 'why' question...

---

I believe she read it the way I did at first as well...'We may all come from different countries, but we all speak the same language...Spanish' I am sure you actually meant Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain and Brazil all speak Spanish....but I think that if you read it again, you can see the confusion possibly that you were saying everyone speaks Spanish and not 'hispanic' nations.


no hard feelings from me that's for sure.

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I was referring to Hispanics...the question was 'why Spanish?' the answer was 'because they're the largest minority who all happen to share a language'. Done with this thread though. Seriously...not worth it.

to me for getting so worked up!

the ONLY good I can see coming out of this is that perhaps people will learn how to speak it correctly...I dare say a HUGE number of the (navtive BORN) population does not.


i heard dat. sorry, couldnt' resist being silly.

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by sr081906


Are you calling me 'ignorant'? Why are you upset?

I was voicing my opinion.

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No quotation marks...and yes. And it's the US, you're free to voice your opinion. And I'm free to find them ignorant. The end.

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Why am I ignorant? Because I don't agree with you.

Facts:

Do you think there is only one kind of immigrant population and they all speak Spanish?

NO. There are people from other countries who came here and you know what, they all made an effort (even with their accent) to speak English. They don't have a choice and they don't complain. So why just cater to one manority?

English is the main language and so be it!

I dare anyone to go to another country and ask them to change all their signs, entire system to cater to your needs because you decided to move to a country and you don't speak the language.

Whose fault is it?

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Posted by vixchik

the ONLY good I can see coming out of this is that perhaps people will learn how to speak it correctly...I dare say a HUGE number of the (navtive BORN) population does not.


i heard dat. sorry, couldnt' resist being silly.

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You are being silly

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Posted by sr081906

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by sr081906


Are you calling me 'ignorant'? Why are you upset?

I was voicing my opinion.

---

No quotation marks...and yes. And it's the US, you're free to voice your opinion. And I'm free to find them ignorant. The end.

---

Why am I ignorant? Because I don't agree with you.

Facts:

Do you think there is only one kind of immigrant population and they all speak Spanish?

NO. There are people from other countries who came here and you know what, they all made an effort (even with their accent) to speak English. They don't have a choice and they don't complain. So why just cater to one manority?

English is the main language and so be it!

I dare anyone to go to another country and ask them to change all their signs, entire system to cater to your needs because you decided to move to a country and you don't speak the language.

Whose fault is it?

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Dude I was just answering your own stupid question. Won't do that again. Got it chick. Moving on...

I dare anyone to go to another country and ask them to change all their signs, entire system to cater to your needs because you decided to move to a country and you don't speak the language.
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there is one GLARING difference that you are overlooking..and that is sheer NUMBERS...the population of Chinese, Arab, Eastern European, and Hispanic immigrants is on a scale in this country that is unlike any other...some 'enclaves' here in the US have higher populations than major cities in the native countries...that is nothing to ignore.

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by sr081906

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by sr081906


Are you calling me 'ignorant'? Why are you upset?

I was voicing my opinion.

---

No quotation marks...and yes. And it's the US, you're free to voice your opinion. And I'm free to find them ignorant. The end.

---

Why am I ignorant? Because I don't agree with you.

Facts:

Do you think there is only one kind of immigrant population and they all speak Spanish?

NO. There are people from other countries who came here and you know what, they all made an effort (even with their accent) to speak English. They don't have a choice and they don't complain. So why just cater to one manority?

English is the main language and so be it!

I dare anyone to go to another country and ask them to change all their signs, entire system to cater to your needs because you decided to move to a country and you don't speak the language.

Whose fault is it?

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Dude I was just answering your own stupid question. Won't do that again. Got it chick. Moving on...

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Wow... dude, chick, stupid. Now, that's really grown up and mature. Did you notice I never called you names? You assumed I lived in GA. I guess you are attacking Southerners too.

I guess you need to move on indead! Apparently, you cannot take other people's opinion.

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Posted by JessicaM.

I dare anyone to go to another country and ask them to change all their signs, entire system to cater to your needs because you decided to move to a country and you don't speak the language.
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there is one GLARING difference that you are overlooking..and that is sheer NUMBERS...the population of Chinese, Arab, Eastern European, and Hispanic immigrants is on a scale in this country that is unlike any other...some 'enclaves' here in the US have higher populations than major cities in the native countries...that is nothing to ignore.

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I understand, but do you think we should cater to all the different languages?

I am all for equality. If we are going to use spanish (not offence to anyone who is speaking Spanish!), why not Chinese? That's not fair to the Chinese population. What about Arabic, Eastern European like you mentioned? Do we need all brochures, signs to be in so many different languages.

That's all I was trying to get to..

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Posted by sr081906

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Posted by JessicaM.

I dare anyone to go to another country and ask them to change all their signs, entire system to cater to your needs because you decided to move to a country and you don't speak the language.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

there is one GLARING difference that you are overlooking..and that is sheer NUMBERS...the population of Chinese, Arab, Eastern European, and Hispanic immigrants is on a scale in this country that is unlike any other...some 'enclaves' here in the US have higher populations than major cities in the native countries...that is nothing to ignore.

---

I understand, but do you think we should cater to all the different languages?

I am all for equality. If we are going to use spanish (not offence to anyone who is speaking Spanish!), why not Chinese? That's not fair to the Chinese population. What about Arabic, Eastern European like you mentioned? Do we need all brochures, signs to be in so many different languages.

That's all I was trying to get to..

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I live in NYC, and YES there are many languages represented, not just spanish. it may not be necessary everywhere, but it is here. and we should treat everyone with dignity and respect...and giving anyone a reason or excuse to tell someone to 'go back to their own country' b/c they don't speak the language, is shameful.

when you meet someone or hear them speak in a native tongue, you don't know how long they've been here or what the situation is. things should be kept in that perspective.

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Posted by sr081906

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Posted by JessicaM.

I dare anyone to go to another country and ask them to change all their signs, entire system to cater to your needs because you decided to move to a country and you don't speak the language.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

there is one GLARING difference that you are overlooking..and that is sheer NUMBERS...the population of Chinese, Arab, Eastern European, and Hispanic immigrants is on a scale in this country that is unlike any other...some 'enclaves' here in the US have higher populations than major cities in the native countries...that is nothing to ignore.

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I understand, but do you think we should cater to all the different languages?

I am all for equality. If we are going to use spanish (not offence to anyone who is speaking Spanish!), why not Chinese? That's not fair to the Chinese population. What about Arabic, Eastern European like you mentioned? Do we need all brochures, signs to be in so many different languages.

That's all I was trying to get to..

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I also understand what you are saying, but just to let you know - as a Middle Eastern, there are thousands of dialects to the Arabic language. So how do you just pick one?

Same goes for Chinese - there's Mandarin and Cantonese - among others.