English Only Legislation (August: home, school district, to live in)

[CBaillo]

This country has gone into the toilet, CA especially, because people have been too PC about language, and immigration. I view this as making up for lost time. Cheers...i wish it would pass, but seeing as everybody has such a bleeding heart, it probably wont.

[UB50]

There was a poll done in the last couple of years about language and the Internet. (This was a poll of Internet experts, some of whom had over 30 years experience in computers.)

One of the reasons English is so predominant in various countries is because the Internet was started in an English speaking country (ours). The majority of the experts predicted that in 2020, the principal internet language will be Mandarin Chinese, not English. The majority of the written documents on the internet will be in Chinese, etc.

It was somewhat shocking to read that -- but it was believable.

[Winston Smith]

English is one big foreign language. Five minutes hunting the Internet on origins of English words scored me these (and more):

vicinity, salary, barbarian - Latin;
algebra, alphabet and other al... words - Arabic;
cul-de-sac - French;
kindergarten - German;
anger, bleak, husband - old Norse;
down, pony - Gaelic;
viola - Italian;
eight and all of the ...ght words - old English hold-over from times when the g-h-t was spoken;
phenomenon, crisis, hypothesis - Greek;
lasso, pinto, gringo (green go) and other rancho-related words - Spanish;
shlep, shmuz - Yiddish;
Devil - deliberate perversion of Sanskrit Deva, meaning divine one.

I’m not a linguist nor a historian so feel free to challenge any of these, or add to them. Again, just something gleened from a five-minute peruse on the Internet.

[Amavel]

Originally Posted by CBaillo

This country has gone into the toilet, CA especially, because people have been too PC about language, and immigration. I view this as making up for lost time. Cheers...i wish it would pass, but seeing as everybody has such a bleeding heart, it probably wont.

It's not necessarily being politically correct, but being respectful of the rights and desires of people different than ourselves.

[majoun]

Originally Posted by tfox

Our founding fathers were adamant that we NOT have an official language. There were many attempts to found an official language in the early years and they were nearly always shot down by a wide margin due to concerns about impinging on civil liberties. In fact, the closest we ever came was during the War of 1812, where lawmakers were so angry at Great Britain that they decided to vote to make German as a our official language as a symbolic measure. (Look it up; truth is stragner than fiction).

This is one of the great "urban legends" of history. Somehow, the New Jersey legislature's vote in the early years of the Republic on making German a co-official language along with English got transformed into a US
Congressional vote on making German "the" official language. It would have been ridiculous to adopt an official language that few Americans outside of Pennsylvania and New Jersey spoke - that would be like if the US congress right now decided to vote to make Chinese the official language of the US

[majoun]

Originally Posted by UB50

I thought this already came up in California and was shot down as being unconstitutional??!!

All I can say to those who are tired of hearing nothing but Spanish: Move to Monterey Park or Glendale. There you can hear Chinese or Armenian along with your Spanish. You will no longer relate to those who complain about hearing "nothing but Spanish" because you won't hear that much Spanish.

And you can be a minority complaining about hearing "nothing but Chinese."

It'll certainly make YOU feel better.

Or move to West Hollywood and you'll hear far more Russian than Spanish.
Or (if you can afford to) move to Santa Monica or Beverly Hills and you'll hear Farsi all the time.

[CBaillo]

Originally Posted by Amavel

It's not necessarily being politically correct, but being respectful of the rights and desires of people different than ourselves.

I am the first of my family born on american soil...EVERY SINGLE ONE of my relatives learned to speak English, as a sign of respect for the country they dreamed about and yearned to live in their whole lives.

You go anywhere else in the world to LIVE for longer than a few months, and you would be expected to learn their language...

Your approach is catering laziness.

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by CBaillo

I am the first of my family born on american soil...EVERY SINGLE ONE of my relatives learned to speak English, as a sign of respect for the country they dreamed about and yearned to live in their whole lives.

You go anywhere else in the world to LIVE for longer than a few months, and you would be expected to learn their language...

Your approach is catering laziness.

Hammer. Nail. Head.

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Originally Posted by CBaillo

I am the first of my family born on american soil...EVERY SINGLE ONE of my relatives learned to speak English, as a sign of respect for the country they dreamed about and yearned to live in their whole lives.

You go anywhere else in the world to LIVE for longer than a few months, and you would be expected to learn their language...

Your approach is catering laziness.

Definitly. Some users have excused the immigrants for being unskilled, and working 40 hours/week. Well, certainly many are. However, they do have free time. If they made an attempt to leave their little eastside/valley enclaves and assimilated once in a while, hearing/speaking English in places like Sherman Oaks, West Hollywood, or Santa Monica-They'd have English down in no time.

[snb3]

Originally Posted by CBaillo

I am the first of my family born on american soil...EVERY SINGLE ONE of my relatives learned to speak English, as a sign of respect for the country they dreamed about and yearned to live in their whole lives.

You go anywhere else in the world to LIVE for longer than a few months, and you would be expected to learn their language...

Your approach is catering laziness.

OWNED!

Until I can go to Mexico illegally and vote for the Mexican President in German
or
Until I can go to China and fill out a police report in Japanese
or
until I can go to Sweden and fill out hospital admittance papers in Arabic,
or
until I go to Mexico illegally and expect their public schools to be taught in any language I want to be taught in
or
until....... (can go on forever)....

Let me see, in order to conform to everyone's rights, we need to have a country with 100 "official" lauguages. Does anybody want this country to become the US of Babel?

As someone else mentioned in an indirect way, English is a descendant from Latin as are many European languages. So how hard must it be (at least for Spanish/Italian speaking natives)?

English is my 2nd and my wife's 3rd language. We know many US citizens that cannot speak English fluenty and its a downright shame and an embarassment (they are from every continent).
What, you can't function in the country you reside so you gotta claim "intolerance" and "hate" for the country and those for not conforming to your needs (or lack of drive to education yourself)?

My mom, who is a nurse, learned English when we emigrated here. Later, she had to learn basic Spanish out of the industry's necessity. So she had to learn a 3rd language for those who are unable or what is the more common cause, unwilling to learn their 2nd (and primary language in this country). At least give it an effort and meet us half way without claiming yourself a victim.