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The Declaration of independence, the Constitution & all other founding documents were in English. Nothing further need be said really, those who dont think that English should be & already effectively is the official language have an axe to grind.
Not "effectively." It IS the official language. There was considerable debate about this at the outset between the Founding Fathers, who thought for a while that German might be a better choice. They decided on English well before the Constitution was signed IIRC.
May I recommend that people interested in this topic read The Disuniting Of America by Arthur Schlesinger? He discusses many serious issues associated with having, not only more than one official language, but a national ethnic identity (which you'd think people would have figured out long ago is always going to be impossible in the USA).
Here's some food for thought: The USA has 1 major language (English) and 2 minor ones (Spanish and Norwegian). The nation -- not the continent, but the country -- of India has 18 major languages and 138 minor ones. That is a serious reason they are not a world power, in spite of their huge population, growing economy and solid work ethic. They can't get themselves coordinated because of all the competing factions. We cannot afford to go in that direction.
I believe that English could be the official language for governmental administratrative issues:
I believe government offices should be able to have English speaking people to serve the people. Now, it gets tricky where there is a great majority of people from other countries. If the voters want to demand a certain number of people that speak another language to serve the population, I have not problem with that as long as all that work serving the people speak Enlish. But I do not think it should be demanded a government office to be able to attend all languages. The is a limit to accomodating all people. If the citizens want to accomodate, vote for funding to provide a specific fund to employ people that speak all the languages spoken in the area and you will see how soon they would turn down the referendum.
As far as businesses, they should be allowed to enforce whatever language requirements they want. I do not believe in forcing EEO laws because people in the community want employers to hire people that do not speak English. Smart employers know that if the majority of the city have Spanish speaking people, they will hire someone that speaks the language to good customer relations. If they do not, a simple boycot would solve the problem. No need to have a law for that.
I speak Spanish becaue my parents made sure I could speak it. However, they were open minded and realized that to have a better life they it is good to speak the language of this country so they made sure I learned English.
What does "official" mean, anyway. The Bald Eagle is the official national bird of the United States, but I can't shoot bluejays, either. So what? Bud Lite is the official beer of the Big East Conference. So what? "The Star Spangled Banner" is the official national anthem, but I've read posts on here from people who froth at the mouth if somebody didn't stand up for "God Bless America". So what? The US Dollar is the official national currency, but the WalMart in Bellingham WA accepts Canadian dollars, but refuses a bag of US pennies. So what? The official road sign says the Cheerleaders pick up the trash in the next mile. So what? The Post OFfice is the official deliverer of mail, but I can use Fed-Ex. So what
Now, it gets tricky where there is a great majority of people from other countries.
Exactly right; and you were also right when you said that there's a limit to accommodating all the people. Often, when the subject of an official language comes up, it's a thinly-disguised rant against Spanish. But there are many, many other foreign languages besides Spanish spoken by Americans. And since you cannot accommodate them all, there should be one official language serving as the standard for government, commerce, etc. English is already the de facto language of the United States. It should not be such a big deal--or a hardship for anyone--to say, "OK, let's put it in writing and make it official."
I think it should be the official language, and I think that government employees should be required to speak it - WELL. When what should be a 1 -hour conversation turns into a 2 and a half hour one because the government employee cannot speak or understand English enough to fill out an official form or to do an official interview, and REFUSES to call in someone else who can - that is frustrating and wrong. I have dealt with people who cannot speak English and cannot understand what I say several times now - and they WILL NOT call their supervisor because they do not want to lose their job. Yet they cannot DO their job efficiently or effectively because they do not know the language! I STILL have no idea what those people actually wrote down on official forms. It's bad enough that government employees are called inefficient, careless, or just plain stupid and ineffective - when they cannot speak the common language, they take our tax dollars in pay and benefits and STILL cannot do the job.
i feel english should be the official language, its what we started with as a country, and what we have been all these years until illigal emmigration took over and we was forced to cater to everyone who jumped a fence and demanded we speak like them so it would be easier for their cousins to jump the fence next. im sorry if i offend anyone, but its how i feel, and since my freedom of speech isnt taxed or outlawed yet, then thats what i got to say on the subject.
it used to be that if you went to a foreign county, you had X amount of time to learn a passable usage of their language to stay, i believe it was japan or something like that that gave you 6 mo to stay there. if i was to live in another country, i would accept, and learn their language and ways, out of respect, i wouldnt move there and then whine till they changed everything just to suit me.
im all for learning a second language in schools, but it should be like it used to be, a elective, now i believe its a requirment.
i have no problem if you speak your native language all day long in your own home, but in public, please speak the common language of the country you are in. whats worse, my kids started school years in idaho, and they had kids who couldnt speak any english, instead of teaching them english, they hired spanish tutors to sit there all day long and translate what the teacher/class said, not once insisting that they learn english, alas...our hard earned tax dollars at work again.
and before someone jumps all over me and says i dont want others coming over our borders, wait...i dont care, america is open to all....just be sure to stop in and file your papers and become legal, grab a book and learn our language, and then get a job and earn your way.
i know there is lots of various languages spoken here, german, spanish, etc, ive known plenty, the differance is, it seems the spanish speakers just refuse to learn our language and we keep bowing down to them, why??? why do we fold on this subject verses standing our ground?? we used to stand our ground and now we quiver for fear of offending someone.
btw....i dont care if i offend newcomers...i still say Merry Christmas, I refused to learn spanish, I believe in God, and Im proud to be a AMERICAN....i dont care how many laws are made agaisnt it cuz someone moved here and whined.
Exactly right; and you were also right when you said that there's a limit to accommodating all the people. Often, when the subject of an official language comes up, it's a thinly-disguised rant against Spanish. But there are many, many other foreign languages besides Spanish spoken by Americans. And since you cannot accommodate them all, there should be one official language serving as the standard for government, commerce, etc. English is already the de facto language of the United States. It should not be such a big deal--or a hardship for anyone--to say, "OK, let's put it in writing and make it official."
I also agree with you except when it comes to commerce. People should be free to run their business as they see fit and best for their business. In other words, if the owner wants to hire people that speak other languages to cater to the community, I do not think he has to comply to cater to those that only speak English. It would be to his/her best interest to have English speaking employees to also cater English speaking people.
If he/she does not have enough people that speak English, you can take your business somewhere else. If enough people do not bring their business to their store, then that owner may consider having enough people that speak English for his business to bring the profits he wants. The most he can cater to all the people in the community, the most business he will have.
Remember the guy I in Philadelphia (?) that denied serving anyone that did not speak English to him? I respect that also. He may be willing to loose some business by doing that. If enough people in the community simply boycot his business to the extent of hurting it, I am sure he may change his policy. There would not be a need to make English mandatory. The people would take care of it if the care enough.
That is why I only advocate mandatory English in government agencies that serve the people.
Let me ask again---just what would "official" mean? In other words, what would be illegal if English were the "official" language? What would be the penalty for an illegal act?
We need English to be made the official language to save money in the classrooms and for official American papers. Nothing wrong with speaking other languages with ones friends but everyone that comes to our country needs to learn English.
Official language of the united states? How about English? Some people want to have different languages for different regions. I think that's bull crap. If we did that we'd wind up like Europe. You know how they all get along. So, let's just stay with what works. Oh yea, how about we make Mexico a state, you know, since they like comin' here so much. That way we can get some of that tax money, not to mention the natural resources. It would be easy to take thier asses over.
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