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With that comment, it becomes difficult to believe you have ever traveled abroad. In my experience, only the French resist an American who speaks English... and then only up to the point where you try to speak French. But they become so horrified at your bastardization of their language that they revert to English purely out of pride.
No, it isn't. Should is not the same thing as must.
First you were an angry taxpayer. Now you're an angry taxpayer who is just toying around with language.
Say what you mean, mean what you say.
You think public employees should just go learn other languages, use them on the job, yet not be compensated for them. Because...... you think they "should".
You think public employees should just go learn other languages, use them on the job, yet not be compensated for them. Because...... you think they "should".
No, I think public employees should know how to communicate with the public, because it is their job.
Public employees are a cross section of the local population anyway, so in well-run governments, this issue takes care of itself.
In any case, y'all still haven't explained how this law would solve any of the practical problems that you bring up, about how to serve non-English speaking citizens.
I live in Switzerland, which has 3 official languages, French, German and Italian. What is spoken depends on the region you live in.
I speak none of those languages. Yet, I have no trouble communicating and living my life using English. Why? Because the Swiss see the economic and cultural benefit of being able to work with and accommodate speakers of English. In the same way that many Americans (myself included) see the benefit of being able to communicate in Spanish when in the USA.
Far from being threatened by bilingual culture, I embrace it as a richer experience, and reject any attempts to go backwards by insisting on a single language in what is historically a bicultural nation.
Can you imagine Canada trying to weed out all things Francophone?
Just imagine the legal mischief lawyers have with interpretation of the law, when our laws and government documents are written in 50 different languages.
I live in Switzerland, which has 3 official languages, French, German and Italian. What is spoken depends on the region you live in.
I speak none of those languages. Yet, I have no trouble communicating and living my life using English. Why? Because the Swiss see the economic and cultural benefit of being able to work with and accommodate speakers of English. In the same way that many Americans (myself included) see the benefit of being able to communicate in Spanish when in the USA.
Far from being threatened by bilingual culture, I embrace it as a richer experience, and reject any attempts to go backwards by insisting on a single language in what is historically a bicultural nation.
Can you imagine Canada trying to weed out all things Francophone?
If only it was bilingual. There are 104 different languages spoken in Alaska. This is a map of where some of those languages are spoken:
Alaska attempted to make English the official language in 1998 by initiative, but even though the vast majority voted in favor of making English the official language, the Alaska Supreme Court shot it down.
Canada, by the way has two official languages - English and French. They also have over 100 different languages spoken (primarily by natives) that they do not officially recognize.
Just imagine the legal mischief lawyers have with interpretation of the law, when our laws and government documents are written in 50 different languages.
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