Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes, as long as Spanish and ASL are also declared official languages, and as long as other local areas where languages like Vietnamese are widely spoken can declare their respective languages as official too. In other words, I have no problem with declaring English as the official language, so long as it's not with the intention to exclude any and all other languages from being used/recognized.
ASL is 1 thing but ANY language but English, NO way.
If all immigrants would learn English, they could assimilate better into this melting point. Immigrants need to be able to communicate with everyone else, and everyone else needs to be able to communciate with them, so that they can more easily integrate into American society.
I agree. I am an immigrant and I learned English. When I arrived in the US, a could say little more than "Hello" and "How are you?" I learned English so well that I scored 97th percentile on the GRE when I was applying for Graduate school. Doing so was absolutely essential in my academic and professional pursuits. In fact, I doubt that I would have found much success without mastery of the English language - not to mention becoming rather well integrated.
That's funny how right wingers supposedly hate the federal government interfering with states, yet want a national law to tell Hawaii they can't have Hawaiian as its co-official language anymore. Hypocrisy thy name is GOP
ASL is 1 thing but ANY language but English, NO way.
ASL is a language other than English. As I already explained in the other thread, ASL is NOT "English on the hands".
If say, Vietnamese or Cantonese is spoken widely in a particular county, then what would be wrong with making Vietnamese or Cantonese official within that county?
I agree. I am an immigrant and I learned English. When I arrived in the US, a could say little more than "Hello" and "How are you?" I learned English so well that I scored 97th percentile on the GRE when I was applying for Graduate school. Doing so was absolutely essential in my academic and professional pursuits. In fact, I doubt that I would have found much success without mastery of the English language - not to mention becoming rather well integrated.
What does making English an official language have to do with immigrants learning it? There are still going to be immigrants who learn it and immigrants who refuse to, regardless of whatever law gets passed into place. At the very most, a change in law would only affect people immigrating from now on, and any immigrants that are already here that have refused to learn English could easily continue refusing. Obviously learning English makes it easier to succeed in the U.S. But if someone chooses not to do so, then why try to control their life? Their choice, their loss.
ASL is a language other than English. As I already explained in the other thread, ASL is NOT "English on the hands".
If say, Vietnamese or Cantonese is spoken widely in a particular county, then what would be wrong with making Vietnamese or Cantonese official within that county?
Why? Cause more than 1 main language causes problems. MOST countries with 2 or more main languages break up.
Yes. If you want to live here, and do business in this country, speak ENGLISH! My ancestors had to. Were I to move to another country, why should I expect them to cater to me? It would be up to me to learn that country's language! Now, I'm not saying that you couldn't speak your native tongue at home or in your private life. But if you want to be a citizen of this country, and take advantage of it's benefits you should have to assimilate as those who immigrated here LEGALLY.
Yes. Definitely. Where I live language is used to discriminate against people in the work place and in hiring. Americans are denied a chance to even apply for many jobs as the employment ads are now posted only in Spanish. It's very wrong that good Americans are being denied jobs -- and also that language discrimination is also a cover-up for racial discrimination.
Why? Cause more than 1 main language causes problems. MOST countries with 2 or more main languages break up.
Like which countries, for instance? Switzerland has French/Italian/German/Romansch, and India has English/Hindi as official languages. Many more countries are unofficially multilingual, like the Netherlands, many parts of Scandinavia, Africa, etc. New Zealand has Maori and New Zealand Sign Language as official languages and they seem to be doing just fine. Even if many countries break off cause of the multiple languages used, I would hope we could pull off being like Switzerland or New Zealand.
Like which countries, for instance? Switzerland has French/Italian/German/Romansch, and India has English/Hindi as official languages. Many more countries are unofficially multilingual, like the Netherlands, many parts of Scandinavia, Africa, etc. New Zealand has Maori and New Zealand Sign Language as official languages and they seem to be doing just fine. Even if many countries break off cause of the multiple languages used, I would hope we could pull off being like Switzerland or New Zealand.
Why? Let the illegals go to Switzerland or New Zealand if they don't wish to learn English.
The USA did not get to be the most powerful and appealing nation by having 100 different languages and dialects to divide us.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
