87% Say English Should Be U.S. Official Language

[somedeafdudefromPNW]

What are you going to do with Little Tokyo, Chinatowns, Little Saigon, Little so-and-so and the taxation revenue they bring into the US taxpayer core?

How about chefs and restaurants who can't communicate 100% in english?
Import and exporting trades based solely with negotiations in other countries?
Fast food joints? You want all the older experienced immigrants out and deal with high school kiddies?

Short term benefits of instantly dropping and adapting to english while cutting out non-natives seems pretty detrimental if you take a second to see what's at stake. Course, it only really affects our more prosperous states.

Technically, in practice, official languages refer to the legal documents. Speak whatever language you want, but you need to understand what you're signing and your legal rights.

 

[somedeafdudefromPNW]

Too much problems at stake right now w/ prioritizing assimilation and focusing on the spread of the king's english, not to mention time wasted.

Most of the problems stem from first generation immigrants, which their time is coming to an end soon. You can only (really) grow up learning english in USA schools, they don't focus on other languages first..

The issue will most likely remedy itself in 1-2 centuries once 4th-5th+ generations are surviving on, at no extensive cost or dramatic factors involved.

You got a point there. Americans are not speaking Italian or German. Still... de facto English after 300 years.

 

[kokonut]

What are you going to do with Little Tokyo, Chinatowns, Little Saigon, Little so-and-so and the taxation revenue they bring into the US taxpayer core?

How about chefs and restaurants who can't communicate 100% in english?
Import and exporting trades based solely with negotiations in other countries?
Fast food joints? You want all the older experienced immigrants out and deal with high school kiddies?

Short term benefits of instantly dropping and adapting to english while cutting out non-natives seems pretty detrimental if you take a second to see what's at stake. Course, it only really affects our more prosperous states.

Everyone knows this.

Obviously you're not thinking this one through. Let me explain again from my previous post. Does any of the 30 states that have already English as the state's official language prohibit their own government agencies, the cities, the towns from using other languages when there is a compelling public interest for doing so? Can you name one?

 

[naisho]

The problem isn't with the fact that they prefer to adhere to a certain language, I thought we were all equal ground on this already. Seems like it whooshed straight past heads.

The problem lies in the assumption that we (the USA) would be presuming they are willing to go straight into ESL courses immediately and pick up enough literacy to conduct legal paperwork and federal service, all within an adequate timeframe (say, how long does it take to master english literacy?)

Not every 40-50 year old is going to be thrilled at the fact that they will be required to possess some form of legal constriction that shows that they have mastered enough adequacy for the english language so that they can now perform official business. This takes time, patience, some money (judging from the fact they won't be at work or on break) involved.

It's not as cut-and-dry as the issue makes it appear to be.

 

[somedeafdudefromPNW]

The problem isn't with the fact that they prefer to adhere to a certain language, I thought we were all equal ground on this already. Seems like it whooshed straight past heads.

The problem lies in the assumption that we (the USA) would be presuming they are willing to go straight into ESL courses immediately and pick up enough literacy to conduct legal paperwork and federal service, all within an adequate timeframe (say, how long does it take to master english literacy?)

Not every 40-50 year old is going to be thrilled at the fact that they will be required to possess some form of legal constriction that shows that they have mastered enough adequacy for the english language so that they can now perform official business. This takes time, patience, some money (judging from the fact they won't be at work or on break) involved.

It's not as cut-and-dry as the issue makes it appear to be.

Canada is an immigrant country...

We don't have the problems you're speaking of. Why is that so?

 

[naisho]

I thought they learned English in Canada if not became bilingual within their educational system? Most Canadians I've seen or met seem to know how to speak english already anyway.

The immigrants I was referring to aren't of that background, I'm speaking more of the orients, asia, pan-americas where there is little or no direct correlation between their language and ours. The people that make up the 15 percents of the current 300 million.


Just to set the record straight, I'm not one against people learning english if you guys are assuming this. My mindset is that I would prefer that the problem work itself out with least hassles involved in doing so, which I hypothesize it eventually will succumb to. The same as with that I would not force a child to walk, I would wait for it to be ready instead. It takes time, but that's what patience is about.

 

[somedeafdudefromPNW]

Half of Canada's population will be foreign-born by 2031...

At least most of your immigration generations will be born within America.

 

[kokonut]

The problem isn't with the fact that they prefer to adhere to a certain language, I thought we were all equal ground on this already. Seems like it whooshed straight past heads.

The problem lies in the assumption that we (the USA) would be presuming they are willing to go straight into ESL courses immediately and pick up enough literacy to conduct legal paperwork and federal service, all within an adequate timeframe (say, how long does it take to master english literacy?)

Not every 40-50 year old is going to be thrilled at the fact that they will be required to possess some form of legal constriction that shows that they have mastered enough adequacy for the english language so that they can now perform official business. This takes time, patience, some money (judging from the fact they won't be at work or on break) involved.

It's not as cut-and-dry as the issue makes it appear to be.

Declaring English as the official language people can still promote trade, commerce, and tourism in a language not of English. It's still true for states who have already declared English as their official language.

 

[DGirl101]

that's fine. You and i thought it was funny but at least we didn't dismiss shel and trivialize it.







Way out of line. Dismissing her. Trivializing it. Extremely immature.

agrees!!!

 

[Reba]

Too much problems at stake right now w/ prioritizing assimilation and focusing on the spread of the king's english, not to mention time wasted....

In the United States, we don't speak the king's English, for sure.

 

[Reba]

What are you going to do with Little Tokyo, Chinatowns, Little Saigon, Little so-and-so and the taxation revenue they bring into the US taxpayer core?

How about chefs and restaurants who can't communicate 100% in english?
Import and exporting trades based solely with negotiations in other countries?
Fast food joints? You want all the older experienced immigrants out and deal with high school kiddies?

Short term benefits of instantly dropping and adapting to english while cutting out non-natives seems pretty detrimental if you take a second to see what's at stake. Course, it only really affects our more prosperous states.

Everyone knows this.

Making American English the "official" language wouldn't have any bearing on how people chat with each other at home, in the family, or in their local communities. It wouldn't forbid the use of other languages but it would limit the use of other languages by government agencies and documents. Private businesses could deal with employee language issues however they want, whatever works best for them. In the restaurant and construction businesses, I know that managers are taking courses in work place Spanish.

 

[Reba]

State example of English only law that shows there are exemptions from the law:

SOUTH CAROLINA (1987)
S.C. Code Ann. § 1-1-(696-698)
§ 1-1-696. Official State language.
The English language is the official language of the state of South Carolina.
§ 1-1-697. Use of language other than English prohibited.
Neither this state nor any political subdivision thereof shall require, by law, ordinance, regulation, order, decree, program, or policy, the use of any language other than English; provided, however, that nothing in this act shall prohibit a state agency or a political subdivision of the state from requiring an applicant to have certain degrees of knowledge of a foreign language as a condition of employment where appropriate.
§ 1-1-698. Exceptions to prohibition against use of language other than English.
This act does not prohibit any law, ordinance, regulation, order, decree program, or policy requiring educational instruction in a language other than English for the purpose of making students who use a language other than English proficient in English or making students proficient in a language in addition to English.

TO AMEND SECTION 1-1-696, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE STATE'S OFFICIAL LANGUAGE, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT AFTER JULY 1, 2009, ALL STATE AGENCIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS OF THE STATE SHALL OFFER ALL SERVICES, PUBLICATIONS, PRINTED, AUDIO AND VIDEO MATERIALS, AND TEST IN AN ENGLISH-ONLY FORMAT, UNLESS OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY FEDERAL LAW OR REGULATION, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Section 1-1-696 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 1-1-696. (A) The English language is the official language of the State of South Carolina.

(B) Except as provided for in Section 1-1-698, after July 1, 2008, all state agencies and political subdivisions of the State shall offer all services, publications, tests, and any other material, whether in printed, audio, or video format, only in an English language format unless otherwise required by federal law or regulation, or as provided for in subsection (C).

(C) State agencies and political subdivisions of the State may offer services, publications, tests, and any other material, whether in printed, audio, or video format, in a language other than the English language when prepared or offered:

(1) by public libraries, schools, or institutions of higher learning to meet the academic or other purposes of their missions;

(2) to protect the health or safety of any person;

(3) to promote trade, tourism, or commerce;

(4) to use proper names, terms of art, or phrases from languages other than the English language;

(5) to protect the rights of victims of crime or criminal defendants; or

(6) by the South Carolina Educational Television Network (ETV) for educational purposes only."

 

[jillio]

What point are you trying to make?

My point is, the assimilation of people from all countries and cultures into the unique American culture of the United States is called The Great Melting Pot.

American culture is the result of the melting pot process. That's why American culture is not the same as any other country in the world.

The point I am trying to make is that many of those terms are currently being used to describe the sociological condition of American cultures.

The reason that American culture is not the same as any other in the world is not because of assimilation. All cutures are unique in their aspects...in other words, no culture is exactly the same as any other culture, whether assimilation, forced or natural, has occurred. American culture cannot be described as one singular culture, as it changes from geographical region to geographical region. Cultural contact is what is responsible for the numerous American cultures in this country, not assimilation. Were it assimilation, the culture would remain consistent throughout the country.

 

[jillio]

for the support.

Unfortunately, the kind of responses that came after your observation are exactly the reason that this kind of proposal is very dangerous indeed. Those attitudes do not need justification for their misplaced superiority. That is exactly the stuff Hitler was made of.

 

[Reba]

The point I am trying to make is that many of those terms are currently being used to describe the sociological condition of American cultures.

The reason that American culture is not the same as any other in the world is not because of assimilation. All cutures are unique in their aspects...in other words, no culture is exactly the same as any other culture, whether assimilation, forced or natural, has occurred. American culture cannot be described as one singular culture, as it changes from geographical region to geographical region. Cultural contact is what is responsible for the numerous American cultures in this country, not assimilation. Were it assimilation, the culture would remain consistent throughout the country.

American culture varies by region and thru time, as do other cultures, but it is still an assimilation process by the newcomer into the contemporary American culture to which he moves.

Foreign-born newcomers assimilate into the current American culture if they want to become Americans. If they're just passing through, then they don't assimilate, and they remain visitors. Even moles and those who wish harm to America know that if they don't want to look suspicious they must appear to assimilate into American culture. There's obviously a difference between those who become "Americanized" and those who don't. If there wasn't a strong American culture, then there would be no obvious difference.

Regional American sub-cultures do stay consistent within each region. If one moves from one region to another and wants to become a member of the new region, then one begins to assimilate the language and culture of that region. It's still American but with a Southern drawl or Yankee twang, spiced with Cajun or calmed with tropical breezes. When people move from upstate New York to Hawaii, they leave behind the snow shovel and winter boots, and pick up the surf board and flip flops but they are still Americans.

When I visit family in New England they tease me about my Southern drawl, but when I'm at home in South Carolina I'm teased for my Yankee accent, but I'm recognized as an American everywhere I go.

I know people from many other countries, and yes, there is a difference between those who have become American and those who have not, for whatever reason. It doesn't mean that their English is perfect or without accent. It means they are identifying themselves as Americans (no hyphens needed).

 

[naisho]

In the United States, we don't speak the king's English, for sure.

You've discovered the cookie trail.

All humor aside, it was merely in there on intents to *cough* emphasize on some points within exaggerated fashion.

Good to see that you are around and doing well. I hope the same holds true for your husband.

 

[Reba]

You've discovered the cookie trail.

All humor aside, it was merely in there on intents to *cough* emphasize on some points within exaggerated fashion.

Good to see that you are around and doing well. I hope the same holds true for your husband.

Yes, thank you, we are both well.

A little gentle humor never hurts on these too-serious threads.

 

[kokonut]

*cough*

 

[rockin'robin]

American culture varies by region and thru time, as do other cultures, but it is still an assimilation process by the newcomer into the contemporary American culture to which he moves.

Foreign-born newcomers assimilate into the current American culture if they want to become Americans. If they're just passing through, then they don't assimilate, and they remain visitors. Even moles and those who wish harm to America know that if they don't want to look suspicious they must appear to assimilate into American culture. There's obviously a difference between those who become "Americanized" and those who don't. If there wasn't a strong American culture, then there would be no obvious difference.

Regional American sub-cultures do stay consistent within each region. If one moves from one region to another and wants to become a member of the new region, then one begins to assimilate the language and culture of that region. It's still American but with a Southern drawl or Yankee twang, spiced with Cajun or calmed with tropical breezes. When people move from upstate New York to Hawaii, they leave behind the snow shovel and winter boots, and pick up the surf board and flip flops but they are still Americans.

When I visit family in New England they tease me about my Southern drawl, but when I'm at home in South Carolina I'm teased for my Yankee accent, but I'm recognized as an American everywhere I go.

I know people from many other countries, and yes, there is a difference between those who have become American and those who have not, for whatever reason. It doesn't mean that their English is perfect or without accent. It means they are identifying themselves as Americans (no hyphens needed).

You go, Reba!

 

[Jiro]

*cough*

*it's a pix of cough drop medicine. brand name is Vicks. cherry flavor.