Why should english not be our national language? It has been spoken in this country since it's birth. The language has changed over the years especially with the invention of the internet, but still it exists. My buddy just bought a bumber sticker that said "welcome to america, now speak english." I laughed at it. But its true, just because you are new to this country doesn't mean we are goin to adjust to your needs. IF u don't speak english, then you must learn. For any one to be succesfull in this country they must know english. I give credit to anybody who can speak more than one language, that is something to be proud of, but when your in america speak what we speak english.

Ah, ok, you were referring to Clintons mandate, thats a little different. But you were referring to the road accidents that Mike was talking about and then said something about the horrors of multilingualism, and thats where I got the impression you thought it was wrong for others to speak a different language. Sorry about that.

Moving on. English isnt the only language that was spoken in the country since its birth, and I think that argument falls a little short. In 1776, there were plenty of other immigrants, not just the English.

As for bi-lingual education, I am for it (bet you didnt guess that one!) I am not against English immersions programs, I think there should be an option. In Denver, I know we have a few options for children that dont speak English all that well. I think it should be up to the parent to decide what program is best for their kids. I also dont think it hurts to teach English speaking kids another language, so maybe bilingual ed could work both ways (you know its a proven fact that children can learn to speak up to 4 different languages without getting confused or have it inhibit their learning of the other three languages.). English immersion would probably work best in kids that are just starting school (kindergarten, first grade) but once youre a teenager, I think it is less effective (ESPECIALLY if they dont know the basic fundamentals of the english language), because once you have mastered your native language, when learning a new one, you will try to relate it to your language, there by making it more difficult to learn.

Nettie, from what Ive read the English immersion programs in CA and AZ (they both adopted them, and CO was thinking about, but thank god it didnt pass) was that they werent working, and they were costing huge sums of money.

I dont see why government documents cant be provided in any language one pleases, but only upon request. I think it is too time consuming and how many people are really going to be asking for something in Cantonese? But I feel if a forgiener wants to look something up, or is interested in certain procedures, why should it not be available to them? Especially if that person is a legal immigrant, but hasnt quite mastered English.

Why must we have a national language? Why must everything be in writing? Who doesn't know that English is the national language? It's nice to teach or kids other languages and even for us adults to know other languages. Are we afraid some minority group will over run America with their langauage? It doesn't matter. Let things be. Everything doesn't have to be in writing.

To add to that. This is America. We hold out open arms for all cultures to come here. We allow them to come here and they choose to come here because of the freedoms offered. One of those freedoms is keeping their culture. Why make it law to throw all of this out of the door?

No one is throwing people's culture out the door. The debate is if English should be our national language. I think it is important that people don't forget their culture but, to live in America we have to have a unified language and that is English.

Momof3.

Be it right or wrong English is now the American language.
Dont worry about how you and we spell things, its the words that count.

The language allows us to talk, and dissagree if we care to.

I dont know if you are aware of the fact that airline pilots and controllers all use english throughout the world.

Be well...........Regards.....Alan

The Mexicans aren't just coming here so fast. California and Texas used to BELONG to Mexico until the mid 1800's. They share our border. Many come here legally to work in the fields and do the work none of our English speaking trailer dwelling welfare recipients would even consider accepting. Some then go back home. We would not allow it if it didn't benefit our economy. No American would work for those wages doing such labor now days and our agriculture would suffer for it.

I'm 50% Italian and my grandparents had to learn English when they immigrated here from Italy. By the time I was born they were fluent in both languages. I hardly consider them to have been dangers to society while they were learning a second language. The scare tactics given here are laughable. My friends and inlaws know both Spanish and English fluently because they are 2nd or 3rd or 4rth generation Americans.

I used to view America as a wonderful melting pot where Germans and Cubans and all other ethnic groups came to enjoy the freedoms we have. Eventually they were no longer the newcomers and another group took their place. It didn't put our country at risk in the 1970's when Hmong and Laotians immigrated here after Viet Nam. I sat in class with those first generation children that couldn't speak English. And the only kids that suffered were them...but their kids now go to school with mine. They speak English without an accent. It didn't slow the rest of us down a bit.

I feel ashamed when I hear people proclaim our Consitituion should now say this is an English only country. I have always been proud of the fact that we had so many cultures to draw from...ours seems to be so limited lately. American's who travel anywhere outside the U.S. must also be horribly dangerous to those around them and should be kept at home with the logic I see here.

I don't think the US should be an English only country, but I do think that English should be our official language.

I hope I didn't give the impression that I have any problem with Mexican immigration if it is legal. I know Texas belonged to Mexico at one time, but I was speaking of local immigration. Suddenly we have a huge Mexican population here, which is no doubt the reason for all the Spanish.

MT

English should definately be our national language. If you are born in this country you will most likely speak what language? ENGLISH. And to become a citizen you have to be able to communicate in English so should we not go ahead and make it our national language?

A ridiculous side note, prior to the elections earlier this month, a friend of mine went and bought a supposed "non-partisan" guide to the local election, which showed pros and cons about all candidates...it was in both english and spanish.

One of the few things I'm sure I disagree with my party on, but if you don't speak english, I don't feel you belong in our country! This country is giving so many immigrants oppurtunities they otherwise would not have, please have the descency (sp?) of learning english.

What about people on vacation? Should we discourage forgien tourists then, since they obviously dont belong in the country (unless youre Austrailian, English or Irish...)

I know this is about immigrants and not just language. But it does touch on the points made here, regarding overburdened schools and jobs. This was in several newsites such as ABC, CBS, and the SF Chronical today.

"Recent immigrants critical to US economic growth: study"
Business Times

This thread is hilarious! The number of people advocating English as an official language who can't even spell or use proper grammar is hysterical. Before advocating any national language, maybe you guys should have the "descency (sp?)" to learn English yourselves!

I see no reason whatsoever to have an "official" language at all. Why? So people can sport xenophobic bumper stickers with impunity? Frankly, the last place I'd want to see English being sanctified would be on ballots or tax returns. The ability to cast a proper vote and pay the appropriate taxes should be of paramount importance. If that means ballots in Creole and tax forms in Korean, I'm all for it.

Those who argue English on the basis of first settlers should bear in mind that English-speaking colonists were far from the only early settlers here: there were many French, Dutch, and Spanish, and people from many nations soon followed. For over 20% of our population, English is not their first language. Over 35 million speak Spanish alone. As Danya mentioned, parts of this country were populated by Spanish-speakers (and French-speakers) before becoming part of the US. And if we're basing all this on the first settlers here, some of my ancestors would be arguing that the "official" language should be Algonkian or Iroquoian or Siouan or Muskogian.

The "safety" concern raised in relation to traffic signs is just silly. The European community has been thriving for decades with a polyglot population. Traffic signs on the continent use international symbols - which we'd already be doing here if we weren't so damned chauvinistic.

Regarding bilingual education, though, I don't really see the necessity - or the advisability. As a majority of people in this country do speak English (and as there's so much prejudice against those who don't), I feel that the emphasis should be on teaching English as a foreign language in the first few grades of school. It doesn't take much qualification and would be far cheaper than attempting any kind of bilingual education.

That is still no argument to make English a Constitutionally enshrined language. If we're going to amend the Constitution, we'd also have to amend the Declaration of Independence: "WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all English-speaking Men are created equal..."

No need for an official language. We don't really speak english anyway. We got so much ebonics, spanglish, southern diallect, northern diallect and B.S that we don't deserve to have a national language. Wertz was on "point" when he said half of "y'all" can't spell....

Wertz, I go back and forth on this one. I too think that everyone will learn English sooner or later. But is it practical to have voting ballots and tax forms in several different languages? Would hospitals, police stations have to have interpreters on hand to deal with people who don't speak English.

What about directions on products? Most now have English and Spanish. Will we need to add Korean etc. This will be costly and you know who will get the bill.

I hope I'm not being hilarious

MT

As for labeling of products, english should indeed be the basis. No need for all the other "hoop-lah". English is the unofficial language of America and incoming ethnicities will have to accomodate to this. With labeling main points and instructions don't change so learning to understand what is labeled should not be as hard as learning the ins and outs of our complicated language.

I agree with Jason that English is already the "unofficial" language - and I see no need for multi-language package labelling or whatever. The reason I feel that government documents, especially ballots and tax forms, should be available in a range of languages is that I feel it's important for America to be as inclusive as possible. Our borders are not (yet) closed and new immigrants are arriving on our shores daily. We cannot expect everyone who wishes to live here to be fluent in English before their arrival - especially those who may be seeking sanctuary here as refugees or those fleeing regimes more oppressive than our own. While most will eventually learn English (or at least enough to get by outside their homes), should they be denied the right to vote until such time as they can read English-language voting instructions? And should they be exempt from taxes until such time as they can understand their 1040s? I wouldn't think so.

Most emergency services already have bilingual employees, at least in the more current languages spoken here. We will always have an abundance of foreign tourists, international business representatives, diplomats, etc. - and all of these need to avail of such services. I don't see what difference having English as an official language would make. Surely we shouldn't make an understanding of the English language prerequisite for setting foot on our soil, should we?

A new survey suggests "Hispanic immigrants are assimilating into the American culture and embracing English as a key to success." Still, as with other immigrants in many cases it is only their children who are comfortable with English.

Even those who can only speak Spanish believe proficiency in English is important to success. 96 percent of US born Hispanics said they either primarily speak English or are bilingual.

According to the article, if there's a lot of Spanish being spoken, it's because there are lots of adult immigrants who are not resisting English but are hindered by the low levels of education they received in their native countries and the limited space in English training programs.

Madtown

Well, as much as I'd hate to admit it, being a registered Democrat, I do support having English as the official language. We voted in Massachusetts by a 70% margin to remove bi-lingual programs in our schools and replace them with English immersion. Learning the language of the majority in this country is vitally important to help people out of what would be an economically depressed situation. It is excessively difficult to get a job, or do any kind of business in this country unless you speak English. It has nothing to do with cultural repression, or with trying to force a belief on anyone. What it is about is giving people the most important tool of all for success, which is the ability to effectively communicate in our society.

Driving:

Back when I took the driving test one had to recognize on sight and be able to read traffic signs. If one couldn't do this, one didn't pass the test. Simple.

If the standards that are already in place were upheld, we wouldn't need to talk about having more.


Answering the origonal question:

No, I do not think English should be our National Language. The melting pot needs no national language. There are places in this country where English is the not the primary language.

Points 1 and 2- This is not 'helping', this is forcing. This is not letting perfectly intelligent people make their own choices, it's "acting in their best interest" whether or not they like or appreciate it.

Point 3- It most certainly is about forcing a belief on someone. You believe America should be English speaking and you go to the polls and vote as much.

Point 4- This is an odd society we live in. Other countires, many, many people are bilingual and will accomodate people of other languages willingly. Even people that live there and aren't catching on to the language as fast as one would like.

Probably only in America will we beat our language, which isn't even officially our language, over the head of thousands of immigrants. "Learn to speak English or Leave!"

If so many people in our country have spanish as a first language.... why don't we English speaking Americans work on being bilingual (if not multilingual) and meet them halfway. WITHOUT giving them heartache and smartass bumperstickers.

We are awful arrogant for so many of us not even having a second language, or if we do, it is some fading, unused memory from highschol. We won't learn it, but by darn YOU'D better!!! Uncle Sam? Make them learn English, it's not fair they can come here and I can't understand them!

[/]rant

All legal documents should be required to be in english. All government services should use english as the mean to provide written communication. Having a single language will improve communication and reduce the costs to providing services.

It would be completely absurd for the entire country to become multi-lingual to suit immigrants who speak such a large number of different languages. It makes no sense. If you hope to succeed in a country where 99% of the population is English speaking, it only stands to reason that you should speak English. Plain and simple.