May 13, 2008 01:43AM GMT
Question
•
Politics - Other
Should English be declared the official language of the U.S.?
Loading...-
raves +5 posted May 13, 2008 03:40PM GMT
Answered No
How can a language which is not native to the land and was not the first language spoken in the land be the only official language?
How can a "Melting Pot" of different cultures be declaring for only one language to represent the vast cultures that occupy the land.
How can people declare English as the official language and can't even speak the proper English themselves? There are so many different dialects of English, which one would we make official? Southern? Boston? New York? -
raves +2 -1 May 13, 2008 05:22PM GMT1. Because it is a unifying language. Ever heard of the Tower of Babel?
2. "Melting Pot" means that different cultures come together as one--you can't put a bunch of stuff into a melting pot and have it all remain separated. I have no problem with different cultures, and I respect everyone's right to maintain cultural and family traditions. HOWEVER, if you want to be an American, that has to be bigger than your particular culture.
3. I agree that the English language has suffered terribly--that is a whole 'nother story. But there is a proper American English, and all we have to do to declare it the official language is do so. Dialects have nothing to do with it. Vive la difference! -
raves +4 -1 May 13, 2008 05:33PM GMTAmerica is a continent which features many Spanish speaking countries.
If in Puerto Rico English has been declared the second official language by the imperialist U.S. when only a fourth speak English, that should also be applied here. Otherwise, there is really just a bias towards English.
BTW, I gather you have assumed I speak Spanish. Let me correct you, I DON'T!!! I actually speak and teach (a school teacher who is sick in bed) English. I could have learned the language of my culture if there wasn't such a negative tone towards multilingualism in this country. This is the problem I have with this anti-multilingualism attitude that many have, it caused my father to suffer. In the 1960's, when my father was in school, they used to beat him with a paddle in school whenever he spoke the Spanish language. They were attempting to BEAT THE LANGUAGE out of him. But not only did they beat the language out of him, but me as well.
I do agree people should learn English. But what I don't agree with is that they are punished and out-casted for not speaking English well when no one is trying to learn their language. This is a country of diversity. We should ALL learn each other's language, not merely adopting a hatred for all those who don't speak English, which is not the language of the Americas, but rather that of the English! -
raves +1 May 14, 2008 04:24AM GMTIt's a shame you do not speak Spanish. I DO--fluently, because I grew up in Peru. I love the Spanish language and greatly enjoy speaking it when I travel in Latin America. I even enjoy speaking it in this country when I am among Spanish speakers. I also can carry on a conversation in French, and can get around in German, Portuguese, Italian. And I've studied Latin, Greek, Swahili, Russian, Funagalo, and Japanese. I believe we should all speak other languages, and I do not condone beating anyone for speaking their language. But the language of THIS country is English. We are not talking about the language of the Americas. We are talking about the language of the United States of America (last I heard, we still had a border, although it is quickly eroding, along with our culture). As long as Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of the U.S., English should be at least the second language. If the Puerto Ricans don't like that, they should cut all their ties with the U.S., including citizenship and Social Security benefits.
-
raves +3 May 14, 2008 04:27AM GMT (edited)Agreed for the most part. I think we should leave things the way they are. Most think English is the official language. Why implement yet another law to further divide people.
And Puerto Rico should be able to keep their language as Spanish. We can't erase everyone's native tongue. We have already done so with many Native American tribes.
Must I say, very very impressive on the multilingualism.
*bows* -
raves +1 May 13, 2008 04:54PM GMTIt is, but it isn't. In 2006, the Senate passed the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act. Amendment 4064 to the Act sought to declare English as the national language and said the government had no obligation to provide documents in any other language (but could do so if they wanted to). This amendment passed, but Clinton and Obama voted against it. Then the Dems turned around and passed Amendment 4073 which contradicted the 4064 and said that English was to be considered the "common and unifying language" (as opposed to the national language) and that any obligation the government had to provide documents or services in other languages had to remain unchanged. That's why we continue to see things like voter pamphlets and election ballots in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, etc....
-
raves +1 posted May 13, 2008 02:07AM GMT
Answered Yes
assimilate - so many want to live here and being an American speaking English as a second language is a great American. English needs to be declaared the official language not just for saving the americn tax payer oddles of $$$ but the melting pot needs to melt and language is where it starts
.
-
raves +4 May 13, 2008 03:37PM GMTNo one should be asked to erase their culture. Instead we should acculturate.
And if in Puerto Rico English is declared as the second official language by the U.S. government when only a fourth speaks English, we should declare other languages that are spoken by at least a fourth of the people here in the states.
Only in "America" is monolingualism so favored. -
raves +2 -1 posted May 13, 2008 01:50AM GMT
Answered No
How can a language which is not native to the land and was not the first language spoken in the land be the only official language?How can a "Melting Pot" of different cultures be declaring for only one language to represent the vast cultures that occupy the land.
How can people declare English as the official language and can't even speak the proper English themselves? There are so many different dialects of English, which one would we make official? Southern? Boston? New York?