Jump to content
An Old School Catholic Message Board

an official language?


photosynthesis

Should the United States adopt an official lanugage?  

42 members have voted

You do not have permission to vote in this poll, or see the poll results. Please sign in or register to vote in this poll.

Recommended Posts

Most of my family are immigrants. They all learned English. I've hired tons' of Mexican employees. I know a bit of Spainish, but they all insist on speaking as much English as possible, and I've never had anyone work for me for more than 6 months that didn't learn passable English. I like the situation we have now. English is the unofficial official language with lot's of Spainish since we have lot's of Spainish speaking people. If we start making 'official" exceptions, we lose the quality that makes people of many countries and cultures into Americans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

son_of_angels

I am horrified at the concept of making a non-classical language, a language which defines culture, rather than being defined by it, into an official language :)

It should be Latin or nought...And all the Universities should be required to instruct in it.

(I say this all with tongue in cheek)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps someone would care to explain the advantages of having no official language or multiple official languages in this country.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='toledo_jesus' date='Oct 24 2005, 10:26 AM']One has only to look at Quebec in Canada to realize that allowing another language to be official is a bad idea.  It contributes mightily to disunity.
[right][snapback]768966[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
I'm from Quebec...
What would you have suggested? The British conquered New France. To avoid creating more problems than necessary (sure the conquerers were English, but the residents were French), they allowed the inhabitants to keep their language, religion and culture. Since a significant part of the population of Canada was French-speaking, and officially recognized, what should they have done when choosing an official language? I'm curious for your opinion.

Oh, and it's not that I think the situation is ideal. Ottawa, at least the official stuff, is very nicely biligual. Montreal and the rest of Quebec, on the other hand... Anglophones feel somewhat like immigrants here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you were born in the U.S. you were taught ENGLISH in school.

If you immigrated to the U.S., learn the language that everyone else who was born here had to learn.

Rock on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I definitely believe English should be the official language and that those who come to America should respect our country by learning the language. I would learn Japanese if I moved to Japan and I dont think America should be an exception. When I came here I knew nothing but spanish and over the years have perfected my english. It upsets me when I see family members or anyone for that matter who have been living here for years and have made no or little attempts to learn english. Its almost insulting really. I love my grandma with all my heart, but she has been living here over 50 years and can only say just a few words. However I do feel it would be good for Americans to learn a second language.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Melchisedec' date='Nov 2 2005, 10:29 AM']I definitely believe English should be the official language and that those who come to America should respect our country by learning the language. I would learn Japanese if I moved to Japan and I dont think America should be an exception. When I came here I knew nothing but spanish and over the years have perfected my english.
[right][snapback]777003[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
I had no idea. You write very well!

[quote name='Melchisedec' date='Nov 2 2005, 10:29 AM']However I do feel it would be good for Americans to learn a second language.
[right][snapback]777003[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
This is true.

Edited by philothea
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Melchisedec' date='Nov 2 2005, 10:29 AM']I definitely believe English should be the official language and that those who come to America should respect our country by learning the language. I would learn Japanese if I moved to Japan and I dont think America should be an exception. When I came here I knew nothing but spanish and over the years have perfected my english. It upsets me when I see family members or anyone for that matter who have been living here for years and have made no or little attempts to learn english. Its almost insulting really. I love my grandma with all my heart, but she has been living here over 50 years and can only say just a few words.  However I do feel it would be good for Americans to learn a second language.
[right][snapback]777003[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
Well stated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Melchisedec' date='Nov 2 2005, 12:29 PM']However I do feel it would be good for Americans to learn a second language.
[right][snapback]777003[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
I'll second that. In Europe, just about everyone knows at least one other language (or that used to be the case), and they find that Americans are arrogant, assuming that they can go anywhere and be fine with just English. There's something... polite about learning other languages, esp. if you're going to have anything to do with people from that country. (Mind you, I was fine in Germay for WYD with only my English, French and a dozen or so words of German.)
And besides, learning another language helps form the mind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Maria' date='Nov 2 2005, 06:14 PM']I'll second that. In Europe, just about everyone knows at least one other language (or  that used to be the case), and they find that Americans are arrogant, assuming that they can go anywhere and be fine with just English. There's something... polite about learning other languages, esp. if you're going to have anything to do with people from that country. (Mind you, I was fine in Germay for WYD with only my English, French and a dozen or so words of German.)
And besides, learning another language helps form the mind.
[right][snapback]777352[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]
This is a seperate issue from that of official languages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...