spedmunki

ok...this may sound like a dumb question...but is English the actual official language of the United States.....I mean i know its the predominant language spoken and you have to learn it in school, has it been declared by the U.S. that this is the official language? I said that it was, and a TA and a bunch of student in one of my classes disagreed with me, so I was wondering if it actually is, and if not, why not?

Nick Koan

iTrader: (3)

US has no offical language. Never has. There have been a few bills to make English (or "American") the official language, but they've all died on the national level. I believe some individual states have official languages (as English), but its a very small handful, only 1 or 2.

Setting legislation on language was unpopular with the founding fathers because it was something they felt was not the responsibility of the government, and it trampled on individuals rights. Most of them believed in a small government that didn't interfere with the daily lives of its citizens.

But, I do believe you have to pass an English test to become a naturalized citizen. I think thats the only major language restriction.

VIBEELEVEN

iTrader: (2)

nKoan hit the nail on the head. The US has no official language as set by the federal government. Some states have adopted english as thier official language in thier constitutions. There have been attempts to standardize it federally, but many feel it's unconstitutional.

http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_lang.html

spedmunki

thanks

dub2w

this is broken down by state. i think at this point, approximately 2/5 of the states have made English their official state language

HellaDumb

iTrader: (3)

On Planet Earth, English is recognized as the official language of business in most regions.

Though hispanic groups have fought efforts to have english as the official U.S. language, hispanics are the ones that ultimately pay the largest price for not becoming proficient at it. Lack of proficiency is career limiting unless you want to do business solely in spanish speaking countries.. though much of business is done there in English.

I don't think our founding fathers would have imagine that the U.S. would support immigration policies that would result in fractured societal pockets of different language and culture, but would support assimilation and a common, more unified culture.

Why is so much outsourcing taking place? It's because there are many other countries where English is spoken well, such as India. If Mexico got off its *** and fixed their education system (i.e. made Mexicans learn English), it would help Mexico fix their economy.

It's ironic that hispanics would argue against speaking English primarily to preserve Mexican heritage and culture, yet that same resistance makes them second-class citizens in the U.S.

dub2w

You need to edumacate yourself on how things were back in the day. Our country has always had "societal pockets" wih unique social norms, traditions, and, yes, even language. That is the American fabric.

Nick Koan

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, the only reason all government documents aren't duplicated in German is strictly economic. There was a close vote in the late 1700's to keep two copies of the law of the land, one in English and one in German. Some liked the idea, but most all agreed that it would be too costly to implement.

HellaDumb

iTrader: (3)

You could call an "ethnic" neighborhood a societal pocket, but that's not what I meant. You could walk through those neighborhoods and speak English, though you might get your *** kicked.

I'm talking about areas where U.S. towns look like Mexico, and more than half the people can't speak english. Even in the bay area, you can pick up a group of mexicans to dig ditches or clean toilets and none of them can spell "for sale."
If they were educated in English, they could get much better jobs.

Do you disagree, or just want to make some red herring personal attack?

MVWRX

iTrader: (1)

You're an idiot, man. The whole point of our country is that you CAN have pockets of language, society, and religion that DO NOT have to be assimilated...you really have a twisted view of what the founding fathers wanted.

MVWRX

iTrader: (1)

Exactly

HellaDumb

iTrader: (3)

Again, in your liberal-esque all-or-nothing lunacy, pockets in the form of neighborhoods are fine, but when a foreign culture begins to dominate a large area, it might as well not be the U.S.A.

How does it feel to know the vast majority of American Citizens, even the 1st generation ones, identify with an opinion you call idiotic?

And I thought you were a promoter of diversity? I guess not.

HellaDumb

iTrader: (3)

Yeah.. me three!!! Oh, wait a minute...

VIBEELEVEN

iTrader: (2)

You do have to ask yourself when lack of participation becomes self segregation.

HellaDumb

iTrader: (3)

LA RAZA