Immigrants in america please learn english! (Mexican, residents, visitor, citizen)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
oh only bilingual because majority of the immigrants speak spanish? surely you jest. someone from india/china/afghanistan/pakistan/indonesia/russia will scream "segregation" or "discrimination" because the natives are forced to only learn one other language, and that's spanish.
so no one should be forced to speak english but everyone else has to learn spanish? surely you jest!
Nobody would be forced to learn Spanish. Spanish as an official language wouldn't mean that everyone has to learn it. It would just mean it has as much right to be in use as English does. And really, why not? Someone recently said that Mexican is now the largest ethnic group in the US. I don't know if that's actually true, but if it is, the Spanish-speaking population would only continue to increase over time. Given that, it would be silly to make English the official language but NOT Spanish also.
And really, some of the biggest complainers about this issue are old/elderly people. How many of those people will still be alive 40 years from now in a hypothetical future with two official languages?
Nobody would be forced to learn Spanish. Spanish as an official language wouldn't mean that everyone has to learn it. It would just mean it has as much right to be in use as English does. And really, why not? Someone recently said that Mexican is now the largest ethnic group in the US. I don't know if that's actually true, but if it is, the Spanish-speaking population would only continue to increase over time. Given that, it would be silly to make English the official language but NOT Spanish also.
And really, some of the biggest complainers about this issue are old/elderly people. How many of those people will still be alive 40 years from now in a hypothetical future with two official languages?
and like i said earlier, with the US going in the politically correct/diversity accommodation direction, even those in the minority of foreign nationals will claim "discrimination"/"segregation" for not including their language as "official". a foreign national will sue the US government for not being inclusive. yay for the rest of us having to learn all the nations' languages.
I agree with your post except for the bolded parts.
There should be one official language and that language needs to be English.
You see, the flaw in your argument is for example, Spanish is declared the other "official language". We already have Hispanic illegal aliens who can't even read or write in their native language. If Spanish is declared to be the other "official language", they will never bother to learn English.
And what about people who speak, for example, Arabic or Swahili? Should they be required to learn 2 "official languages"? The answer to that is "no".
For centuries, English has been the language that has bonded us all. My grandparents came here from Europe in 1921. One of the first things they did was enroll in night school to learn English. They kept taking classes until they were fluent. Eventually, they moved into a neighborhood that had immigrants who were from different countries. In order for them to know their neighbors, they all needed to have a common language---and that was English. As a result, my grandparents were able to make lifelong friends, with their best friends being a family from Armenia and the other one was from Italy. All these families made sure that when their kids started school, they went already fluently speaking English. That was because not only did their parents teach them their native languages but they also spoke to their kids in English.
My personal preference and belief is that what would be better IS that there is only ONE official language and that it is English. I know however that many people would object to that being the only language that is serviced in this country. But, if you ask me the question on a ballot, I will be honest .. I would vote for ONE only - and that ONE would be English. And I say that completely without prejudice. I don't want to seem biased though just because my own native language is English - I think the majority should decide if we have one or two languages - and if two then I think English and Spanish probably are the best fit for America in current times (despite there still being quite a core of French in the northeast and Louisiana). English however should not be in dispute - if there is only one language .. it must be English for many, many reasons - history being only one of them.
I spent more than half my life in Canada so I understand the problems when there is more than one official language, believe me. I personally like French, speak a fair bit, never minded learning it (learning a new language is ALWAYS a good thing, at any age), was married to a Quebecois at one time and my daughter was raised completely bilingual but I get annoyed when 'some' Quebecois (and most of those are in Montreal, or were, not in all of Quebec) can be so angry and rude when one tries to speak French but is obviously not a native in that language. It can be very frustrating and even frightening at times. In Quebec, there have been many issues because so many want the province to be ONLY French and so in many ways/many places English is almost banned - and that has caused many types of problems over the years. And when one works for a government, federal or provincial it seems that native French speakers who can speak a smattering of English get the jobs these days over the reverse (English whose French isn't parfait). Merit goes out the window. French has beome another cause for 'affirmative action' - and should not be.
So yes, there are many, many issues with having 2 official languages (I think it is divisive, not unifying even with just two unfortunately). Had this been decided in the US 20-30 years ago, it would have been English for sure. Now, I don't know hence why I said perhaps two. Not ideal but better than this! I think something has to be done and soon - we cannot continue to support the way things are right now for much longer.
I also agree with you that the English now spoken and written by too many (native English speakers) in the US is abysmal. And these days, I have to say the same goes for Canada as well - though they were a bit slower to degrade. It makes me very sad but saying that isn't going to make me too popular I know. I would love to see the trend back to pride in better English promoted in the school systems but I hazard a guess that is not going to happen any time soon.
P.S. to UrbanCrossroads - I am edging into 'elderly' and I don't completely object to the two official language idea - I just want people to realize even that may be fraught with issues at some point or another - but it is better to have two 'official' than 200 'unofficial' - absolutely. I lived through the Canadian declaration of two languages .. would have to look it up but it was many years ago that that happened now - so I have seen the evolution. On the other hand, that is not a totally comparable situation either because it was like having ONE state that wants to be Spanish and the rest must go along with their wish .. which I don't think would be the case in the US in my lifetime.
I also agree with you that just because there are two official languages does not mean everyone is 'forced' to learn and speak both however what happens in Canada is that everyone MUST take some French in school at some point. Not a bad thing at all - languages are great 'learning to learn' subjects and help with many other things - and many will enjoy it .. but I am sure some will kick if that requirement is put in place for all schools in America as well. However it will create jobs but it will also create traffic issues most likely if all road signs have to be in both languages everywhere. The good and the bad.
If it was required to speak Spanish in the US, this old lady would just get her butt in gear without a second thought. I would love it and I know the advantages for me would be great but that is just me - I like to keep my brain active. My father in his 90s taught himself Urdu . if he could do that I am certain I could learn Spanish - and I believe most people could with the right attitude/incentive, at any age.
Taking foreign language television and radio programs off the air would do more to immerse everyone in the common language than all the free ESL classes.
As it is, they are being actively reinforced to avoid learning English. Why is that a worthy goal?
I'm all for immigrants coming to our country and having a better life but BOTH immigrants legal or illegal should be REQUIRED to take english classes(their plenty of people who can volunteer). This is getting out of hand, i can't even communicate with them and they expect me to what speak spanish?or what ever language?
This is america it's a majority english speaking country if i went to japan i would learn japanese.
Illegal immigrants should be required? That's a fine reach you have there - but if we were to require anything of illegal immigrants, it would be that they keep their distance, most likely.
& no, this isn't America, it's the United States. I know it's a fine distinction, but since we're contrasting the US & other countries in the Americas, it's much less confusing to stay with specific terms. & yah, if you're going to go to Japan, whether to learn Japanese or for whatever other purpose, you'd best go soon. @ the current rate, there won't be any Japanese people in a few centuries - shockingly fast, even by Western Civilization standards.
My personal preference and belief in what would be better IS that there is only ONE official language and that it is English. I know however that many people would object to that being the only language that is serviced in this country. But, if you ask me the question on a ballot, I will be honest .. I would vote for ONE only - and that ONE would be English. And I say that completely without prejudice.
I spent more than half my life in Canada so I understand the problems when there is more than one official language, believe me. I personally like French, speak a fair bit, never minded learning it (learning a new language is ALWAYS a good thing, at any age) but I get annoyed when 'some' Quebecois (and most of those are in Montreal, or were, not in all of Quebec) can be so angry and rude when one tries to speak French but is obviously not a native in that language. It can be very frustrating and even frightening at times. In Quebec, there have been many issues because so many want the province to be ONLY French and so in many ways/many places English is almost banned - and that has caused many types of problems over the years. And when one works for a government, federal or provincial it seems that native French speakers who can speak a smattering of English get the jobs these days over the reverse (English whose French isn't parfait). Merit goes out the window. French has beome a cause for 'affirmative action' - and should not be.
So yes, there are many, many issues with having 2 official languages (I think it is divisive, not unifying even with just two unfortunately). Had this been decided in the US 20-30 years ago, it would have been English for sure. Now, I don't know hence why I said perhaps two. Not ideal but better than this! I think something has to be done and soon - we cannot continue to support the way things are right now for much longer.
I also agree with you that the English now spoken by too many in the US is abominable. It makes me very sad but saying that isn't going to make too popular I know. I would love to see the trend back to pride in better English promoted in the school systems but I hazard a guess that is not going to happen any time soon.
heck yeah! imagine that, having english and spanish as official languages. then we'll have little spain/little mexico everywhere enforcing bans on english, so everyone has to learn to speak spanish--even those from the middle east or east asia.
This is just alarmist nonsense. Today's immigrants learn the language and assimilate at the same rate or faster than previous generations of immigrants. And generally speaking, maybe those who come here as adults may learn English with more difficulty and varying levels of fluency, but their kids will get it pretty quickly.
And just because they speak their home tongues in private or in public doesn't mean they can't speak English. I've always wondered at the strange attitude of some monolingual Americans who think that folks who are speaking Spanish in public refuse to learn English.
Taking foreign language television and radio programs off the air would do more to immerse everyone in the common language than all the free ESL classes.
As it is, they are being actively reinforced to avoid learning English. Why is that a worthy goal?
why is that a worthy goal? so they can keep being comfortable in their own little world and not have to assimilate to the US--all the while still claiming benefits as if they're equal to US citizens even if they had entered illegally. everything for themselves and not for the host nation.
Of course we're rapidly approaching a time when our phones will translate almost anything for us. Who knows, maybe we won't even have official languages eventually. Everyone will just speak whatever language they prefer, and our electronics will translate for us.
& why stop there? Direct neural interfaces, massive teraflop heuristic virtual devices that assemble themselves & call for extra processing power as needed - why would you need any device other than the link itself? External scalable memory, math & visual co-processors, more speed, cooling with artificial or nano- genegineered biocybernetics - the sky's (no, the universe's) the limit!
This is just alarmist nonsense. Today's immigrants learn the language and assimilate at the same rate or faster than previous generations of immigrants. And generally speaking, maybe those who come here as adults may learn English with more difficulty and varying levels of fluency, but their kids will get it pretty quickly.
And just because they speak their home tongues in private or in public doesn't mean they can't speak English. I've always wondered at the strange attitude of some monolingual Americans who think that folks who are speaking Spanish in public refuse to learn English.
who are entering the US at greater rates? the adults or the kids? can the kids live permanently in the US without the adults taking the charge? so statistically speaking, we still have more people that can refuse to assimilate or learn the host language or take more time to do so than what would be helpful with the rest of the host nation.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Much too easy
