Should English Be A Mandatory Language?

[Mister_T]

the problem is you keep breaking it up.

Maybe because US is a multicultural nation, not one culture.

America's majority speaks English.

Followed second by Spainish.

All government services are offered in English, and the vast majority of businesses can speak English, even if it's not their first language.

They're also offered in dozens of other languages and a vast majority of those same companies speak Spanish even though it's not their first language. What's your point?

It doesn't matter if I live in an area that speaks many other languages. Most of them also speak English.

Many areas don't speak English. Chinatown in L.A. (Which is in English speaking America) for example, is predominately Chinese and many of it's residence only speak Mandarin. If I move to Chinatown, I'm not going to expect all of those Mandarin-only speaking individuals to conform to my English speaking needs because everywhere else outside of Chinatown speaks English. If I live there, either I'm going to have to learn Mandarin, or I'm going to have to put up and shut up because they are the predominate culture in that particular area. Anything else would be pretty arrogant and hypocritical IMO.

So, I would learn English no matter where I went in the U.S., because that would allow me access to everything.

I would to. But it's not an option that people have to abide by, so there's no need to pressure or force people to do it.

 

[Magic Man]

If I live there, either I'm going to have to learn Mandarin, or I'm going to have to put up and shut up because they are the predominate culture in that particular area. Anything else would be pretty arrogant and hypocritical IMO.

Exactly. So, if I move to America, I'm going to learn English because anything else would be pretty arrogant and hypocritical. You see? We agree. The difference is that English is the majority language of the whole country. So, just apply your statement to the whole country.

 

[Mister_T]

Exactly. So, if I move to America, I'm going to learn English because anything else would be pretty arrogant and hypocritical. You see? We agree. The difference is that English is the majority language of the whole country. So, just apply your statement to the whole country.

No, the difference is, I see it as being dependent on what region in the U.S. you're living in, where as you want to generalize a multicultural nation, by applying one culture/standard to the whole country when it's not intended to be.

 

[MiChAelThOmPsOn72]

I think it should be the official language of America because almost every current resident of America speaks it. It's easier for the minority, immigrants, to learn the language of the majority, the current residents, than vice versa. It doesn't make sense for the current residents to have to learn the langauge of any immigrant to communicate.

Cave men. What language did they speak besides growling or mumbling?
I thought The Spanish were among the first Europeans to explore the New World and the first to settle in what is now the United States. What language did they speak? In both Virginia and Massachusetts, where the pilgrims arrived in 1620, the colonists flourished with some assistance from Native Americans. What language did the Native American's Speak? By the early 1700s enslaved Africans made up a growing percentage of the colonial population. Did they speak english?

Americans should be more culturally aware, and lingually diverse, but we should all have one common language for official purposes, namely business and government.

In school, you are required to take a language class. Why? What's the purpose if English is to be the official language? It is important. Imports and exports of goods sometimes deal with business people that have to have translators to communicate because they do not speak english. It's a business thing. It also leads to a government thing where translators are needed to discuss government business. Do you think the president only speaks one language? I believe he speaks other languages or he brings his translators.

What I am trying to say is that even though we are in america, we can't force those who do not speak english to speak english. It's like forcing you to speak a language you don't want to learn but you must because that's the official language.

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

English shouldn't be mandatory. Everyone should be allowed to speak whatever the heck they want, that's the beauty of this country.

 

[Valjean]

I would support a resolution that a High School diploma require at least a working knowledge of at least one foreign language.

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

I would support a resolution that a High School diploma require at least a working knowledge of at least one foreign language.

At my school, we are required to take two years of a foreign language to graduate. They offer French, German, Spanish, and Latin. I'm taking Spanish. I think it will be the most helpful, really.

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

Minority groups would be more than welcome to speak their own languages wherever they want, as long as could also speak English.

How very white of you. And those who fail to learn the sanctioned tongue of the Fatherland? Throw them out? Drive them into forced language camps? Keep the alien scum out altogether? What an enlightened policy ...

I think the idea that only Americans should become more culturally diverse is funny.

What world do you live in? There are few countries so insular and parochial as the US, where cultural diversity rarely runs deeper than allowing a Taco Bell to sprout up across the street from McDonalds.

I have a great proposal. How about we restrict citizenship to those who speak English and Arab and Asian investors withdraw money from those US funds and companies whose management is not conversant in Arabic and Japanese?

 

[Panda]

What if you lived in a place like New York or Los Angeles where you have many cultures and many languages, that are just as dominant if not more, than English? The US currently has no official language. How would you handle that?

What language is government in? That is the language I would learn.

 

[Panda]

Many areas don't speak English. Chinatown in L.A. (Which is in English speaking America) for example, is predominately Chinese and many of it's residence only speak Mandarin. If I move to Chinatown, I'm not going to expect all of those Mandarin-only speaking individuals to conform to my English speaking needs because everywhere else outside of Chinatown speaks English. If I live there, either I'm going to have to learn Mandarin, or I'm going to have to put up and shut up because they are the predominate culture in that particular area. Anything else would be pretty arrogant and hypocritical IMO.

No that does not work. You can not have people in a country who can not communicate with others in that country. If you look at the Catalonian regions of France, Spain and Andorra most people speak four languages. French, Spanish, Catalonian(not sure if correct spelling) and English. This means that if the move about either further South or North they will still be fluent in the predominate language of their country. It is fine for them to speak Catalonian to others who speak it but they are also required to know their National language to be able to converse with everyone in their country

 

[MiChAelThOmPsOn72]

No that does not work. You can not have people in a country who can not communicate with others in that country. If you look at the Catalonian regions of France, Spain and Andorra most people speak four languages. French, Spanish, Catalonian(not sure if correct spelling) and English. This means that if the move about either further South or North they will still be fluent in the predominate language of their country. It is fine for them to speak Catalonian to others who speak it but they are also required to know their National language to be able to converse with everyone in their country

I guess the Catalonian region NE Spain bordering on France & the Mediterranean are really smart people. That would make us Americans look un-intelligent because some feel that since we all speak American English, that it should be our primary language.

I am glad students are required to take other languages. Increases knowledge about other cultures and be able to increase chances of higher salary.

 

[+Xausted]

yes they should
and women should wear clothes that cover all of their bodies, not work and have as many babies as possible
and children should be locked in a cupboard if naughty
and emgland should return to conquering other countries
and we should start dunking witches
and beheading heratics
and making black people be the white mans slave again




getting the hint yet?

 

[whereismynotecard]

I don't think it should be mandatory either. People might want to learn it anyway though, as it is the main language here, and it would be difficult to find work and stuff in a lot of places if they do not speak English, I would think.

 

[PureX]

Yes, we should be able to punish those who behave differently from us. Not only is it fun to do, but everyone else should look and act and speak as we do anyway, because we are, of course, better than everyone else is. I agree that it should be illegal for foreigners to be foreign in any way.

Except maybe how they cook. Because I like foreign food.

 

[sandandfoam]

No that does not work. You can not have people in a country who can not communicate with others in that country. If you look at the Catalonian regions of France, Spain and Andorra most people speak four languages. French, Spanish, Catalonian(not sure if correct spelling) and English. This means that if the move about either further South or North they will still be fluent in the predominate language of their country. It is fine for them to speak Catalonian to others who speak it but they are also required to know their National language to be able to converse with everyone in their country

This is not the case in Switzerland, in the German speaking part at least. Most German speaking Swiss that I know cannot converse in French, Italian or Romansch. If you were unable to speak German you would have a better chance of communicating through English than through French, Italian or Romansch.
I cannot imagine a country more comfortable in its own skin than Switzerland. Perhaps this is because of the respect with which it views its own diversity?

 

[Valjean]

I say mandate universal Esperanto.

 

[Magic Man]

I love how I get painted as a stupid American who thinks the whole world should speak English. That, of course, is not what I'm saying at all. I majored in French in college, and have studied plenty of other languages including Arabic currently. I love languages and cultures.

The thing I love most about language is its allowing us to communicate. The problem is that if two people speak different languages, it severely hinders their communication. I support people speaking more than one language, and that includes people who want to live here. Why is it that Americans who speak only English are the ones singled out and criticized for not speaking more languages, and immigrants who come here and don't learn English are protected and supported? That is an obvious double standard.

People who live in America legally have to pay taxes. No one would argue that they shouldn't, I hope. Asking those people to have some ability in English is not asking that much. Speak any other language you want as much as you want, as long as you can communicate in English enough to function in a business setting and government setting.

I'm not saying everyone has to speak English all of the time. That would be boring. What I'm saying is that having one common language facilitates communication, which is the point of language in the first place. So, let's make Americans learn more languages, that's a fantastic idea to me. But let's also make sure we can all communicate with each other, meaning we have a common language we can always use when interacting with anyone else in the country.

 

[+Xausted]

What I'm saying is that having one common language facilitates communication,
we do....the language of lurvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve:drool:

 

[Magic Man]

What I'm saying is that having one common language facilitates communication,
we do....the language of lurvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvve:drool:

I'm sorry, I don't speak that language. Maybe you could teach me sometime.

 

[+Xausted]

I'm sorry, I don't speak that language. Maybe you could teach me sometime.

:run: