English as America's official language?

Sure. Why not? Damn few of us speak Greek.

Vy menya panimayete? Da, ya vas harosho panimayu. Kak eto skazat' paangliyski?

Aye. Right.

that's quite the binary poll.

William Haskins said:

that's quite the binary poll.

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Ethnocentrist.

that's horrible. i demand you be temporarily banned.

Lol! Don't give anyone any ideas. I'm on shaky grounds as is, Papa Haskins.

If the United States has no official language, shouldn't every written item produced under the auspices of the Federal Government include a full translation for every possible language spoken/read in the country? That's gonna make warning/ingredients labels on medicine bottles awfully long...

Also, shouldn't all government functions provide on-site translations for every language, as well? That should produce a whole new crop of translator jobs.

Rob (who is happy he's not writing this post as a federal employee, otherwise he would have to translate it into umpteen more languages)

Spanish should be the official language. Most people speak spanish anyway

I didn't vote. English should be the official language forever in the USA.

I like English. I've tried Spanish but the only thing I've ever managed to retain is, "Is there anyone else in your house that speaks English?"

Most countries have an official language...I think ours should be English. I have no good arguments to support my opinion but it's my opinion, so I don't have to defend it.

CY 2000- Census breakdown of languages spoken in US households

http://http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t37/tab01a.xls

I wonder if China, Russia, Japan, Mexico, Canada or any of about a zillion other countries worry about an 'official language'? I wonder if they bother to translate their signs, labels, advertising, and/or broadcasts into other languages? I wonder why this is even an issue.

You come here to live, learn our language. If I go to some other country to live, I'll learn their language. Seems fair enough to me.

kristie911 said:

I like English. I've tried Spanish but the only thing I've ever managed to retain is, "Is there anyone else in your house that speaks English?" .

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I can order two beers in Spanish and ask for someone to point me toward the bathroom after they've been consumed - important, eh?

Ol' Fashioned Girl said:

I wonder why this is even an issue.

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It's an issue because some people in government think avoiding the obvious conclusion of English being the 'official' language makes them appear more 'enlightened' and more 'inclusive,' though it actually makes them something else, entirely. Luckily for them, however, there is a good chunk of the population (and no doubt a number of SC justices, as well as an entire circuit of appeals) that actually agree with this nonsense.

Rob

YES.

Ol' Fashioned Girl said:

You come here to live, learn our language. If I go to some other country to live, I'll learn their language. Seems fair enough to me.

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I'm going with this sentiment. I lived in Greece for three years. I learned the language. It's the repectful thing to do.

I look forward to the day when every nation and every people speak the universal language of Jawa

It was nearly German anyway. What do all you Yanks think of that? See, I'm from Scotchland and even I know more than you.

Will English be allowed to continue to evolve the way it has since it's inception? Or are we stuck with the slang-stained string of words we have adapted as official?

Whereas shouldn't we devolve back a couple-few hundred years therewith?

More people speak English in China than in the US.



Os.

I have to wonder about this. Why does a country that is considered a "melting pot" and encourages all walks of life to become citizens need to have an official language. I thought that, once you became an American, your language was hyphenated with "American" at the end (Italian-American, French-American, Spanish-American, and so on). So, in a sense, aren't there already all "American" speaking people in our country?

jennhollowell said:

I have to wonder about this. Why does a country that is considered a "melting pot" and encourages all walks of life to become citizens need to have an official language.

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Well, you have to have a standard for government business, no? Imagine what a bigger mess our already messy courts would be if people could file lawsuits, briefs, and motions in any language they choose...

I thought that, once you became an American, your language was hyphenated with "American" at the end (Italian-American, French-American, Spanish-American, and so on).

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That's an ethnic derived label, not a linguistic one.

Rob

Maybe you should all learn to speak Klingon.

And yes, I think a nation should have an official language. If everyone spoke the same tongue, there's more unity. Less timewasting in translation. I don't understand those who emigrate and make no effort to learn the language; that's just laziness.