87% Say English Should Be U.S. Official Language

So the polls show an over whelming majority in favor of this when/if do you think it will actually happen. Part of becoming a citizen is learning the language, so how can this possibly be a bad thing? Maybe, the president should rethink his maybe your children should learn spanish comment.

www.rasmussenreports.com...

reply to post by adifferentbreed


those 87% are extremely racist, how they dare expect the minority of 13% to learn English, they the Majority would be better off learning Spanish, I mean it’s just racist to expect Hispanics to forget their native tongue and speak the white man’s English... How dare you racist people.

It’s about time the amend the Constitution to make English the official langue.

I'm all for it.

and just for fun, 2nd line.

He said that! Wow....

I am all for English being the official language of the US. There are many other countries that have an official language, why is it only considered racist here?? I refuse to learn Spanish just because a lot of people where I live speak it. They should speak English and I HATE calling an American company for customer service and getting someone who doesn't speak English. Nothing gets accomplished, all this leads to is confusion and frustration on both ends.

Yes, given the lately short vocabulary of the USA who can only say "war" and "terrorists" that makes sense.

reply to post by lifeinthematrix


Easier to say than La Razza etc......geeeze, if that's all you have to add, why bother? I didn't notice a large vocabulary in your rather small response either....just saying.

It has nothing to do with Spanish or solving the problem of illegall immigration.
We don't need an "official" language.
Jeezuz!
What would that accomplish?
This is just a meaningless BS knee jerk reaction to illegal immigration, it solves nothing at all.
What's next, an "official" hair color?

I think that's entirely rational and sensible, also I don't see that it could harm anyones cultural identity either - you can still have your heritage language too.

OK - here comes the sarcasm part:

Could we have it as a prerequisite for ATS too?

Can Americans actually adopt "proper" English, ie: that of the Queen HRH Elizabeth.

Can Americans please say Aluminium, not Aluminum etc, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

reply to post by adifferentbreed


The methodology in the report does not mention whether the questions were available to be asked in Spanish. This would leave out all those who can only understand Spanish - slanting the poll.

Now here is what I do not understand, what I often see, when applying for a job and actually having one, and had many, the one thing I do recall is that in all employee handbooks, it stated that an employee has to be able to do the following: Read, comprehend and speak the english language. Most places if you have a mix of people who speak different languanges, it is against company policy to speak anything other than english, while on company property infront of other coworkers as it may be considered an act of hostile work environment.

Originally posted by mblahnikluver
I HATE calling an American company for customer service and getting someone who doesn't speak English. Nothing gets accomplished, all this leads to is confusion and frustration on both ends.

Just because it's an American company doesn't mean they are not using cheap, overseas customers service reps to field you calls!

I'm all for English being spoken in the US, but, if you call a customer service number, there's no guarantee where you phone call goes to!

YEAH GUYS!
We need more rules about EVERYTHING!
ATS really cracks me up sometimes!
More rules always solves the problem!

Let's say that English became the official language of the US. Then what? Is there a penalty for not knowing English? Or would it simply be another tired piece of useless legislation. Seriously, if one doesn't like another language, then don't interact with those that don't speak English...don't go to establishments that employ non-English speaking laborers.

Simply put, boycott other languages...but don't tell anyone what language they should "officially" be speaking. Boycott them and they (and their employers) will get the point.

[edit on 12-5-2010 by Aggie Man]

Americans have no native tongue, as they are a country of immigrants. How can they choose to dictate what language others speak, when they where all immigrants.

What ever language should be in america, should be what the american indians spoke, otherwise your being racist.

reply to post by OldDragger


It doesn't bother me either, OldDragger. I rarely have a situation where language is a barrier, and if it is, it's a problem for the non-English speaking person, not for me.

When there are situations where court is involved, there must be a certified interpreter involved however, who gets paid by the hour, and the court must pick up the tab for that, or the party who needs the interpreter (usually the State).

I wonder if we could get the Mexicans to learn French? I love French.

que?















no but seriously I had a teacher tell us in school (1980's) thats English WAS the official language and that it barely beat out German. anyone else hear this crap as a kid? PM er... U2U (ats special speak) me

Originally posted by andy1033
Americans have no native tongue, as they are a country of immigrants. How can they choose to dictate what language others speak, when they where all immigrants.

What ever language should be in america, should be what the american indians spoke, otherwise your being racist.

"America" was originally a British colony, hence the native tongue would be English. The Native Indians didn't refer to this land as America and America didn't exist until it was wrested from British rule.

Also, it's you're, and it isn't racism, so grow up and stop playing the race card at the drop of a hat.

reply to post by andy1033


Well, that didn't take long, the race card and the indian b.s. First, do all immigrants in this country speak spanish? Nope. Fail. Secondly, did all of the indiaans have a common language? Nope. Again fail. Nice try but this is 2010. Try catching up with the rest of us.

reply to post by Aggie Man


First, it would save significant cost. When the government supports a language it has to provide forms in that language, intrepreters in that language, tests in that language, etc. Ever go to the DMV and somebody is in front of the line and needs to speak tagalog or some other language? They give them a tagalog booklet, they get to take their drivers test in tagalog, etc. As an aside, I've always wondered how folks can read road signs when they can not read english to take the drivers test.

Second, it is a productivity on employers. When folks can not speak a common language and are working in any capacity that requires team activity, by definition the productivity of that team is reduced. That reduction increases costs which are born by the consumer of that product/service.

Third, their is unifying component of a common language that supports the fabric of society. Languages are not merely one word for another. There are subtle differences in words that add nuance to a language. For example, there more than 10 words for "window" in Japanese and many of them with the same kanji spelling. Its inflection and position in a sentence that gives the word meaning. Telling a non-english speaking Japanese that "there is a window over there" can mean a number of things.
Phrasiology in many languages is as important as the words in many cases and to get communication simple and effective, a common language needs to be used.

There are certain where a common language is an absolute requirement and because there are jobs like that, why do we tier jobs to support a common language and not others? Now requiring a common language is a mess and costs society a lot.

Things like receiving any public service, voting, attending public school should all include an english requirement.

Instruction in english should also not be paid for by the government but rather private organizations supported by private money or for-profit organizations that accept payment for instruction

Your still an immigrant country like you always claim, and you have no right on this earth in terms of morals, to dictate a law to state that illegal immigrants cannot enter your country.

You guys use the thing, oh yep we where a british colony when it suits you, you still are a member of that empire, lol. But you never ever stated that you have to speak english, and always say your country is home for anyone from around the world.

The thing that gets everyone about american hypocrisy is that your all immigrants, with most of you maybe a few generations of family over there.