English! Why isn't it official language??? Should it be?, page 1
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reply posted on 15-10-2004 @ 03:42 PM by Jemison

In what States is it the official language?


California for one. We voted 74% in favor of making English the official language. However, the ACLU got involved and deemed it unconstitutional.

Here is a link that has additional States.

www.usconstitution.net...

According to U.S. English, the following states have existing official language laws on their books: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wyoming. A small handful date back more than a few decades, such as Louisiana (1811) and Nebraska (1920), but most official language statutes were passed since the 1970's.

Here is what it says regarding attempts made to make English the official language:

Many people are surprised to learn that the United States has no official language. As one of the major centers of commerce and trade, and a major English-speaking country, many assume that English is the country's official language. But despite efforts over the years, the United States has no official language.

Almost every session of Congress, an amendment to the Constitution is proposed in Congress to adopt English as the official language of the United States. Other efforts have attempted to take the easier route of changing the U.S. Code to make English the official language. As of this writing, the efforts have not been successful.

Here is the text of a proposed amendment. This particular bill was introduced in the House of Representatives as H.J. Res. 16 (107th Congress):

The English language shall be the official language of the United States. As the official language, the English language shall be used for all public acts including every order, resolution, vote, or election, and for all records and judicial proceedings of the Government of the United States and the governments of the several States.


It is a very interesting link. Check it out.

Jemison


reply posted on 15-10-2004 @ 04:37 PM by Off_The_Street
Jemison says:

"Everything centered around our Government, economy, shopping, etc. has always been in English. It has only been in the last 5 years that ATM machines, packaging, directions, etc. are now in Spanish and English. It used to be that when people moved here from a foreign country they were forced to learn the language so that they could adapt. Now we have catered to them and are printing things like Drivers License tests in 32 different languages. It makes no sense."

Au contraire, it makes a lot of sense. I don't know about the government, but the banks, stores, and other private organizations are not so much interested in pushing a political agenda as they are in providing services to their customers.

Here in Mesa, a huge portion of our folks are Hispanics (probably a lot of them without papers, but that's a different post). These peeps are not going to choose a hardware store if it doesn't help them to find things like tools and furniture for the house when they're looking for "herramientos" and "muebles para el hogar".

And these same folks go to the store and they don't want Holsum bread, they want Bimbo -- el pan de Mexico! And they want to figure out what aisle it's on, and they under stand "frijoles", "mais", and "pan", better than they do "beans", "corn", and "bread".

I didn't learn a new language until I was in my forties; now I'm bilingual. All this stuff about "let 'em learn English" is like Marie Antoinette saying "let them eat cake". It's just not going to happen.

Cultures change, and the successful organisms, i.e., the survivors, adapt.

And now, on a personal note:

I once answered, on a survey that I took, the woman that I I most wanted to spend the weekend with (excluding my bride, of course, and assuming I was young(er)) was the incomparable Mae Jemison.

Are you by chance related to her, and if so, could you get me an autographed picture?

[edit on 15-10-2004 by Off_The_Street]
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