Should Spanish become an official second language in America?

[Cascadian]

A question I have been thinking about a lot yesterday.

As you know, the Latino population is growing fast in this country. The culture is fast emerging in music, TV, radio, print, and other aspects of American life. I know that the Latino population is growing in my area of Seattle. Something that would have never been thought of 25 years ago though the Eastern half of Washington have had a sizeable population for years. Mainly migrants coming from Mexico. Other states like California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida have long had a Latino population.

It seems to me that Spanish is fast catching up with English as a prominent language. It would be foolish to ignore it's importance. Despite the drive to make English an official language and in some respects discourage the use of Spanish. I am afraid these acts will prove futile as time goes on. Perhaps it istime to embrace Spanish as an official second language.

It is truly a shame that states like California and Texas do not have Spanish already as an official language given the history and culture of their respective states. Maybe someday maybe there will be a movement to make Spanish a second language nationwide.

Your turn!

John

[LandOLincoln]

1. Si, claro. Por que no? eom

[Leilani]

2. No!

We are a melting pot. We have absorbed waves of immigrants from all over the world & they became American & they learned English.

The country is divided enough.

Make Spanish official, & we will have a Quebec situation, & a separatist movement.

NO! NO! NO!

[Cascadian]

3. I do not think that will happen.

You must remember that in some states, particularly the Southwest and California have had Spanish speaking populations long before the Americans took them over.

However, I do not think a Quebec style situation will happen.

John

[mot78]

69. We shouldn't recognize one ethnic group over another either

By forcing an established language, at hinders free expression, and expresses favoratism of one group over another.

[lapfog_1]

8. OK...

But I was thinking about this. Would it be SOOOO bad to be a
separate nation (I'll take California, Arizona New Mexico, Baja,
Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska... and form the PSA and make
Spanish the official language... IF I can also ask all of the Freepers
to move to the Midwest, and we can invite all of the other Dems and
Progressives here (and, oh, BTW, we get all of the military units
stationed in those states).

Of course, I wouldn't want it to be a Catholic country (I'm not
religious, but I don't want a state based on a particular religion).

Hmmm.

Not that I am advocating such thing or encouraging others. Just a
thought that it wouldn't be all that bad.

[webtrainer]

74. I always tell my Mexican friends . . .

(in Spanish) that California was once part of Mexico, and one day it might be again!

Seriously though, in my town in SoCal, if I didn't speak Spanish I couldn't communicate with about half of the population. I think it behooves people living in similar areas to learn Spanish.

The Mexicans and other Spanish-speakers I know have either already learned English or are desperately trying to learn it. English is a very difficult language to learn though.

[Bombtrack]

4. Assimilation is not a bad thing

There is no reason to break with the entire US history for no good reason. Every other immigrant group learned English and they were better off for it.

[Cascadian]

6. But Spanish is already here.

Like it or not. Look at TV, radio, newpapers. The language is here and it is being used daily. We might as well go for the whole thing. If not the entire country than I think states with large and long-established Spanish speaking populations like California should seriously consider Spanish as the second official language consider their history and the culture is primarily embedded already.


John

[mot78]

70. Yeah and we also have had other ethnic media for hundreds of years

Be it the colonial German a Dutch enclaves in NY and PA, or the wave of Eastern Europeans 100 years ago, who built up their own associations and newspapers.

[texastoast]

81. I think assimilation sucks

Reagan said not assimilating the Native Americans (i.e., forcing them to become what was considered "American" way back) was one of the biggest mistakes "America" made. ("America" = WASP, etc., etc.).

If we had "assimilated" the Mexicans in Texas, why, we wouldn't have cheese enchiladas. And that would be a very bad thing.

If the Vietnamese in Texas were assimilated, I would never have known about spring rolls made right.

And if the Texas Czech culture had been assimilated (and it is so not), kolaches would have been overridden for doughnuts.

I think we just need to be multilingual. Many Europeans know more than one romance language compared to us and our jones for English. Yet when most Americans travel to Europe, they expect to find someone to help them in English. WTF?

[Cascadian]

83. Assimilation sounds fascist.

Or sounds like what the Borg do in the Star Trek shows.


RESISTANCE IS FUTILE



John

[yankeedem]

5. No

Because then there would have to be an official first language.

[Hekate]

7. No, but the rest of us should learn to speak other languages!

Our country is very big and borders on only one and a half countries that speak other languages (i.e., Mexican Spanish and Canadian French). Unlike the rest of the planet, we are not compelled by necessity to learn multiple languages in order to communicate with nearby (very nearby) countries.

This is comfy for us, but it has made us intellectually lazy, sadly provincial and unaware of other points of view. Our big excuse that we don't have to has become just that--an excuse.

My mother-in-law never tires of telling me that when she was in grade school she was already learning another language (a pointed comment about my own children's grade school curriculum); my late father-in-law learned three fluently as a child before he left his native country and learned a fourth; then he moved here at the age of 50 and learned English. They are bright people, but not geniuses: in order to get along in a multi-lingual environment they had to start early--and early childhood is when languages are easiest to absorb.

I believe the US should keep its one official language because it is a unifying force, but we are missing an opportunity by not requiring all our children to learn at least one foreign language starting in early grade school.

Hekate

[bearfartinthewoods]

63. it has also made us efficient and effective

multiple languages is an impediment, politically, socially and in business.

[RoyGBiv]

9. No...

Just a casual knowledge of the history of Europe, especially Eastern Europe, should be enough to convince anyone not to play with the legal device of a nationally imposed official language. Such a thing is inherently discriminatory. It affects everything. Some people can use these kinds of legal mechanisms in genuine attempts to achieve positive goals. However, the possibilities to establish legalized separatism is enormous. As just one example, in many nations with official languages, people can legally be denied employment if they do not speak that language.

I don't even like the idea of states doing it. At the level of the federal government, this could be just horrible in its consequences.

I can tell from the way you phrase the question that you do have genuinely good intentions in mind, and I respect that. I simply see too many avenues of a well-intention idea to be used by racists and xenophobes to lock out the influence of a large subset of our population.

[Hubert Flottz]

10. No Nazi Propaganda already has!

See Herr KKKarl Rove minister of propaganda and Frau Hughes Deputy Minister.................

[Gore1FL]

11. Considering we have no official language

making Spanish the second seems suspect.

[Endangered Specie]

28. good point, we need to declare English FIRST

[xchrom]

12. spanish has always been a part of

american culture.
it's as american as english -- and in fact it's quickly changing english as it's spoken here.
i'm not sure that there should be an official language -- but this is and has always been a spanish speaking country.

[ithacan]

18. right: this is a Spanish-speaking country just as much as it is

an English speaking country.

That's a great point.

And this is true without any official language...

[Muddleoftheroad]

24. No it's not

English is spoken far and away by more people.

That said, mandating either language is idiotic. People will communicate how they wish and the government can't control that.

[ithacan]

25. well, based on your logic then

the US is a white christian nation...

I hope you don't agree with that, and would agree that the US is the nation of all who live here, that all religions practiced by Americans are American religions, that people of all races who live here are Americans, that Americans speak all kinds of languages.

And I don't know where you live, but in large parts of this country Spanish is the dominant language and there's no reason to change that.

[Muddleoftheroad]

30. That's a laugh

The language of business, commerce, politics, media and standard communication in the U.S. is English. Many other languages are spoken here, but only one can get you through the day.

[IrateCitizen]

29. I guess you've never been to the US Southwest

Do the city names El Paso, San Antonio, Los Angeles, and San Francisco mean anything to you?

There are SIGNIFICANT populations throughout the American Southwest for whom Spanish is the first language -- and many are not immigrants, they can trace their roots back to the time in which those areas were part of Mexico. Some communities in AZ, TX and NM are actually MAJORITY Spanish speaking.

Now, I am not a proponent of making Spanish a "national" language -- but I do support teaching it in all public schools to all kids, starting in early grade school. Given the fact that most people in other industrialized nations can speak at least 2 languages (go to Switzerland and you'll encounter "regular people" who speak 4 or 5!), it is only logical to mandate similar language proficiency in the US -- our kids can only benefit from it.

[Muddleoftheroad]

32. I will agree in part

We should indeed be teaching language to our children at an early age, but not just Spanish -- Chinese, Russian, German, etc. are all important. But to assume it should automatically be Spanish is wrong.

[IrateCitizen]

38. I said Spanish because it is the most immediately used one...

... within the United States itself. Furthermore, by teaching kids two languages rather than just one, it makes it much, much easier for them to then pick up additional languages down the line.

Chinese would be useful, for certain, for people going into international business. But there is really little use for it within the United States itself, outside of "Chinatown" enclaves in major cities. I would think that there would be even less use for Russian. Learning German is utterly useless -- probably 95% of all Germans 35 and under are now fluent in English.

To promote the teaching of Spanish starting in early grade school solves two issues. First, it provides people with the ability to communicate effectively with immigrants from Latin America. Second, it gives the kids the second language that will help them learn additional languages down the line.

How else are you going to do it? Offer seven different languages in the grade schools? Where are you going to find all the teachers?

[Kellanved]

75. I can't agree there

Learning German is utterly useless -- probably 95% of all Germans 35 and under are now fluent in English.


If just practical communication stateside is the issue, then you are probably correct - it is not really necessary to learn a western European language other than Spanish anymore.
However, translations can only go so far. Part of learning a language is IMHO learning the culture, literature etc ; languages shouldn't be reduced to be merely means of communication.


Anyway, I agree that Spanish is the most useful language in the US other than English, but don't reduce languages to skills; they are a lot more - especially so if one considers to work /study in another country.

[SheilaT]

13. Absolutely not.

Not an official language. We need one and only one official language. I have no problem with people retaining the home country language. It doesn't bother me at all when people speak to each other in a language I don't understand, even if they're co-workers. I think we need to do all possible to help out non-English speakers learn English. We need to provide as much translation service as needed in the courts, hospitals, and so on.

BUT, English is the official language of this country (even if that's not enshrined in law) and it is incumbent on all who wish to live here to learn it. I do not believe ballots should be in any other language than English. I believe the very best way to teach children is by immersion. Millions upon millions of immigrant children went to schools where no one provided instruction in anything other than English, and they all became completely fluent in a year or two.

Having more than one official language can totally divide a country -- think Canada -- and there's no need for it here.

And I think that foreign languages should be better taught in our schools. I've taken French, German, Spanish, and Italian myself so far, and I want to learn more.

on edit: I'am aware that English isn't the "official" language here, and it probably doesn't need to be made so.

[Vogon_Glory]

14. No, Spanish Shouldn't Become A Second Official Language

No, I don't think that Spanish should become a second official language. While I do favor providing bilingual materials to help residents and newer citizens adapt to the legal and financial ways of the USA, I believe that English should remain the main language of the USA. Even down here in Central Texas, the prevailing opinion seems to be that learning English is the way to get ahead--and that opinion is held inside and outside of the barrios.

Furthermore, despite the ravings of right-wing talk radio, the assimilation process IS going on. There are a lot of young Chicanos (both native born and those brought here as toddlers) who speak Spanish only as a second language and poorly at that--if they speak Spanish at all.

This doesn't let the rest of us off the hook. With the possible exception of residents living in those states bordering Quebec and Alaskans neighboring Russia, I think that the rest of us should be learning to speak Spanish as a second language.

[Loonman]

15. In order to have an official Second Language

We must have an official First Language.

Although English is widely spoken, the US has no official language.

[ithacan]

16. there should be NO official language(s) in the US

there is not one now. there shouldn't be one going forward.

I understand the point you're making. But more generally we could just say that people in this country should be free to express themselves in whatever is their "maternal" language, whether it's english or spanish or vietnamese or french ...

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

17. Absolutely not

And I think we do our children a severe disservice by pretty much only offering Spanish in our schools. Arabic and Mandarin are the languages of our business future. By teaching them Spanish, yeah, they might be able to get a few lower-end jobs easier, but that's low-balling the potential of our children. We need to open up our capacity to learn the languages that will be vitally important to our country, and let's face it, our future trade partners are not in Spanish speaking countries. I think the closer we get to embracing Spanish, the closer we get to slitting our own throats.

[Bridget Burke]

19. Nobody needs your permission to speak Spanish.

They'll do it anyway. They'll also speak Vietnamese, etc.

English isn't in any trouble, either.

Besides, we don't need any "official" languages.

[freetobegay]

20. We don't even have an official fist language

Why would we worry about a second?

[LWolf]

21. Other

I don't see, at this point, a reason to have another "official" language. I see the need to value mulilingual people.

I think that America should be multilingual in practice, and I do think that children should be learning more than one language. Spanish is certainly my first choice, since that is the most prevalent 2nd language in my area. I'd like to see "dual immersion" elementary schools; by the time kids hit jr high, they'd already be bilingual and could study a 3rd language if they wanted. But which spanish? In california classrooms, you may have 3 or more different forms/dialects spoken by students.

In addition to spanish, just in my little area, we have chinese, japanese, korean, tagalog, gujarati....and more.

[noonwitch]

22. Yes and No

Yes, spanish should be taught to all kids from a young age in school. My reason is that kids can learn it young, use it in most communities in this country to some degree, and learning a second language at a young age develops one's abilities to learn other languages as one grows older. Spanish is the logical choice because it is the most common language spoken other than english in this country. Everybody knows a few words or phrases, especially people who watched "Sesame Street" as a kid, because it teaches spanish words. "Yo no hablo espanol" is about all I know, and I wish I had taken it in school (I took german).

I do think that most US business should continue to take place in english. It's just easier that way.

[kiahzero]

23. That would require an official first language, yes?

There is no official language of the United States.

[NewJeffCT]

26. No, but...

This country definitely needs a more concerted effort to teach our children 2nd and 3rd languages. Isn't there an old parable or saying that goes something like,

"What do you call a person that speaks 3 languages?"
Answer: "Trilingual"
"What do you call a person that speaks 2 languages?"
Answer: "Bilingual"
"What do you call a person that speaks 1 language?"
Answer: "American"

While I have nothing against the French, and actually respect their anti-war position, it is NOT a language of the future. If the US is to succeed in a global economy, we should be teaching our children Spanish, German, Japanese and, especially Mandarin Chinese.

[IrateCitizen]

27. It shouldn't be "official" -- but it should be taught to all kids...

... starting in early grade school, right along with English. Doing so would be paying tribute to the substansive Latin traditions in the Southwestern US as well as addressing present realities.

[drumwolf]

31. The USA has no official languages, period, and we should keep it that way.

That said, we should absolutely do both of the following:

(1) encourage native Spanish speakers to learn English. I agree that there is a LOT to be said for encouraging everyone who comes to this country to learn to speak English as well as anyone and everyone else here.

(2) at the same time, do far more to encourage native Anglophones to learn a second language, Spanish or otherwise, than we do. We may well be the only major country in the world with a majority of citizens who only speak one language, and I think that hurts us. I certainly feel like I'm missing out in a huge way because I've never known another language as well as English. (I do know German at the level of a two-year-old.)

On edit: I might add, speaking as the son of Korean immigrants, I wholeheartedly agree that assimilation is a good thing.

[Endangered Specie]

33. We have never changed our language due to a mass immigration...

no reason to start now.

[demnan]

34. Yes

I think it would be a good idea. I give a nod here to the native American population. If we can't have Navajo or Maya as a second language I think Spanish will have to do. We've dislocated the native people and the mixed peoples on this continent enough, it's time for some concessions.

[MercutioATC]

35. I voted no, but here's a joke that's popular in other countries:

Q: What do you call somebody who speaks three languages?
A: Trilingual

Q: What do you cal somebody who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual

Q: What do you call somebody who speaks one language?
A: An American


Sad, but true...

[Commendatori]

36. I don't blame Americans for this

Germany is bordered by nine countries and is about the size of Wisconsin. If you get into a car and drive a few hours, you need a second language there. Here, you could get into a car, drive fifteen hours and still be surrounded by English speakers.

True fluency in a language can't be achieved in HS and college, it comes with practice, listening to radio and watching TV. For most Americans, the opportunity isn't always there.

[NewJeffCT]

40. I live in suburban CT

And I can walk up and down my small street in my town of 30,000 and hear Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Polish, Portugese, Chinese and probably a few others (I'm guessing at least a few speak Spanish or Italian and/or Sicilian, but I cannot say for sure.)

Some of it can be changed in the schools - I'm 37 now and it was very rare when I was growing up for children to get a 2nd language in school before high school. In China, they start English lessons early on in elementary school, and I am guessing much of Europe does the same.

It is starting to change a bit now in that second languages are introduced earlier... but America still has a long ways to go.

[outinforce]

39. Really?

What a wonderful joke!

It puts us Americans right in our place, does it not.

I do have just one little tiny question, though.

And it comes from my own observation of a great many newcomers to the USA.

It seems to me (and perhaps my own sample is somewhat limited) that a great number of people who come to the USA in search of jobs, better future, etc, arrive speaking one and only one language.

Some of these newcomers even insist that they are quite unable to learn the English language.

So in the punch-line of your joke -- when you say "Americans", you do mean all of the people (except perhaps the people of Canada) who inhabit both North and South America?

Am I right?

[MercutioATC]

41. You're right, but those are generally immigrants with little or no formal

education. Most educated immigrants I've met speak at least their native language and English.

I'm not talking about lack of opportunity, I'm talking about a decision not to learn (I'm guilty, too. I speak English and VERY little French).

[outinforce]

43. Have You Taken?

I think you may be a bit too harsh on even educated Americans.

Have you taken a foreign language course in a high school recently? Would you suggest that high schools are currently teaching foreign languages with a view towards making students completely fluent in that language? I don't think so.

Or even at the college level.....it is my beleif that most colleges do not require fluency in a foreign language in order to graduate. And it is also my believe that the foreign language curricula of most univeristies is not geared towards teaching fluency in a foreign language, except to people who happen to major in a foriegn language.

Europeans may enjoy sneering at all of us unsophisticated Americans, and they may also enjoy making assumptions of the sort that suggest that we amke decisions not to learn, but I would bet that if they understood our culture and our living situations a little better, they would not be so contemptuous.

[MercutioATC]

47. That's my point. Our society doesn't stress the need to communicate

with others. That, in itself, is arrogant (and counterproductive).

[ieoeja]

54. It's a joke!

It doesn't have to make perfect sense. In fact, it wouldn't be a joke if it made perfect sense. Then it would be a definition.

As a joke I found that it greatly illustrates the divide between Conservative and Progressive thinking. I first heard this in a bar full of Conservatives when one such repeated this joke some Mexican had told to him. I thought "it's not often you hear a good White joke" as I thought it was making fun of the American majority. They thought "why would a Mexican tell a Mexican joke" since they thought it was making fun of immigrants forced to speak multiple languages.

We even had a brief discussion trying to understand each other's point of view and had to conclude that I couldn't understand their position any more than they could understand mine.

[outinforce]

55. Is Not Often You Hear a Good White Joke

I don't know where you live, ieoeja, but I recall a whole slew of "Polish" jokes and "Wasp" jokes.

Not to mention the "dumb blonde" jokes.

All jokes about us white folks.

I hear them more than any other kind.

And I find them most offensive.

[ieoeja]

56. But those are ...

"Blonde", "Polish", "WASP" etc jokes. A more technical term for the joke in question would be "United States political majority joke". I am using "white" as shorthand.

I can understand someone being offended by jokes that perpetuate a stereotype that has been used against them or their peers in a substantial manner. But I have always found it difficult to understand my fellow white man's sensitivity to "white" jokes. More to the point, I have never BELIEVED my fellow white man's sensitivity to such. If I felt like being polite I would say that I thought you were being "intellectually dishonest".

But you're smart enough to know that I am really calling you a "damned liar" and that my pretending otherwise would simply be a further insult.

[outinforce]

66. Misunderstandings Lead To Insults

I guess I misunderstood you when I read your comment in an earlier post to the effect that it is not often than one hears a really good white joke.

You appear to consider it appropriate to use "white" as shorthand for "American".

I stopped thinking that way a long, long, LONG time ago. I am a little surprized, frankly, to discover that there are still people -- especially liberal people -- who would consider that an appropriate shorthand.

And I think you misunderstand me -- or, more precisely, my sensitivity.

I am not so much sensitive to "white" jokes -- however you may wish to define "white" jokes.

What I am most sensitive to is to the disrespect and attempts to tear down dignity that is implicit in any joke that pokes fun at a person because of his or her gender, color, race, ethnic background, or any other immutable characteristic. I consider ALL such jokes to be in the worst of taste.

And I confess that I almost expect such jokes from folks who are unenlightened and who revel in their own ingorance, bigotry, and hatred. But when I see a fellow liberal making such jokes, I find it almost beyond comprehension.

Your calling me a "damned liar" does not really insult me as much as the insult I feel when I see a fellow liberal saying, in effect, "There is one portion of the human family that it is OK to make fun of". THAT hurts me more than any charge that I am a damned liar.

[DrWeird]

58. So you equate "american" with "white"?

nt

[ieoeja]

62. No, *I* did.

As stated above, "it's not often you hear a good American political majority joke," is a bit of a mouthful.

[outinforce]

65. Not At All

Whatever gave you that idea??

[Commendatori]

37. I don't believe in having any official languages here (n/t)

[rucky]

42. We need more Spanish in our education system

Bilingual, ESL, and at least some Spanish as a foreign language requirement

[tiedye]

44. Embrace our Latin Roots

I was just listening to a story where an American teacher made her student wash desks because the kindergardener used her native language, espanol. This is absurd.
We need to celebrate the spanish language with dual emersion programs. Learning the langusge helps your overall intelligence. Its a beautiful language and I find when I live in a Latino community, the langusge evolves. We use words like igualmente as if it were an English word. Language is for communicating your needs, wants and thoughts, it is never meant to be rigid and immuntable.
The most important thing, since immigration to the US is increasing, even illegal immigration, is have a lot of Spanish books in the library so they have a good healthy outlet and don't watch tv instead.

[booley]

45. I don't think we should have a primary language

so why would I want an official secondary lanaguage.

lanaguages eventaully merge and lets face it, english has been a bastard lanaguage since 1066..

teach everybody english and spanish i guess but given time, we'll all be speaking spanglish and it won't matter

[tiedye]

46. Yeah

And a dictionary is made based on the actual use (or published use) of the word. The Professor and the Madman. WC Miner was a Doctor, that during the US Civil war he had to brand AWOL's with a D for Deserter, on their cheek. Turns out most of these deserters were Irish, so Miner developoed an unhealthy fear and paranoia of Irish. Became delusional, killed an innocent man, institutionalized, contributed 10,000 entries into the Oxford English Dictionary, cut off his penis and died an undignified death.
So, in a nutshell, if you get published saying a word, it becomes somewhat solidified in the the dictionary. Bush attempts to change the semantics of the language, constantly.
America is famous for its Bastardization of the English language.

Personally, I like pig-Latin.

[pezcore64]

48. well

i think thatd require us to say English was our official language, which we have never done.

[democracyindanger]

49. No way, but language educ. should be mandatory

Doesn't matter if it's Spanish, French, Esperanto--they should be teaching kids to be bilingual from an early age.

[NewJeffCT]

53. agreed, but

I posted this above - but, when I was in school in the 70s and 80s, it was very rare for anybody to get a 2nd language before high school. It's changing for the better, but we still need to do a lot better.

I do think that we need to teach our children languages that will be of use to them in the future in a global economy. I have nothing against the French, but it is not a language of the future. Our schools should be teaching Spanish (or Latin), German, Japanese and, especially Mandarin Chinese. In China, most students start learning English early in elementary school. They're begging for more English teachers there...

[Blasphemer]

50. Yes...

I don't know that they should be called "official languages" considering the diversity in the country but I would like it to be the way it is in Canada with English and French. Starting with Southwestern States, CA, TX, FL and NY, I'd like to see a widely bilingual US.

[KamaAina]

51. Hawai'i has a second official language -- Hawaiian

or ka 'olelo Hawai'i makuahine, literally "the mother tongue of Hawai'i". It's been official since the constitutional convention of 1978.

Though there are only around 32,000 speakers of Hawaiian, its official status has led to some interesting situations, like the time the Dept. of Public Safety (Corrections) ordered a mediator to stop speaking to an inmate in a "foreign" language. She replied, correctly, that Hawaiian is an official language, and that if they wanted to make sure she wasn't hatching some nefarious plot, they should get guards who speak it!

[Retrograde]

57. California used to have one, too - Spanish

The first state constitution, back in 1850, was written in both Spanish and English, and laws were supposed to be bilingual. After all, the place had just been part of Mexico. Kind of fell by the wayside after a bit.

If I ran the country, elementary schools would teach English and Spanish first, since those two cover a large part of the Western Hemisphere, with Mandarin later. Throw in some Arabic to cover the Moslem world and some French for former colonial Africa and you've got a large part of the world covered.


linda

[Cascadian]

82. California should be officially bilingual

If any state should, then California would be IT. I have been to communities in California where English is pretty much non-existant. One could be forgiven for thinking they were in Mexico. I think for the sake of it's heritage, California should be bilingual. Just my opinion.

John

[LeahMira]

52. Your question...

Should Spanish become an official second language in America?

... is a little confusing for me. Is English the official language in America?

I don't know that there's legislation or some resolution that has declared English as "official." Certainly, it's the language in which we write legal documents and such, but laws stipulate that many of those documents also be presented as written in the native language of the individuals to whom they are relevant.

I would personally love to see more of other languages. So many in this country speak only English... and even when they travel abroad they refuse to even try to learn simple phrases in the language of the country they are visiting.

I've seen signs printed in two or three languages on the stores around town and, unless they happen to be using a different alphabet, I like to learn the words and what they mean. But then, I also read all the directions on boxes, including those written in German! I may be a little strange in this respect.

:crazy:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

59. There should be no official language

but we should follow the lead of the European countries and require a second language beginning in fifth or sixth grade and continue it all the way to high school graduation. Becoming proficient in a language in two years is as futile as becoming a good piano player in two years.

I'm against designating Spanish in particular, because immigration patterns change. In 1900 or so, the largest non-English-speaking immigrant group was Germans, and there was actually English/German bilingual education in many communities.

Besides, Latinos are not necessarily the largest immigrant group everywhere. In Portland, it was Koreans and Vietnamese and Russians. In the Twin Cities, it's East Africans and Hmongs. Granted, there are some Latinos everywhere these days, but they don't always outnumber other groups.

[DrWeird]

60. Make Spanish the only official language.

Then all those language nazis won't have to complain about their tax dollars going to pay for bilingual driving exams at the DMV.

[mot78]

61. No

We're a country of polyglots, and we shouldn't force an official language on people. We've done well for 300+ years as a multi-ethnic society (if you count diversity during Colonialism) so why should be stop now?

[ConcernedCanuk]

64. Just a point of interest as one of your neighbours.

.
.
.

You may know that Canada has 2 official languages, English and French.

Almost all our legal documents such as laws,statutes and regulations are availble to all in both languages.

Of course the signage and information systems are more obvious from Ontario to the East Coast, where French is fairly common.

Point:

One's employment opportunities in Central and Eastern Canada are GREATLY improved if one is bilingual (that means English & French to us Canuks).

Some jobs, especialy public service and government jobs REQUIRE it. Others employers "prefer" bilingual employees, so where applicants are of equal skill and experience levels, the biligual person will receive priority when it comes to hiring. (Take note y'all that are looking to the North as a future!)

That said, I would suggest that in STATES where Spanish is very common, the obvious ones being CA, TX, AZ, and a few other southern states, that Spanish be on the school curriculum.

[outinforce]

67. You Make A Good Point

You make an excellend point.

Which is this -- that people who come to the USA and who do not absolutely insist that their children learn the English language place their kids at a very distinct disadvantage.

Perhaps it is possible in South Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Californina to live one's entire life without having to learn or speak English.

But that comes at an enormous price.

The history of most immigrant groups to the USA, including the immigrants in my own ancestry, is that they quickly set about to learn the language of their new homeland -- English.

Canada is a completely different country with a totally different history and set of historical issues.

[xchrom]

80. that price you are talking about is changing

in a good many states west of the mississippi spanish speaking people will be the majority speaking people -- what do you think they will be speaking making their business deals?
chicago is another interesting case in point -- a large and growing spanish speaking population there -- same with detroit.
there is a scale going on here -- and at some point it tip in favor of spanish.

[markomalley]

68. Although I voted yes, I still wonder...

...why we need to have an official language to begin with. It seems discriminatory to everybody else. What about those who speak French, Cantonese, Vietnamese, and so on? Shouldn't their languages be respected, as well?

[Alenne]

71. The US has no official language and it should stay that way

[napi21]

72. NO NO NO! English is the language of America!

I am not saying this out of prejudice. My son accepted a job in Sicily about 2 years ago. The FIRST thing I saiad to him was, "You know you must learn Italian, don't you" He has.

I don't believe ANYONE who goes from their home country to another should expect the residents to bend overbackward for them, and that means ANY COUNTRY!

[derby378]

73. No. Official. Language. (n/t)

[mmonk]

76. Si`

[Cleita]

77. Even if no one objects, it wouldn't really catch on except as

a second language in certain demographics, like French Canada. Since aviation, shipping and many other global endeavors are conducted in English as the lengua franca, it would be very hard to replace English with Spanish.

[ulysses]

78. agreed with many others - no need for an official language. n/t

[Piperay]

79. No...

though I think it is a good idea to know other languages. I learned German and Spanish when I was in grade school but unfortunately that was along time ago and I can't communicate in either of them now. :-(