The languages of the US (51)
The people who defend a national language are the ones with anti-immigrant biases. The funny thing is that most of the defenders of the English language on this site can barely write a coherent sentence in it themselves!
This country is built on multiculturalism and we are not held together by a language. In Minneapolis our courts, DMV, etc. have instructions in English, Hmong, Somali and Russian. This is only a first generation thing and the next generation will automatically read and write English. I think the (silly) pledge of allegiance should be done away with (do we live in North Korea that we have to reaffirm our loyalty everyday?) and if not let it be said in as many languages as people want.
This country is built on multiculturalism and we are not held together by a language. In Minneapolis our courts, DMV, etc. have instructions in English, Hmong, Somali and Russian. This is only a first generation thing and the next generation will automatically read and write English. I think the (silly) pledge of allegiance should be done away with (do we live in North Korea that we have to reaffirm our loyalty everyday?) and if not let it be said in as many languages as people want.
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Are you implying that I am anti-immigrant? If you are, you haven't read my previous posts on that subject whatsoever. I am perfectly fine if we have them in the country - I just don't think that we need to cater to them if they -choose- to be here. If I went to France, they wouldn't all learn English to communicate with me, that's for certain.
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No one's asking you to learn anything. If someone wants to say the pledge in Spanish (or Afrikaans or Swahili) it's got nothing to do with you. Your rights aren't being diminished, if anything you're vision is being expanded to the beauty and variety of this world.
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If you are going to run for president you need to be able to justify your standpoint.
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I didn't say that it'd be an issue if they wanted to say the pledge in another language. Adopting a new version and catering to them is an issue with me, however.
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Wouldn't run, too many anti-gun exist in the US and think that stripping all the guns would fix the problem when infact it's just compound the issue in mass quantities. (whole other topic)
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How would saying the pledge in another language be catering to them? And how exactly would it effect your well-being? While you say it in English they could say it in another language. This doesn't raise your taxes; doesn't require another governmental department. A little tolerance would go a long way. I for one would love to hear the Star Spangled Banner sung in Chinese for instance.
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So if we stick to the topic?
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Creating a whole new song that would be played along-side ours isn't something I would like, if that needed clarification.. which it appears it did. That is -my- opinion.
I never said that saying it in another language would be catering to them, I said adopting another version would be catering to them. If they wish to make their own and sing it, more power to them. I'm aware it doesn't raise taxes. If you'd like to hear the Star Spangled Banner sung in Chinese, go for it :)
I never said that saying it in another language would be catering to them, I said adopting another version would be catering to them. If they wish to make their own and sing it, more power to them. I'm aware it doesn't raise taxes. If you'd like to hear the Star Spangled Banner sung in Chinese, go for it :)
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What's wrong with "catering to" the people who are in fact part of the population? Just as much as you are part of the population. What are the actual disadvantages?
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Oi! I'm bubba we's fixin' to speaks only Inglish and we's not goin' too allow youse to speek frenchy or mexican. Youse has to speek and rite it as good as me.
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Well Living in a country where we have 2 official languages, I can offer you this. DON'T do it. The supporters of 1 lanuage will always try to dominate the other. There is a lot of confusion over language and culture among the masses.
For example in Quebec it is Illegal to post any signs in English, but yet in the English speaking parts of the country we are forced to have the French lanuage on our products and signs.
If you don't think it will cost anything, think again. All government documentation has to be duplicated in the official lanuages of the country, and that amounts to one hell of a pile of paper.
For example in Quebec it is Illegal to post any signs in English, but yet in the English speaking parts of the country we are forced to have the French lanuage on our products and signs.
If you don't think it will cost anything, think again. All government documentation has to be duplicated in the official lanuages of the country, and that amounts to one hell of a pile of paper.
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Hi Tampa,
I have been to Montreal and I have clients in Canada for whom all our product documentation has to be done in two languages. But this isn't the case here at all. No one is asking there to be multilingual signage or to have court proceedings in another language. The only expense that my state government has gone to is to print instructions for taking a DMV test in several languages. This is hardly the end of the world. It will always be commerce that dictates what languages we need to learn. I used to volunteer teach English to Laotian children in Minneapolis and it was amazing how soon their mother tongue would be set aside in favor of the English Juggernaut.
I have been to Montreal and I have clients in Canada for whom all our product documentation has to be done in two languages. But this isn't the case here at all. No one is asking there to be multilingual signage or to have court proceedings in another language. The only expense that my state government has gone to is to print instructions for taking a DMV test in several languages. This is hardly the end of the world. It will always be commerce that dictates what languages we need to learn. I used to volunteer teach English to Laotian children in Minneapolis and it was amazing how soon their mother tongue would be set aside in favor of the English Juggernaut.
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"supporters" - it's not supposed to be a race... it's not about winning or losing.
Doesn't seem right to bannish english i Quebec, I agree. A language is spoken and used wheather it's banned or not.
You may be forced to have french on your signs and products, but are you forced to read it? It's in english too, right?
And documentation in both languages means employing more administrative staff, and what's wrong with that?
Doesn't seem right to bannish english i Quebec, I agree. A language is spoken and used wheather it's banned or not.
You may be forced to have french on your signs and products, but are you forced to read it? It's in english too, right?
And documentation in both languages means employing more administrative staff, and what's wrong with that?
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I think the Star Spangled Banner at this year's Superbowl should be in Chinese - our little way of honoring a truly great democracy...
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But you miss the point. If our National Anthem is sung in Chinese it's still our National Anthem. No one can take that away. It will still be the same old English drinking song reworked!
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The situation in Quebec is a little more complicated. Signs in English or not banned but they must be smaller and less prominent than their French counterparts. In the Metro the emergency instructions were written boldly in French and you had to search hard to find them in English! With Quebec you have an issue of a nation within a nation that's been struggling for its cultural identity. There are no such problems in this country. People coming to this country want to assimilate. They all want to be Americans or they wouldn't have come here.
In this country more workers is almost always considered a bad thing, Businesses go out of their way to cost employment costs. Alas I wish we could all live in Sweden. I promise we'll learn the local language and make no demands in English.
In this country more workers is almost always considered a bad thing, Businesses go out of their way to cost employment costs. Alas I wish we could all live in Sweden. I promise we'll learn the local language and make no demands in English.
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Thread is nice and long time no see.
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I have no problem with what lanuage people speak, it makes no difference to me, I have a problem with it when it is forced down my throat. The lanuage debate in my country has came pretty close to ruining the country as a whole. And there is no end in sight with this isssue. There are political parties who's only funtion is to break up the country.
All I ask is that if I have to read and display both languages, so should they. It's only fair.
All I ask is that if I have to read and display both languages, so should they. It's only fair.
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I understood the context of what was stated in Rich's original post, and also agree with the part that our pledge should remain in English, just as it has always been.
The flipside is, living here in So Cal, that I would like to learn and become fluent in Spanish. I find the Hispanics here a much nicer people than the well-to-do...
-Robert