Would you vote for or against a national language in the USA?

[spud_meister]

Well, translations are always available. Just not always provided by the government. And if by a happy accident an MP can speak a language not the official one that a citizen uses, well, serendipity. But I don't think all citizens are entitled to be served in whatever language they choose. Think of a courtroom, for example. Who needs to provide the translation there?

Government should provide translators/translations as necessary, in courtrooms, for accessing services, for filing paperwork, whatever. The government shouldn't be in the business of erecting barriers to representation or anything else. My country used to use language as a tool for enforcing racist policy, and it's not a power necessary for the functioning of government.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Thanks mostly to illegal immigration and several amnesty and paths-to-citizenship programs.

Still, I am not concerned about someone using their original language, but when they immigrate to or are raised in a new land...learn the language. Don't expect people to understand yours.

Many here speak both to a manageable extent and many product labels/instructions are presented in both.

 

[spud_meister]

No.
It may unintentionally discourage, but it does not exclude.
But clearly it would provide an incentive for those to learn the Official language.

Of course it does. Would you be ok if the national language was Mandarin, and just buckle down and learn it?

 

[Excon]

Government should provide translators/translations as necessary, in courtrooms, for accessing services, for filing paperwork, whatever. The government shouldn't be in the business of erecting barriers to representation or anything else. My country used to use language as a tool for enforcing racist policy, and it's not a power necessary for the functioning of government.

A Official language unifies and provides cohesiveness. It also simplifies interactions and can provide for safety, such as in having an official International language of civil aviation.

 

[Excon]

Of course it does. Would you be ok if the national language was Mandarin, and just buckle down and learn it?

No. As I said; It may unintentionally discourage, but it does not exclude.
Your example is stupid.
If the Mandarin language was the National language I would already know it.

If I wanted to live in China, I certainly would be attempting to learn Mandarin as well as the local dialect to ease my living there.

 

[spud_meister]

A Official language unifies and provides cohesiveness.

Unifies what? Coheres what? Can you provide examples?

It also simplifies interactions such as in the International language of civil aviation.

Have you ever helped someone with bad spoken English access a government service? It's far easier to get a translator for their native language.

 

[Grand Mal]

Government should provide translators/translations as necessary, in courtrooms, for accessing services, for filing paperwork, whatever. The government shouldn't be in the business of erecting barriers to representation or anything else. My country used to use language as a tool for enforcing racist policy, and it's not a power necessary for the functioning of government.

My government used to use language as a tool of repression of Native culture as well. It's a British thing. They made Gaelic illegal in Scotland, too, and repressed native languages and culture in India and Africa. And you have a case if you want native languages to be used and translated by the government. I have no quarrel with that. But...
In courtrooms the prosecution will provide translators where they see the need, and the defense will as well. If the defense needs a witness to be heard who only speaks Finnish or Uyghur it's up to them to provide translation, in my opinion. And if the Finn or Uyghur needs his tax guide translated, that's up to him.

 

[TurtleDude]

No, a national language would just be used to exclude non-speakers from participating in governance.

they shouldn't participate in USA governance

 

[spud_meister]

No. As I said; It may unintentionally discourage, but it does not exclude.

Of course it excludes. It excludes people that can't speak, and need to use sign language. It excludes people with degenerative brain conditions who may revert to their mother tongue and lose English proficiency. It excludes everyone who's come to the US under the impression they could speak whatever they want without being denied representation.

Your example is stupid.
If the Mandarin language was the National language I would already know it.

No, if Mandarin was made the official language tomorrow, you wouldn't know it. Would you be happy to learn it, in the interest of social cohesion?

 

[spud_meister]

they shouldn't participate in USA governance

You of all people should think the onus is on the government to ensure citizens have representation, not the other way around. You libertarians sure are a funny bunch.

 

[Excon]

Unifies what? Coheres what? Can you provide examples?

You know damn well how a common language can unify and provided cohesiveness among a population. So you can stop with the game.

Have you ever helped someone with bad spoken English access a government service? It's far easier to get a translator for their native language.

And?
If I were in China that is exactly what I would be getting to help me out until such time as I could speak the language on my own.

 

[TurtleDude]

You of all people should think the onus is on the government to ensure citizens have representation, not the other way around. You libertarians sure are a funny bunch.

when you said governance that implied office holders to me

 

[PirateMk1]

Unifies what? Coheres what? Can you provide examples?



Have you ever helped someone with bad spoken English access a government service? It's far easier to get a translator for their native language.

If they need a government service then they will be that much more motivated to learn the language sufficient to get said service in a timely and satisfactory manner. Every language I have ever learned was learned fastest by immersion in the language.

 

[Excon]

Of course it excludes. It excludes people that can't speak, and need to use sign language. It excludes people with degenerative brain conditions who may revert to their mother tongue and lose English proficiency. It excludes everyone who's come to the US under the impression they could speak whatever they want without being denied representation.

Wrong. The person is not excluded.
It may discourage them as I stated, but they are not excluded because they can clearly participate by getting an interpreter or learning the langue.
As to degenerative brain conditions? iLOL Silly nonsense.

No, if Mandarin was made the official language tomorrow, you wouldn't know it. Would you be happy to learn it, in the interest of social cohesion?

You are arguing nonsense.
Mandarin has no relevance to this unless you are speaking of another Country.
English is the language of this Nation's foundation, from it's Declaration of Independence and Constitution, to it's Codified laws. It is for all intent and purpose the Official language. Making it Official would not change much in this nation except for those who should be learning it.


And like I already told you, if I go to China I will take steps to learn the language, just as those coming here should do.

 

[chuckiechan]

No. Too many who are here do not speak the same language, so it would be absolutely cruel to implement a set language on government documents.

I believe in it so that legal documents and writs, etc are in English. AFAIK, at this point in time a jury trial could be in Urdu. Then what?

The other issue is in California, non-Latinos are being discriminated against for not being bi-lingual and the state chooses to do nothing about it. IOW, it’s the Mexican version of “Whites need not apply”.

 

[DiAnna]

Torn on this. On one hand, California alone has to print every single document it produces for every agency; ballots are printed in seven languages and I understand that nearly twenty languages must be available for most other official state agency forms. Costs a bloody fortune!

On the other hand, California is a melting pot of immigrants from all over the globe; always has been. Schools and state agencies must be able to communicate with children and their parents from any number of countries, and creating a national language would stifle their ability to integrate into their new home.

Best I can do is say I'm leaning toward English as the national language, but would still like states to have the option of providing certain educational and state agency materials in other languages on an as-needed basis.

 

[Waddy]

If assimilation is actually important, then we need a unified language. English is a good choice because it is flexible, contains many foreign words already, and is widespread. If North America is to be Balkanized, then the more languages and cultures the better. That's what we're really deciding nowadays anyways; are we going to remain a unified people or go our separate ways culturally? The issue is as yet undecided.

 

[JONRID]

If you want to be an airline pilot anywhere in the world you are required to learn English.

English is the world wide language of science, commerce, and culture.

Only uncle stupid would question what the official language of the USA should be....

 

[LadyMoonlight]

As above, would you vote in favor of a national language in the USA? It would not preclude you from speaking any number of other languages at home or in public, it would only serve as official business and IMO a way of uniting Americans instead of dividing us along those lines.

Also it doesn't matter what the language is, the most obvious would be English or Spanish being they are the most widely spoken and are the 2 longest occupying nationalities of what has become this nation.

So the vote is for or against 1 common language.

If the results are more pro then con maybe I'll then take a poll as to what language we should make it.

Isn't English the official language of America?

 

[jdog21]

Of course it does. Would you be ok if the national language was Mandarin, and just buckle down and learn it?

Um yes.
If I moved to China I would expect that I need to learn Mandarin well. I don't go there with expectation that I can speak English and get by and force companies and schools to print literature in English for my sake.

I assume you have some misconception about when you have a national language how that effects someone with not knowing that native language. Money is provided for teachers for you to learn the new language, important documents are still translated for you, Court rooms would still have interpreters for you. What it does is shift policy away from allowing immigrants who refuse to learn basic English and stop funding schools for programs to allow foreign language to count as credit towards their English courses. All that does is keep people linguistically divided. Coming together is a much more noble pursuit.

 

[jdog21]

Isn't English the official language of America?

No, USA has no official language.

 

[Waddy]

My paternal grandparents, immigrants from Germany as adults, never did learn much English. I can remember my grandfather reading a German newspaper. I learned German living with them in the summers on their farm. Their kids, including my father, learned English straightaway. They were all for assimilation. None of them, including my grandparents, expected everything to be written in German just for their benefit. They knew the way to be successful here was to learn English as quickly as possible. So on the farm German was the language, but at work or in public, or at school English was the way to go. Learning English is just one of the hurdles immigrants have to overcome if they want to be Americans. That's how they looked at it, at least. Of course, that was a time before everyone felt entitled.

I once asked my grandpa if he ever wanted to go back and visit Germany. He said, "hell no, this was his country now!" Actually, he said, "Holle nein, das war jetzt sein land!"

 

[Xelor]

Yes.

I have only come to this reversal recently. We have so many that have done such a spectacular job at dividing us that we need at least a few bonds that we, indeed, should hold together, in common.

Most if not all Western nations have current cultures conceived of millenia-long legacies connected to a specific geography and "tribal" heritage. That simply isn't the case for the U.S. we observe today. We Americans are not Spaniards, Britons, Franks, Germans, Greeks, Romans, Turks, Moors or Persians, yet our culture draws from all of those cultural traditions.

Unlike the people of most other Westernized nations (and other nations in general), we Americans don't come preponderantly from any single culture. Our language isn't even of our own making. The U.S. thus has the bond apropos to it: The Constitution, an ethical philosophy (something being "trashed" at the moment), and the political philosophies on which it is based. Those philosophies are described and discussed comprehensively in a handful of texts, all of which, IMO, should be required reading for every American, but that I fear fewer than half the population has mastered them all cover-to-cover.

• Republic
• Politics
• Leviathan
• Second Treatise of Government
• Social Contract

Ours is a country that, unlike, I think, all others on the planet, is one deliberately created as a bastion and safe harbor for capitalism, probity, liberty, and ideological, theological and cultural diversity. We won our independence with the aid of Germans and French. We preserved it with the French's help. What is American cuisine, music, dance, art, etc. other than a amalgam of elements taken from other cultures and adapted to our tastes? If we discard those values, no language can replace them.

​

Until recently, we were making slow but continuous progress subsuming into the aegis of Americanism. That we could and did gave us a set of advantages, perspectives and imperatives unlike any other nation. The best and worst of what is America comes from all over, and our nation gains from having all of it; we learn from the worst and build upon the best.


A mendicant is lousy as an investment advisor, yet he's got invaluable input about what not to do with one's money.
-- Dad

 

[Manc Skipper]

Esperanto is a language, invented by a Polish guy in the 19th century to bring the world together as an international language. That'd be a cool one!

 

[jamesrage]

As above, would you vote in favor of a national language in the USA? It would not preclude you from speaking any number of other languages at home or in public, it would only serve as official business and IMO a way of uniting Americans instead of dividing us along those lines.

Also it doesn't matter what the language is, the most obvious would be English or Spanish being they are the most widely spoken and are the 2 longest occupying nationalities of what has become this nation.

So the vote is for or against 1 common language.

If the results are more pro then con maybe I'll then take a poll as to what language we should make it.

Yes we should have a single national unifying language. We shouldn't be catering to people to lazy to learn our language.Because where does it stop if we don't? Because what will happen if we don't is we will keep adding languages to our documents, street signs and etc.