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English only

Should all citizens in the US be required to speak ENGLISH only?

  • Total voters
    37
madman said:
Should all citizens in the US be required to speak ENGLISH only?
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What kind of question is that?
I speak 2 languages fluently and dabble in a few more (barely). That means I am in big doo doo.
However, I think it would be nice to attempt to learn the language of the country you want to make your home.
 
Loulit01 said:
The language of Shakespeare, Chaucer, Keats, Jefferson, Lincoln, Churchill, MLK Jr., and John Lennon, is in danger of being forgotten. If we don't take a stand here in the MAGA states, English will disappear, never to be heard again by man or golden retriever.
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Gōd dæġ sīe þē

Language always changes over time. The above is Old English for "Have a nice day." Even Middle English can be difficult to read. So long as modern English continues as the international language of business and diplomacy it is in no danger of disappearing. Changing and evolving, yep.

The problem as I see it is that we Americans are by and large a monolingual people.

When reporters went into Afghanistan, I was amazed at the number of ordinary Afghans who spoke if not fluent but at least conversational English. The same when reporters interviewed Ukrainians after Russian invasion. The future in some ways belongs to the multilingual speakers.
 
madman said:
this is why i posted this poll. Some dont want to hear "mexican"
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Sure. If people don't want to hear Mexican Spanish, it's a deal. But they have to give up potatoes, tobacco, corn, aguacate (avocados), sugar cane, sugar, coffee, tacos, burritos, tres leches cake, tortilla, conchas, tortas, tamales, frijol (beans), lariats, most rodeo vocabulary, vamoose, hoosgow (lots of US SW vocab too, come to think of it), lots of SW place names - Sierra Blanca, Sierra Madre, Texas, Nevada, California, Arizona, rivers, cities, deserts, lakes, mountains, forests, towns, ponchos, traje de luces, tomatillo, tango, salsa (food & dance), rum, mescal, tequila, cerveza (the local beer), ...

& of course, corn is in almost everything these days. Lots of luck trying to live on chalk ...
 
Along Came Jones said:
Gōd dæġ sīe þē

Language always changes over time. The above is Old English for "Have a nice day." Even Middle English can be difficult to read. So long as modern English continues as the international language of business and diplomacy it is in no danger of disappearing. Changing and evolving, yep.

The problem as I see it is that we Americans are by and large a monolingual people.

When reporters went into Afghanistan, I was amazed at the number of ordinary Afghans who spoke if not fluent but at least conversational English. The same when reporters interviewed Ukrainians after Russian invasion. The future in some ways belongs to the multilingual speakers.
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Sorry, that was a sarcasm post.
 
southwest88 said:
& US citizens who can't speak @ all? What do we do? Make them use only the US English version of sign language? How does that help Mr. & Mrs. J. Sixpack understand them - assuming that that's the point of the exercise?

& people who have articulation/developmental issues - who don't have the muscle control to speak? & likely, for the same reason, can't use sign language?

& recent immigrants or US citizens who don't know or are in the process of learning English? Should we perhaps muzzle them until they're proficient? Or - perhaps - make them wear a yellow Magen David? That would simplify things, I expect ...
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southwest88 said:
Sure. If people don't want to hear Mexican Spanish, it's a deal. But they have to give up potatoes, tobacco, corn, aguacate (avocados), sugar cane, sugar, coffee, tacos, burritos, tres leches cake, tortilla, conchas, tortas, tamales, frijol (beans), lariats, most rodeo vocabulary, vamoose, hoosgow (lots of US SW vocab too, come to think of it), lots of SW place names - Sierra Blanca, Sierra Madre, Texas, Nevada, California, Arizona, rivers, cities, deserts, lakes, mountains, forests, towns, ponchos, traje de luces, tomatillo, tango, salsa (food & dance), rum, mescal, tequila, cerveza (the local beer), ...

& of course, corn is in almost everything these days. Lots of luck trying to live on chalk ...
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and no more taco trucks (no, not trumps tacos) but then again, republikan/conservatives dont eat from the trucks because, you know...
 
Lovebug said:
What kind of question is that?
I speak 2 languages fluently and dabble in a few more (barely). That means I am in big doo doo.
However, I think it would be nice to attempt to learn the language of the country you want to make your home.
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It's a legitimate question because of people like this:



and

www.whitehouse.gov

Designating English as the Official Language of The United States

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1. Purpose and
www.whitehouse.gov www.whitehouse.gov

and

en.wikipedia.org

English-only movement - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Why are you suggesting mandating something that is already a national humiliation?

"If bilingual people speak two languages, and trilingual people speak three languages, what do you call someone who speaks only one language?"
An "American".
 
bythoughts said:
Why are you suggesting mandating something that is already a national humiliation?

"If bilingual people speak two languages, and trilingual people speak three languages, what do you call someone who speaks only one language?"
An "American".
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Im not suggesting anything.
 
Sure...Southern to be exact... :giggle: 😜
 
Preventing me from speaking another language would be a huge faux pas. It would stifle my joi de vivre and make you persona non grata. Be a mensch vis-a-vis the second language, after all que sera, sera. And what is the purpose of this thread? Have you tried ordering pasta in English? What if you want it al dente? Oy vey! Do you now how many languages are spoken in America per capita?

What if I want to buy a Porsche Carrera? Or a Ferrari or Lamborghini? A Hyundai Santa Fe? Are you telling me I can't have an Eldorado?

Will Nota Bene be forced, forced, I say! To change her SN? You're meshugganah, loco, wacko, fou, fou fou.
 
bythoughts said:
Why are you suggesting mandating something that is already a national humiliation?

"If bilingual people speak two languages, and trilingual people speak three languages, what do you call someone who speaks only one language?"
An "American".
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& if you like that, there's this:

"Pobre México, tan lejos de Dios y tan cerca de Estados Unidos", se le atribuye a Díaz, pero en realidad fue escrita por el intelectual regiomontano Nemesio García Naranjo, según un artículo publicado en el medio de comunicación nacional de Chihuahua el 3 de diciembre de 1962.

"Poor México, so far from God, so near the United States", attributed to (Mexican president Porfirio) Díaz, but actually written by the intellectual Nemesio García Naranjo, per an article published by a national communication from Chihuahua on December 3, 1962.
 
To be fair, most Americans are monolingual.
 
madman said:
Should all citizens in the US be required to speak ENGLISH only?
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What a stupid question. However, I will say that those in the US should not be forced to provide non-English speaking services for those who don't understand English. If you want to come to the US LEGALLY then they should learn English, not the other way around.
 
No one if forcing you to put up your yard sale sign up in mexican. You can put it in American if you want. No one is stopping you
 
What about the 1st citizens of what we now call America? The Sioux, Navajo, Apache etc - they had their own language first.
I think mandating that only English is the language to be spoken (and how would you police that?) is the height of moronic arrogance, especially if that is forced on peoples who lived there before English was spoken.
 
All counties have a national language, English has always been our de facto national language. On March 1, 2025, English was declared our official language by Executive Order 14224. If you live here English should be a language you can speak and understand, no not the only language, speak as many as you wish but here English should be a must otherwise we would just be a Tower of Babel.
 
Moderate Right said:
What a stupid question. However, I will say that those in the US should not be forced to provide non-English speaking services for those who don't understand English. If you want to come to the US LEGALLY then they should learn English, not the other way around.
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Unless the non-English speaker is in court, testifying; in hospital/clinic/doctor's office for diagnosis/treatment. @ that point - & others - it's more important to exchange the relevant information, than it is to score points for linguistic correctness.

& as others have pointed out here, if the US intends to have diplomatic/commercial/intelligence/military/technological/scientific relations in the World, we need to have native speakers (or as close as possible) for all the cultures/language groups we intend or might need to interact with. That's a matter of self-defense, in the long run. Or ask Imperial Japan how well they did trying to crack the Navajo code talkers' communications in WWII, for instance.
 
madman said:
Should all citizens in the US be required to speak ENGLISH only?
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Hey Madman,

Are you sure this is how you wanted to phrase the question?

Sorry but of course it is better to speak more than 1 language. The more you know, the more powerful you are. Langue is knowledge. I speak 2 fluently. I speak 2 on a conversational level, and I have a very basic understanding of 1 more. It's done me good to tell you the truth. And I am really really not a language kind of guy.

But.,.. Is it possible you wanted to ask if all people should at least be speaking English as a bare minimum? To this I would say yes, if they are citizens.

Joey
 
JoeyJoystick said:
Hey Madman,

Are you sure this is how you wanted to phrase the question?

Sorry but of course it is better to speak more than 1 language. The more you know, the more powerful you are. Langue is knowledge. I speak 2 fluently. I speak 2 on a conversational level, and I have a very basic understanding of 1 more. It's done me good to tell you the truth. And I am really really not a language kind of guy.

But.,.. Is it possible you wanted to ask if all people should at least be speaking English as a bare minimum? To this I would say yes, if they are citizens.

Joey
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He could be showing off his French. Langue is abstract systematic speech knowledge - taken as a system - used by a speech community. Parole is language use @ the individual level. These are common terms in linguistics.
 
not English only but it should be our national language and speaking it should be a requirement for like holding a drivers license/jobs etc
 
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