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

Should the USA have 1 national unifying language

  • Total voters
    74
  • Poll closed .
L

lefty louie

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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.
 
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.
 
No. It simply creates the (artificial?) 'need' for a middleman (interpreter?) for each non-official language speaker, reader or writer to interact with the (their?) government. The mere fact that which language might be chosen is left open should point out the lack of any need for selecting one.

BTW, what language(s) would the ballot contain? Are you taking this poll on various different language online forums?
 
Gaugingcatenate said:
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.
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We can't even seem to agree on what "shall not be infringed" means - some say "shall not be completely denied to all", others say "shall not be abridged or denied" and I'm sure that I have left out a few (completely valid?) interpretations.
 
If we are going to have one unifying language, let's start with the language of the people who are native to this country (hint - not the wasi' chu).

So which do you choose? Navajo? Cree? Cherokee? Sioux?

Let me know which one you want to choose.
 
I think we should. I admire and understand, coming from and immigrant family, the desire of people to keep their native language and customs; and they should. But officially our governments' should do work with one united language which is English in These United States. Interpreters should be available of course but we should have a common language that unites us. Part of the divisiveness we are experiencing is due to the multiple language "thing" we've been doing; IMHO.
 
We already have a national language, whether it's official or not. English is not just our national language, but the closest thing there is to a global language. Children should be required to learn it. Adults should be encouraged but by no means required.
 
lefty louie said:
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.
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I don't get it. Are you talking about an official language, the language the government uses to communicate with the citizens? Yeah, there has to be a choice. It doesn't have to be just one language- in Canada citizens can choose to communicate with the government in either English or French. In Switzerland they have four languages to choose from.
But if you mean business has to be conducted in the official language, forget it.
 
No, a national language would just be used to exclude non-speakers from participating in governance.
 
Not really such a big deal. Make it English or Spanish and everything will be just fine.
 
spud_meister said:
No, a national language would just be used to exclude non-speakers from participating in governance.
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People who don't speak the language are excluded from lots of things. It can't be helped.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
We can't even seem to agree on what "shall not be infringed" means - some say "shall not be completely denied to all", others say "shall not be abridged or denied" and I'm sure that I have left out a few (completely valid?) interpretations.
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I live where the language isn't my native tongue, its their language, Spanish...and while I try hard I have no particular facility with languages other than English...so multiply that by like a baaaajillion ( not to be cofused with Brazilian, they use Portuguese :mrgreen: ) if you want to sew further confusion.

I agree, its hard to get any 3 people to agree on much of anything unless all 3 can visualize the benefit to themselves.
 
I'll pretend that all immigrants should be literate in English when one-national-language supporters pretend that all Americans should be literate in science.
 
Phys251 said:
I'll pretend that all immigrants should be literate in English when one-national-language supporters pretend that all Americans should be literate in science.
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I think all Americans should have a degree of science literacy; not a degree IN but a working knowledge, yes. Hell, "I" think all Americans should have a working knowledge of Calculus (the language of science), only after Calculus can you "practically" understand the infinite.

We are The United States, we should have a language that Unites us. Un-common languages divides us; it/they just do.
 
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spud_meister said:
That's their choice, but government shouldn't be one of them.
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Tax forms, for example. The guides that tell you how to fill them out. What language(s) are they written in? Or a letter to your MP, what language should it be written in?
 
YES! There should be one unifying national language. :yes:

If I move to Germany, Spain, Nigeria, or India, should I expect them all to speak MY language, or would it behoove me to learn German, Spanish, etc.?

Nothing serves to balkanize a nation more than having language divisions. The ability to communicate is the key to a unified state.

China even recognizes this, with one central language "mandarin" allowing people to communicate across the various dialects.

So, the "national language" in the USA should be American English. All government documents should be in this language, period!

One can retain their old language to speak amongst family and other expatriates...but LEARN ENGLISH if you want to communicate amongst the rest of American society.
 
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Grand Mal said:
Tax forms, for example. The guides that tell you how to fill them out. What language(s) are they written in? Or a letter to your MP, what language should it be written in?
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They should be written in whatever languages are needed. Translations should be available for people that aren't fluent in English. I often help my partner's father with government stuff because he can't read and write in English, despite being able to speak it pretty well. My MP also speaks Greek, should Greek-speaking constituents be disallowed from communicating with her more effectively?
 
spud_meister said:
They should be written in whatever languages are needed. Translations should be available for people that aren't fluent in English. I often help my partner's father with government stuff because he can't read and write in English, despite being able to speak it pretty well. My MP also speaks Greek, should Greek-speaking constituents be disallowed from communicating with her more effectively?
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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?
 
Superfly said:
If we are going to have one unifying language, let's start with the language of the people who are native to this country (hint - not the wasi' chu).

So which do you choose? Navajo? Cree? Cherokee? Sioux?

Let me know which one you want to choose.
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Oy vey. Wrong.

Tribal language are not native to this Country. They did not form this Country.
Or do you really not understand just who formed this country?

Your whole post is nonsense.
 
lefty louie said:
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.
Click to expand...

People who don't speak English get economically left behind. I speak three languages, so I don't say this out of laziness.
 
Gaugingcatenate said:
I live where the language isn't my native tongue, its their language, Spanish...and while I try hard I have no particular facility with languages other than English...so multiply that by like a baaaajillion ( not to be cofused with Brazilian, they use Portuguese :mrgreen: ) if you want to sew further confusion.

I agree, its hard to get any 3 people to agree on much of anything unless all 3 can visualize the benefit to themselves.
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Spanish is about half the language here.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
Spanish is about half the language here.
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Thanks mostly to illegal immigration and several amnesty and paths-to-citizenship programs. Otherwise they tend to be bi-lingual if I recall my times in Texas.

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.
 
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Yes. Of course the United States should have an Official unifying language.




spud_meister said:
No, a national language would just be used to exclude non-speakers from participating in governance.
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No.
It may unintentionally discourage, but it does not exclude.
But clearly it would provide an incentive for those to learn the Official language.
 
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