U.S. ENGLISH??

[longhair]

has anybody out there received a opinion survey from these folks about whether or not english( i call it american) should be declared the offical language of the US? naturally, they also want a donation for the cause.. personally, i think if you're comming to America to live and make it your home, seems like the least you could do is learn the language. what you do in your home, or your neighborhood is your business, but in order to assimilate in your new country/home, you should be able to communicate w/ other people in that country...JMO....YMMV

of course some folks think that we'uns in the south don't talk American. i agree, we talk southern!!

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what me worry?


[This message has been edited by longhair (edited June 30, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by longhair (edited June 30, 1999).]

 

[Paul B.]

Longhair. According to one of the NRA's get out an vote campaigns, English was made the official language of the United States. I can't find the mail sheet it came on, but they had a list of things that were decided by one vote. According to the listing, English won by one vote over German as the official language of the U.S.. I think it was in 1799. This was, if memory serves done by the Congress. If this info is correct, then how come our illustrious lawmakers in D.C. don't know this? I personally think that anyone who runs for for Congress (The Congress and Senate) should be made to past a test in U.S. History and the Constitution. They damn well don't know much about it now.
Paul B.

 

[DC]

This is timely as I just heard this on the news:

In the year that California has stopped bilingual education, with all instruction in English, reading scores (grade level dependent) are up 36%-400% (yes four hundred percent!!). During the heyday of bilingual education, as many as 40 languages were used in teaching various subjects. Congress is now re-thinking federal funding for bilingual education.

Well, DUH! How much money was pissed away and how many kids were given sub-standard educations on this moronic experiment?

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

 

[Mike in VA]

It is a common laguage that furthers the discourse on Liberty . . . .

I must say I'm geting sick and tired of dealing with people who don't speak my language in my country, but expect me to do business with them. I get sooooo sick of this bilingual crap. They knew this to be an English speaking country when they came here, if they want to speak
Spanish/Korean/Chinese/Farsi/OokaBooka or whatever, they should stay home, but if you want to come here, learn the lingo, get a job, work on a better life (oh yeah, & welcome). MNSHO, M2

 

[James K]

I don't think English has ever actually been made the official language of the U.S. The idea sounds good and has become a "cause" with some people, but generally when there is an "official" language, that is the only one allowed on TV, radio, and newspapers, or in schools or any other public place.

I sympathize with those who see the Gov't gradually having to print every document in 5000 languages, but I doubt it will go that far. Even now, the largest non-English language group, Spanish speakers, are learning English the same way many of our ancestors did, by assimilation*. Not a big deal, says I. While Spanish is almost as much of a world language as English, English is truly THE international language. I once overheard a Spaniard, a German, a Dutchman, and an Italian having a business discussion in a Madrid hotel. In English.

(My German ancestors did. My Irish ancestors learned English because they had to by law in Ireland; official language and all that.)

Jim

 

[Art Eatman]

A tidbit from Texas: When various state government forms are sent out in "bi-lingual" to people with Latin surnames, some 90% of those which are returned are answered in English...

Oh, well, Wag the Dog and then cases of the tail wagging the dog.

 

[James K]

Art, por que no?* A lot of those Tex-Mex families had been living there before the Mayflower ran into Plymouth Rock. They "went with the flow" when "we" took over.

Jim

*Can't do proper accent and question marks in this font. Obvious discrimination against Spanish.

JEK

 

[Bubba]

Little didy told to me by a couple of my European friends.....

What do you call someone who speaks three languages?

Tri-lingual.

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?

Bi-lingual.

What do you call someone who speaks one language?

American.

Funny, the percentage of my European friends that speak more than 2 languages is radicaly higher than the percentage of my American friends who speak more than 1. Yet Americans are the first to complain about how they were treated by the French people because said American did not speak the French language.

Hasta luego, compadres.....



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Bubba
IDPA# A04739
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It is long been a principal of ours that one is no more armed because he has possession of a firearm than he is a musician because he owns a piano. There is no point in having a gun if you are not capable of using it skillfully. - Jeff Cooper

 

[dZ]

the web has made american english a world standard

now when is the US going to go metric?

dZ

 

[walkin' man]

Most Americans speak only one language because that's all we need. If you're in Europe and start driving in a straight line every 15 minutes there will be a new language being spoken. The same applies for every continent, except N.America and Australia. "They" are multi-lingual because they need to be.

You can't get a commercial pilot's license anywhere in the world without being able to speak English.
You can't conduct in international business anywhere effectively without speaking English.
English language classes are mandatory for school children in many places throughout the world.
English is the "international language".

Don't worry, everyone will speak English eventually.


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To be or not to be-that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.

 

[Dennis]

Bubba,

And what do you call an intelligent man who speaks at least seven languages?

(e-mail me for the answer.)

 

[Oatka]

Another reason English, especially American English is the new "Lingua Franca" is that it
is more concise. Look at the multi-language instructions that come with your VCRs, etc. English is always shorter. I worked as a
programmer for an International oil rig rental company and the guy we had to translate the screens used to bellyache that Spanish was so wordy, it overflowed the allotted space. I've heard Spanish-speaking people from different parts of South America speak English because each country has different "Spanish" words for the same subject. I always made it a point to at least learn some survival words when in a foreign country just to get around, but also as a courtesy to the people of that country. If I was to emigrate to a foreign-speaking land, the first item on the agenda would be to learn the language. That's the LEAST we can expect of immigrants to this country.

 

[Ron L]

I've even heard a joke about some Asian countries that will never be as technologically advanced as America because their language doesn't allow for acronyms.



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Ron

Detroit Chapter
Terra-Haute Torque & Recoil Scoiety

 

[Ivan8883]

From Ivan8883 7-1-99-1100PM EDT There is one state, and only one state,where there are two official languages. That state is New Mexico. The Spanish population was and is large in that state from the beginning of white colonization of that area. When New Mexico came into the Union, Spanish had to be considered as official as English. There just were not enough of the old Californians(Spanish) to keep Spanish as a official language when Anglos seized power in 1846. But back to the main issue, English is what keeps this very diverse nation together, It is the perfect language for this job,although Founders toyed with German and even Greek(they were big admirers of Classic Age) as our new language. English must be taught quickly to new immigrants if only to keep nation cohesive.