Did we really need a law making English the official language of the US?
535550
The new immigrants aren't any different.  The US is different.  I'm not sure how exactly... maybe we get scared easily.  The law in my view will do more harm than good... in fact I'm not sure what the good is... but I believe it will add to the resentment towards the US and particularly the government.  The resentment, however, will not offset the prospects of a healthy economy; there will always be immigrants coming into the US.
1132039
i say equality to all english is the official language here all people should be expected to learn it \n \nthe laws should apply to EVERYONE \n\ni should not be responsible for the education or welfare of a criminal  what have they done for my child? \n\nwe should have more minutemen to help eliminate this immigration problem\n\nand free speech should apply to everyone that pays taxes and obeys laws  i couldnt care less about what these illegals have to say especially since they wont bother learning english    \n\nit should be up to mexico to deal with them not us
623912
It should be made the national language...and a requirement for anyone who wishes to emigrate to the US to learn before permanent residency or citizenship is awarded.
959404
Never.  People who come into the United States ought to learn American English.
432675
I agree with you. There are too many here that do not speak any word of English but yet they want to live here and be treated like citizens. I believe if they want to be taking serious about wanting to be here as Americans then they need to learn the English language as well. It is good to keep speaking your home language but you need to speak English as well
1034935
Ideally yes, \nIdeally there should be lots of mandatory things...\n\nbut realistically there are many factors to consider, age of person, disability, actual time within the country.\n\nFor example would you require a mute to speak. Or teach english to a 89 year old. Should immgrants speak english at the 8th grade level. most american speak at this level.\n\nWill they speak the KINGS ENGLish, because you know in america, we speak a form of english. Will we from a new buracracy to purify the English/American Language.\n\n\nRealistically if i am a company or service, i would rather be effective and efficient by providing other languages than be xenophobic.\nFor example if sell medicine in other countries besides the US i would use the other languages on my labels...makes good business sense.\n\nWe provide benefits to many people that do not speak English because we are not monsters, if a child was dying you would save that life without asking if they spoke English....you wouldn't let a human life die because of it even you are not a monster.\n\nBesides, your question is full of anger and bias. What you fail to point out is that most of the quality universities int the Untied States require a foreign language.\n\nIn fact many school districts require foreign language to graduate. There is a definite value in multiculturalism.\n\nAs a college educated person you must see that...\n\n\n\n\nBy the way the US is planning to build a superhighway four football fields long from Canada to Mexico.\nThey plan to implement one currency to easy trade, \nand plan to make English, Spanish and French the official languages.....maybe not today or tomorrow  but soon....i am not making this up.
258815
Well it sounds great with 1907 standards, one nation one language this all good; as long as it does not keep going into one religion, one leader, one race, just like it did in Germany under Hitler just a few decades after Teddy said these things. I have no doubt, if he was alive today he would tweak his idea and rhetoric according to what happened in the last 100 years. I am not Hispanic but I know that Spanish was spoken in parts of US way before English was adopted as an official language (just a few votes ahead of German and Dutch by the way), are you going to kick them out because they have been speaking Spanish since before the US was founded?
1021366
English should always be considered the US National Language. It doesn't even make sense to consider otherwise. It's obvious there is a lot of controversy regarding all the millions of immigrants from all over the world, specially those with hispanic descendancy, however, they were the ones who came to United States, an English speaking country, to try and make a better life and secure a better future than their homeland can provide, so it's only natural they have to learn English and adjust themselves with American society, it wouldn't make sense if thousands of Americans decided to invade China or Brazil as their new home, start demanding left and right immigrant rights, trying to change things for how they want it to be. It should definitely be mandatory for everyone wanting to live in US soil to learn, speak, read and understand English.
579596
Yes it will accomplish something. It will destroy languages that are going extinct, we have 336 in this country, and rob people of their culture and heritage, A cherokee as a WASP, Whew!\n\nAnd English is NOT the official language though many states have declared an official language. 32 to be exact. Many of those states declared it bi or tri-lingual.\n\nAnd the Indians, Eskimo's and many Spanish speaking didn't come here when we took over their land. THEY WERE HERE! THET ARE NOY IMMIGRANTS!!!! Damn, where do you guys go to school? Idiots\n\nSorry about the idiot thing. I just can't get a grip on why people aren't more concerned about dead soldiers and thr rich scamming the poor and middle class and less about a damn fence and whether English is the official language!!!
1120219
Spanish shouldn't be America's national language but neither should English. The US has survived for over 200 years with a national language. We don't need one now.
1126359
What would it take for a federal law requiring all federal laws and regulations to be written only in English? A simple majority vote of both chambers of Congress, and a presidential signature. Same as any law. Why? Because this only affects the procedure by which laws and regulations are propagated, and it's within Congressional authority.\n\nWhat would it take to pass a federal law requiring all state laws and regulations to be written only in English? Can't be done. The federal government is not allowed to directly order state legislatures to act a certain way.\n\nSo, what would it take to require all state/local laws and regulations to be written only in English? A Constitutional Amendment, passed by a 2/3 majority of both chambers, plus three-quarters of the state legislatures (or appropriate constitutional conventions). \n\nWhat would it take to prohibit the speaking of any other language inside US borders? A constitutional amendment, followed by a massive police effort, and then winning the civil war that would likely result. I'd bet anything that even if some state says it's illegal to speak any other language, that law is never enforced, because it would be a constitutional violation to do so. That was ruled on by the US Supreme Court back around 1918.
99350
I propose we change the version of english spoken in the US, and call it American. Being that we are a bigger and meaner country than England, we can bully them and say we speak proper english, but truth be told, English is from England.
1079904
Yes, English is our national language. "When in Rome do as the Romans do".
1132908
I don't recall there being any article in the Constitution that gives the English language any official status or that guarantees that American citizens should never be subjected to hearing languages other than the majority tongue. If anything, the United States was actually founded to encourage acceptance of diversity. Remember the First Amendment? It guarantees not only freedom of religion but also freedom of speech, and that means not just WHAT you want to say but also HOW (and in what language) you want to say it.\n\nI agree that immigrants should be encouraged to learn English, but not because Americans have some God-given right to never have to hear any language but English. If you're really all that concerned about immigrants who are having a hard time acquiring the English language, perhaps you should volunteer some of your time tutoring immigrants in English.\n\nEDIT: After all, it can take years to acquire a second language. How many years did it take for you to learn Spanish, and how fluent are you in it? That is, are you conversational? Would you be comfortable speaking in only Spanish all day long in every situation? How about when you travel to Mexico? Do you speak Spanish every second you're there, or do you just use Spanish when you have to ask for directions of something and revert back to English when speaking to other Americans you're traveling with? \n\nOr are you perhaps a second or third generation Latina? Did your parents or grand-parents speak Spanish? And if so, why is it that your mother tongue is English and not Spanish? It's amazing how quickly people become assimilated in this country, isn't it? It is admittedly difficult for those who immigrate to this country as an adult to pick up the English language, especially when most of them work long hours, rely on others for transportation, and can't afford college English classes. After all, it can take YEARS to become fluent in a foreign language. Don't you agree? Yet more often than not, the children and grand-children of these immigrants not only learn to speak English fluently but don't even learn to speak their parents' language, which is a shame, if you ask me. In the meantime, it does admittedly take those first generation immigrants a while to pick up the language, so maybe we should be a little more patient and stop being so judgmental. Those of use who have learned to speak a second language fluently realize how difficult a process it can be. If more Americans took it upon themselves to try to learn a foreign language, they might be a little less judgmental.\n\nFYI: French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It is spoken as a first language by people in France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, etc..., but more importantly, it is spoken as a second language in countries where it is the official language or where it has a historical presence, including, but not limited to the following countries: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Tchad, Senegal, Guinea, Congo, Gabon, Central African Republic, Burkina-Faso, Cameroun, Ruanda, Burundi, Zaire, Egypt, Guyana, Guadelope, Martinique, Reunion, Corsica, French Polynesia, etc...
660348
Not being able to use the English language should be illegal, not firearms
579934
I believe that the inability to communicate effectively is one of the root causes of conflict in this world.  A common language is extremely important to foster better communication.  \n\nTo this end, all government activies, including voting, public schooling, etc. should be conducted in one language, ONLY!  Of course the government should have intensive language programs in place to ensure that EVERYONE is given the opportunity to learn the language.\n\nAs for the choice of language...  I would rather have seen the Senate be a bit more forward thinking and choose the language of the next century.  No, not spanish...  Chinese.\n\n;-)
614082
English is really a language made up with all different languages put together and phrases. People from different places speak differently. It all depends on the environment. There is no REAL English, except for maybe in England (It technically was their language first(?)). Such as there is no such thing as a TRUE American. All Americans are, are immigrants and foreigners. About the cigarettes being called fags, someone just happened to use normal words and twist them. Think of all the 'terrible' words we have now a days and if you look them up in the dictionary, they all have different meanings than what we use them for.