English/Should it be a Law?

mmw

YES!!!!. why is it that our Doctors and Nurses have to learn spanish, how come if they want to live here they can't learn English?
one of my good friends moved away and was working in this factory outside of Philly and one Mexican girl told her that she needs to learn Spanish and my friend told her NO you are in America now you need to learn better English. the girl shut right up. hahaha sooo funny!!!!

Return Of Buckwheat

Yeah, I think you should be required to be able to speak at least a little English or actively learning English. If you want to come to our country it should require some effort on their part. We should be looking for people to strengthen our country not bring it down.

ladynamedjane

I believe so yes, when I was a child we had many people learning our language and they were so happy to be here they were determined to learn it!!!!!!! I feel if they want to be here bad enough then adjust to our ways!

lily

yes when my mother was growing up all they spoke at home was german,they had to learn english because there were no german signs for them

CHAD M

Yes it should be.

jbj115

YES

Jordan L

of course it should. diversity is great it is what makes this country great, but the immigrants should still learn english. in this country if you try to get a job where the majority of employees do not speak english but spanish and you cant speak it and apply for a job there then there is the possibility that you wont get hired because you cant communicate with them. not because your credentials are no good but because you dont speak a foreign language. it should be a prerequisite for anyone who wants to become a citizen of the USA to speak english fluently. and maybe we will find time to learn their language

Irritated!

I believe so. In my sisters high school in Ky they actually teach English to the non-English speaking students as a foreign language. Seriously! At most of the fast food restaurants around here non-English speaking people are the primary employees and don't even understand when I ask for friggin' cheese on my sandwich! It's so annoying.

I think it's fine to teach your kids your language, but English should be their first language..

JACQUELINE T

Yes it should. If you are going to live here and get a job, you should have to learn to speak English. Ask yourself this, if you moved to Mexico, would they learn to speak English for you, or would different companies fire their employees because they didn't know English for the Americans that were going to work? Of course they wouldn't. But Americans are losing jobs over here because they don't know Spanish. It's not fair!!

EvilAngel

Absolutely!! Screw the immigrants!!!

TexasRose

Yes it should be!!!
Around here where there are so many chemical plants....do you have any idea how many contract workers can not read or understand English?? That is scary.....that's all we need is another plant explosion like the one in Texas City, Texas a few years ago that killed 15 people. If people would only realize how important it is for every worker know how to speak and understand English...it could be the difference between life and death.

Edward Hyde

When immigrants, while numerous in number, were of many different languages, we could absorb them over a generation or less into our American culture. When many millions come in speaking some specific language other than English, they do not easily merge into our culture but remain an inpenetrable block. This should not be encouraged. We would end up with Canada's problem,but in spades.

father of 4 husband of 1

Personally I think so. You gotta learn the rules to play the game. At the very least you should not be able to sue to have the taxpayer to furnish an interpreter or change signs or ...

Clemm T

Wow! Lot's of "yes" votes up there. I still am unconvinced about this. There are certain things, like voting and driving, which should be in the majority language of a given country. If a person wants to vote or drive, they should be able to prove a basic understanding of the language.

Having said that, a country is only a country or a nation, because of it's culture and it's borders. Language is a huge part of any country's culture. I have a hard time with immigrants who do not want to assimilate. When my grandpa's family came over to the US from Italy in the 1920's, they refused to speak Italian in the house. They only wanted to speak English. They wanted to be American. Because of that, my dad does not know the language of his family. But it shows that immigrannts used to be proud Americans. Now, I think they come for the handouts, as well as the jobs. Sad, isn't it?

ongnoai

I agree that people living in th US should be articulate in English, although by the looks of it on Y!A, quite a number of genuine USans don't properly master English grammar to say the least.

Now, I wonder. Is it Lawful that people enjoying US citizenship decorate themselves as being THE "Americans"? Should laws be passed in all other countries in the whole of North and South Americas forbidding people to think of themselves as regular Americans?

What I mean is: is law any better than common sense to bring people to do what's best for them?

Terry

No, but it should be the official language of the country. We are one of very few countries without an official language. This results in waste and arguments about reproducing official documents in multiple languages, in the provision of interpreters for various legal proceedings and so on.

I wouldn't force anyone to learn English if they didn't want to - but if it was the official language, they'd soon find it was very difficult to live here without learning some of it.

In other countries, where road or store signs are in a second language, they must also be in the official language - I would encourage that too.

boardbiker

yes .. and if i was denied food because i speak a certain language then maybe i would learn that language or go to a new store.
i sympathize with immagrants but it is not enreasonable to expect someone to learn english. they definitely should havea firm grip on the basics.

Bobby J

Sure, given a good time frame. The US is a melting pot for folks and given that sometimes folks need time to adapt. This country was built on immigrants and such. Naming a language makes it a bit easier and setting a standard gives a goal to hit. Just my thoughts.

heaven-sin-t

hell yeah! if they want to live here they can adapt to our lifestyle not the other way around!

Catch 22

What can be law is the use of English in all official transactions, what Congress approved just recently. In the old days, you could take the California driver's license in 42 languages, because the US had no official language.

bigmanknowsall

no, that is infringing on someones rights. Would you like it if you were denied food because you cant speak the language.

Angela Vicario

Nope, because it would break the principle of freedom, and because in any country there is a official language establish this would be going backwards.
on the other hand, why are Americans so close minded to learn languages, in Europe, Asia, Africa and Central and South America most people are bilingual or trilingual, so why Americans should be the exception?

anoldmick

NO! Have you forgotten what "it's a free country" means?

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: