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National Language
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Government & Elections
National Language
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At the election the ballot was in English and Spanish. I think it is about time that we make it official that English is the official language of the US and that we do not have to duplicate everything
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Cat:d51398b3-89f9-463d-bf1b-4b885f02c9eeForum:af978875-5bc6-4b07-a6fb-b18062132f95
Cat:d51398b3-89f9-463d-bf1b-4b885f02c9eeForum:af978875-5bc6-4b07-a6fb-b18062132f95Discussion:88d048e4-5025-4e04-8d09-053652f88120
Forums » Politics & Society » Government & Elections » National Language
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National Language
posted at March 21, 2012 6:01 PM EDT
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Posts: 373
First: October 22, 2011 Last: May 3, 2013 |
At the election the ballot was in English and Spanish. I think it is about time that we make it official that English is the official language of the US and that we do not have to duplicate everything in two languages. Schooling is provided for people to learn our language which could have been German except for our brave countrymen in WWII. I am also tired of having to listen to 2 presentations in voicemail, one in English and one in Spanish. The government should not have to provide both and private companies should have 2 lines, one for the national language and other lines for whatever language they want. My parents had to learn English and they emphasized that we learn English, though I wish they would have helped us to learn a second and third language. I am not tryiing to act in a prejudicial way but am trying to descriminate between our obvious national language and other languages. We have enough debt, and we do not need judges telling us what languages a document must have unless it is the national language, |
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Re: National Language
posted at March 23, 2012 5:46 PM EDT
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Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011 Last: May 18, 2013 |
In Response to National Language: At the election the ballot was in English and Spanish. I think it is about time that we make it official that English is the official language of the US and that we do not have to duplicate everything in two languages. Schooling is provided for people to learn our language which could have been German except for our brave countrymen in WWII. I am also tired of having to listen to 2 presentations in voicemail, one in English and one in Spanish. The government should not have to provide both and private companies should have 2 lines, one for the national language and other lines for whatever language they want. My parents had to learn English and they emphasized that we learn English, though I wish they would have helped us to learn a second and third language. I am not tryiing to act in a prejudicial way but am trying to descriminate between our obvious national language and other languages. We have enough debt, and we do not need judges telling us what languages a document must have unless it is the national language, Posted by JimR45 Well, Jim, what do you think about this from our Social Security Administration: A little crazy, isn't it !!?? 
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Re: National Language
posted at March 23, 2012 6:09 PM EDT
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Posts: 373
First: October 22, 2011 Last: May 3, 2013 |
Gail I believe it has gotten out of hand. One of my fears is that our nation will be divided as it is in Canada between those speaking French and those English. People may not think of it, but having to print in multiple languages is an added expense. Our common language has been English for sometime now, and even though we have had major influxes of people from different countries they have learned to speak English. It was impotant to my parents that we learened English, though I wish they would have also taught us their language. Being bilingual or multulingual is great, but make sure one of those languages is the language of the country in which you live. People forget that we are all immigrants to this land, and yes I am including those called native Americans since they just migrated here at a different time. My guess it was from Mongolia possibly across lands up in our far northwest, though it may have also been men in ships from western Europe. I should not get into this topic since that is another story. I think we are at the time where we need to have a national language declared. Classes are provided to those who want to learn English and in fact in some areas there are volunteers to help people of various languages. |
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Re: National Language
posted at March 23, 2012 7:26 PM EDT
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Posts: 1923
First: November 27, 2011 Last: May 18, 2013 |
In the local SSA office, the language poster says that if an interpreter is needed under any of those many languages shown on the SSA website, just to let them know and they will schedule an interpreter to be available at the appointment. I agree with you completely. According to the government, we have to make it easier for them; not easier for us. It is just another way that the government is taking the place of what should be personal responsibility. The government touts that we should be "one nation" - a melting pot -but these (different language) groups congregate together because of this language barrier so the likelihood of assimilation is almost nil until someone in the family breaks out of language barrier. |
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Re: National Language
posted at March 23, 2012 7:55 PM EDT
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Posts: 373
First: October 22, 2011 Last: May 3, 2013 |
In Response to Re: National Language: In the local SSA office, the language poster says that if an interpreter is needed under any of those many languages shown on the SSA website, just to let them know and they will schedule an interpreter to be available at the appointment. I agree with you completely. According to the government, we have to make it easier for them; not easier for us. It is just another way that the government is taking the place of what should be personal responsibility. The government touts that we should be "one nation" - a melting pot -but these (different language) groups congregate together because of this language barrier so the likelihood of assimilation is almost nil until someone in the family breaks out of language barrier. Posted by GailL1 An unfortunately the government also ignores the obvious. If a person does not speak English why do we have to assume that they do not know anyone that speaks their language and English. Too much of the responsibility is on the wrong side. It is funny that they are pushing toward a multilingual environment which makes it more difficult for the immigrant in many areas including work. More and more roadways are covered with signs with more than one language which is a distraction for those who know English since they have to look for English on the signs. Again we have the issue of expense. Make all of the drivers tests in English which should be a motivator to resolve this problem. There was a person who ran for an office in one state for a local position who did not speak English very well, so I think they took it to court to challenge it. So how does this person handle debates with limited English and what about documents for review. |
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Re: National Language
posted at March 28, 2012 12:49 PM EDT
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Posts: 12532
First: February 29, 2008 Last: May 17, 2013 |
In Response to National Language: At the election the ballot was in English and Spanish. I think it is about time that we make it official that English is the official language of the US and that we do not have to duplicate everything in two languages. Schooling is provided for people to learn our language which could have been German except for our brave countrymen in WWII. I am also tired of having to listen to 2 presentations in voicemail, one in English and one in Spanish. The government should not have to provide both and private companies should have 2 lines, one for the national language and other lines for whatever language they want. My parents had to learn English and they emphasized that we learn English, though I wish they would have helped us to learn a second and third language. I am not tryiing to act in a prejudicial way but am trying to descriminate between our obvious national language and other languages. We have enough debt, and we do not need judges telling us what languages a document must have unless it is the national language, Posted by JimR45 People born in the 40's and 50's had grandparents who had immigrated from Europe and did learn our language. They were anxious to blend in to our society. They kept their traditions, their language in their churches but in the workplace in the public arena otherwise it was all english. Actually, it costs us all more out of pocket to have a second language having to be written up and spoken. |
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Re: National Language
posted at March 28, 2012 3:38 PM EDT
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Posts: 373
First: October 22, 2011 Last: May 3, 2013 |
JanMB, my father was not born here but came in his late teens. Though my mother was born here, she was taken back to Europe when her mother died and her father moved there. She was a very young child when she was taken away. Then her father died and she returned as a young lady. Both my father had to learn English back in the 20's, unfortunately they would only speak English in front of us so we did not learn another language other than English. It is good to keep traditions and other languages, but everyone should learn to speak the language of the country where they live. As you mention these additional costs are something we incur. Now courts are forcing areas to prepare everything in multiple languages. It is getting worse than it was even a few years ago. This country will become divided by languages. |
Forums » Politics & Society » Government & Elections » National Language
