Should we adapt for all of these othr languages & have their words and phrases all over EVERYTHING in America?
113068
oui, ja, si, yes, *nods*...
569306
No doubt! My 7th-grader learns a foriegn language every 2 weeks in school. 2 weeks is not enough time for one thing. It only causes them to run all the languages together. And why should they even do it? The language in America anymore seems to be Spanish. You can't even order a cheeseburger without hearing a foreign language. It kills me to go to the counter of McDonalds,speak to an American,in American, & watch them turn around and yell in Spanish so they can be understood. We have to many homeless people here to have all the foreigners over here working our jobs. The high school kids needing a summer job is gonna have problems finding them because they've been givin' to foriegners who can't even speak our language!! Gets me fired up fast!!!
685113
I would like to start a petition that ALL foreign languages be banned on our legal documents. After all, English is our national language. I don't see any other country that goes so much out of their way to make it easy for "guests" to get along.\n\nPersonally, I'm sick of it! During hurricane season our own governor came on TV and did one broadcast in English then another one right afterward in Spanish.  That made me so mad! \n\nBefore anyone starts on the whole issue of "everyone needs to be aware in an emergency"...well, if you are going to live in America, you can at least learn enough of the national language to get by in an emergency situation.
129695
The US does not have an offical language.  Some people would like to make English the one (I tend to agree).  But with our diverse culture I hardly think it would be fair or right
898591
No, absolutely not.  There are different official sign languages from country to country.  Did you know American Sign Language is more like French and Japanese Sign Language than British?  \n\nAlso, there are regional "dialects" and "accents", as well as various slang terms and "home signs" known only to families, friends, and/or classes.  My brother and I are hearing, but we devised a "home sign" language so we could hold a conversation without others knowing it, and our spouses and some of our very close friends "speak" our special home sign, too.  (We think our mom also understands it, but she won't tell us!)
1041625
As the Old Lady said....that simply doesn't make any sense.\n\nNO. You cannot do it, unless the web site provides links for those options.  \n\nEven if they do, most likely, it will only for a few quite prevalent international languages.
783043
Maybe by choosing from Encoding, through VIEW the language you want!
422593
I don't think everyone speaking the same language would be a particularly good idea.  Each language has its own interesting features and body of literature and if we all spoke only the one language we'd lose that diversity.\n\nWhat might be a good idea is if every country agreed to teach one particular language as the first "second" language in schools so that when people travelled abroad they could guarantee being able to communicate.  English has this role to some extent, but the trouble is that it is quite a difficult language to learn to speak well.  It is also the first language of many nations and so that puts those who don't speak it as a first language at a disadvantage.  Something easy and neutral like Esperanto might be a good candidate for this... Esperanto has its own problems, but on the whole it's easier to learn than English and is definitely politically neutral.
525585
English!! We are Universal like it or not!!!
671072
Yes I would say so.  Apart from cultural things that may be tied to a language, each language also has a unique sound or melody which I think affects you in some way just the way that music can. It affects how things are expressed, as well as perceived. This is why I would be concerned about the spread of English; it could definitely hurt the diversity of the world.  And the mainstream English is not nearly as melodious as half the other languages out there in my opinion.
668765
Yes, it should be required.  US is the only country where people don't feel the need to learn another language.  In most other countries, people are at least bi-lingual.  I believe it makes a better rounded individual and gives appreciation for other cultures.  Besides, learning a language is MUCH easier when you are young; as a grown-up, it's very difficult.
567697
English, Spanish, French, German, Yiddish, Italian, some Hebrew (I'm a bit rusty), some Portuguese, a bit of Russian, a bit of Polish, ASL (American Sign Language), enough Tagalog to get by, assorted phrases in Gha, Ibo, Hindi and Urdu.\n\nI can also read Latin (High, Church and some Vulgate), Helenic Greek (slowly and not well), & Middle English.\n\nI guess I need a life!  :-)
542987
YES,i agree with you!!! There should NOT even have to be a question of this!!! ENGLISH is the language that Americans have been speaking since this country was FOUNDED!!! Why should people even WANT to change it NOW?? And,as for OTE (other than English),i have NO problems with people speaking their own language, UNLESS,they are around people who do NOT speak their language!!!! THEN,i think it is RUDE and INSULTING!!!Those of you who speak other foreign languages,PLEASE have enough CONSIDERATION for others around you,who DON'T!!!
823543
Personally, I'm sick and tired of catering to a minority that expects us to learn their language in our country.\n\nIn my opinion, your example is a type of job stipulation that is contrary to any equal opportunity employment policy. \n\nI am an avid supporter of English as our official language  - and an avid opponent of all of the disincentives we use to discourage people from learning English. \n\nI would not expect any other foreign country to cater to my customs and language if I chose to live there.\n\nIf you want to be an American - then be one. If you want to retain all of the customs and language of your own country, than move back.
772578
Oh gods, yes. And yes, part of that is just a general reluctance to embrace change, which is a natural part of all of us; but a larger part is bitter experience. Ever since the advent of spelling checkers, we've had to endure people who can't tell "too" from "to", let alone "accent" from "assent" and the like. I dread the day (and I know it's coming) when I'll get a business memo that uses "ur" and "pls" and "b4".\n\nFor those that argue that these sorts of things increase the flexibility of the English language, I think that's an incorrect conclusion. Borrowing words, or inventing new ones by mashing together parts of existing words, has a long tradition in English, and is the main reason our language has such a large and nuanced vocabulary. Textspeak and other entropic practices do the opposite: people end up using fewer words, and worse, using the few words they know incorrectly. \n\nThere's flexibility, and then there's sloppiness. Let's try not to confuse the two.
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!!!