If you are a U.S. citizen , English is your spoken language. When does Spanish come into the equasion ?
357785
We speak ENGLISH, not spanish. Like a bumper sticker that i once saw; "Welcome to America now speak English." I love that bumper sticker.
187961
A native language is one that you learn first from birth. If English was the first language you spoke, you are a native English speaker.
1065897
At least you only have to worry about Spanish, where I live we have to do everything pretty much in English, Spanish and Hmong.  \n\nI was in line at the DMV and the young Hispanic gentelman in front of me needed an interpreter so he could get his paperwork filled out for his license.  God help us all, if they can't read the forms and such or understand when things are explained to them, how the heck can they read the signs.
67997
You can speak english obviously... your other posts are in english.
152172
It's a form of slang.  The official language of the US is English, the American version of it.
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...
398697
Because, or if you want the spanish answer\nPorque,
61261
The official language of Puerto Rico is Spanish always has been always will be but they are adopting English as a second language since Puerto Rico is US territory and is highly benifited by tourists and from first grade on it is a regular class in all schools.
1164689
Amen!\n\nI see no reason for us to be bilingual & why the heck should we "press one for English", it's the damn United States of America; English is our National Language!\n\nI think English should be more empashied as our first language.\n\nI can only see it when you are doing business Internationally and that's it!  Why the hell should I have to have two years of Spanish to teach school?  It's not right!  They should have two years or more to speak English!\n\nMedicaid & Food Stamps - You have to have a SSN but they can just "buy" them from someone who is making them illegally.  Besides, there are so many loopholes in the system it isn't funny!
991839
you dont vote on language, you go with what the majority of the nation already speaks, which about 99% of the country already knows english, of course thats leaving out the illegals.
1173127
You're asking two very different questions.  Once you're a legal immigrant, unless you're a felon, and if you've lived here for at least five years, you need only basic English understanding to become a  US Citizen.  However, if you're an illegal immigrant, you can't be a US Citizen.  You see; an illegal immigrant breaks the law by being here illegally; therefore, unless he or she becomes a legal immigrant, such as a US Resident, there is no way for him or her to become a US Citizen.  Furthermore, when people say that it's hard to become a US Citizen, if they are legal, they usually mean that it's hard to pass the written and oral English Test required for the Citizenship Certificate.
1117643
legal residents have the right to get their citizenship after being a legal resident for 5 years.  i personally do not get mad if they choose not to become a US citizen.  what makes me mad is when they don't assimilate and speak spanish all the time.
370255
ONE Of The Requirements For Citizenship To The US Is To Learn The Language(Reading, Writing, And Vocabulary)
967018
The standard literary and official form of Spanish, which is based on this dialect.\nIt is the mother tongue of about 40 million people in Spain, where the language originated and whence it was later brought by Spanish explorers, colonists, and empire-builders to the Western Hemisphere and other parts of the world during the last five centuries. It is the native language of over 17 million people in the United States, and is one of the official languages of the United Nations. \n\nIs like saying the english from England and the english you speak in America. Well spanish from spain is the proper spanish, the other hispanic countries are just a mix of everything.\n:)
954179
English, Spanish, french
1134099
Think about it. If you were to emigrate to another country that speaks Spanish, do you think the locals would all learn English just for you? Hell no. They would expect you to learn the country's official language. I don't see why that is such a hard concept for some people to grasp.
885340
You have to be a U.S. citizen, national or naturalised.  And you have to know how to spell and punctualise correctly.