A Bilingual America

I'm bilingual. 8) 

Against it. This country has one language. There are millions of people in this country in which enlgish was not their first language, but they still learned it to get by.sonicare

Unofficialy yes...but Officialy No this country doesnt have one language...you can take a driving test in 14 different languages here...That doesnt happen in Germany or Japan.  

What are your thoughts on a bilingual USA(American english/Spanish)?...Keep in mind..technicly the US doent have an offical language. Pros? Cons? In 20 years it could be very possible that spanish is taught nationwide in schools as a 2nd language. Keep the debate civil please.Legacyoftain

Spanish is taught in many schools as a second language, as well as French, German, and a few other ones. I'm really not sure where you are going with this.

I'm finding it hard to say something civil about this.

I'll state a few facts.

The majority of people in America are not bi-lingual and the primary language here is ENGLISH even if there is no official language. Majority rules in this country.

If I were going to be living abroad you can rest assured I'd take the time to learn the language of the place I'd be living if it was not English.

People in Japan and China are required REQUIRED to learn English has nothing to do with what their Countrie's official language is. WHy do you think that is? Because many of the jobs they'll be doing are here in America where the language is primarily English even if it isn't the official language.

There is a small city nearby where I live with a small population of Spanish speaking Americans. After over 50 years here many of them have chosen to get by without hardly learning a word of English even though the city is primarily English speaking.

The problem in America isn't that ENglish speaking people don't know a second language, the problem is that non English speaking people who come to this country are too lazy to learn English and want the majority to adapt to fit THEIR needs.

The problem in America isn't that ENglish speaking people don't know a second language, the problem is that non English speaking people who come to this country are too lazy to learn English and want the majority to adapt to fit THEIR needs.

rushthatspeaks2

Why would I care if they learn English or not? It makes no difference to me. 

if you live in america, you should learn english. the government does a reasonable job to teach its citizens english. there are english classes and ELL classes in public schools(though i wish there were free english programs for adults(maybe there are?)). though im still getting ready for the worst and taking spanish classes.

In the UK the official language is English, but almost everyday you will see Asians talk in their native language which is nice and it dosent offend me, also we learn French and Spanish in Schools which are less comnon here but the speakers can still be found.

So it wouldent make much of a difference if the US declared an official language, it wouldent stop people.

[QUOTE="rushthatspeaks2"]

The problem in America isn't that ENglish speaking people don't know a second language, the problem is that non English speaking people who come to this country are too lazy to learn English and want the majority to adapt to fit THEIR needs.

SpaceMoose

Why would I care if they learn English or not? It makes no difference to me. 

Does to me. Even if it doesn't affect my day to day living. Pisses me off.

Okay that's it. I'm moving to Japan, where a few people do speak English but the majority of people speak Japanese. I'm NOT going to learn Japanse though, I expect them to learn English so I can get by easier.

How's that sound?

[QUOTE="SpaceMoose"][QUOTE="rushthatspeaks2"]

The problem in America isn't that ENglish speaking people don't know a second language, the problem is that non English speaking people who come to this country are too lazy to learn English and want the majority to adapt to fit THEIR needs.

rushthatspeaks2

Why would I care if they learn English or not? It makes no difference to me.

Does to me. Even if it doesn't affect my day to day living. Pisses me off.

Okay that's it. I'm moving to Japan, where a few people do speak English but the majority of people speak Japanese. I'm NOT going to learn Japanse though, I expect them to learn English so I can get by easier.

How's that sound?

Idiotic, obviously.

However, I think a more pressing issue is teaching English to Americans. Half of the US (a similar situation is developing in Britain and France) doesn't speak their native language properly. It's ridiculous.
Perhaps everyone should focus on that instead of "THE IMMIGRANTS!". It's always easy to point the finger...

I won't stand for it, period. It infuriates me that there are so many ignorant **** that come into our country illegally and then don't even bother to learn the langauge.

People say "well it doesn't effect you". Well that is total BS. Why don't you try taking someones order when they don't speak a damn word of your language!!! I live in Michigan YET I still have issues with this. It is making me mad.

Does to me. Even if it doesn't affect my day to day living. Pisses me off.

Okay that's it. I'm moving to Japan, where a few people do speak English but the majority of people speak Japanese. I'm NOT going to learn Japanse though, I expect them to learn English so I can get by easier.

How's that sound?

rushthatspeaks2

Fine with me. It's your life that will be more difficult, not theirs. 

Almost all middle and highschools teach it already, its just that 9/10 people fail it or don't remember it due to poor teachingGuiltfeeder566

Almost all middle and highschools  teach it already, its just that 9/10 people fail it or don't remember it due to poor teachingGuiltfeeder566

I don't know what its like everywhere else, but at my high school most of the Mexican immigrants were failing Spanish class as well as ESL.  Teachers can only teach students willing to learn.

[QUOTE="Guiltfeeder566"]Almost all middle and highschools  teach it already, its just that 9/10 people fail it or don't remember it due to poor teachingSajo7

I don't know what its like everywhere else, but at my high school most of the Mexican immigrants were failing Spanish class as well as ESL.  Teachers can only teach students willing to learn.

haha i remember stuff like that. i got a higher grade in freshman spanish class than native spanish speakers.  

Against it.

We have enough people that haven't even mastered English yet, and Im not just talking about non whites. 

I believe it is important for all U.S. citizens to have some basic, functional ability in written and spoken English; however, I do not believe one should be required to learn or speak a language, nor do I believe an "official" language is an appropriate way to encourage or enforce English proficiency.  That being said, I think it is important to have a functional understanding of a second language--such knowledge only reinforces proficiency and understanding of one's native lanuage.  Also, I think the English vs. Spanish debate is hackneyed and stale and fails to validate the litany of linguistic non-English diversity that exists in the U.S. today. 

[QUOTE="Guiltfeeder566"]Almost all middle and highschools  teach it already, its just that 9/10 people fail it or don't remember it due to poor teachingSajo7

I don't know what its like everywhere else, but at my high school most of the Mexican immigrants were failing Spanish class as well as ESL.  Teachers can only teach students willing to learn.

All but one of my teachers were horrible, and she taught only one year.