English Only I Miei Cari Amici
Georgia seems to be putting it out there:
A Republican state lawmaker filed legislation today that would prohibit Georgia and all of its cities and counties from issuing official documents and forms in any language other than English.
State Rep. Timothy Bearden (R-Villa Rica) said his measure would protect the state’s official language and help police who pull over immigrant drivers.
Some of the chat board pundits “contribute”:
2006-12-08 10:09:49 AM Petey4335
Oh no.
Apparently we Americans arn’t smart enough to join the rest of the world and speek multiple languages.
Can we please end this Xenophobia?
Oh yes people…the spelling errors on a comment knocking Americans as stupid are real. At least they spelled Xenophobia right…but when you have Wikipedia, and the “How to Insult a Right-Winger with Multi-Syllabic Words so You Seem Intelligent” nearby, it can help.
Some of the other chat-types ask why someone would make a law like this when English isn’t the official language…wrap your mind around that people. Why would someone make a law requiring English to be an official language for official documents, when there is no law requiring English to be the official language? Petey4335…well…might have a case with that Americans-not-smart thing. However, I don’t think the door would swing in the direction that they expect.
The laws are starting to change, and it looks like English might actually become the official language of a country that operates and runs entirely in English. Should people stop speaking their native tongues? Of course not, let them speak whatever they want with their friends and family…but a Sea Change is on the horizon.
LINKS:
Open Trackback at 123Beta…follow the links…meander where you will.
Rightwing Guy approaches the issue of Palestinian Civil War.
I called my bank the other day and it was like “For English press 1″. For English press 1??? Why do I have to press the button??? I speak English so I don’t have to!! Everyone else should press the button! In Mexico I’d press the button and have no problemo with it!
I actually agree with Right Wing, can you believe it? But no kidding. The only reason those other countries speak multiple languages is because they are surrounded by other nations that speak other native tongues. We have Canada and America and then that other country at the bottom. America’s the number 1 superpower with the most lax immigration policy out there advertising our legacy, and yet some people actually have the gall to take advantage of our generosity by demanding we adhere to their incompetence in learning?
People that bite the hands that feed them should all be shot or starved. It all depends on how quick their death should be. I won’t generalize, I’m a liberal…so it’s a case by case basis on how they ought to suffer their brutal karma.
Wow, I think for the first time ever on this website I am going to disagree with Practical Radical, craziness!
While I believe that English is “technically” our official language, it is also one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. I see no problem with official documents being written in mulitple languages for those who speak English as a second language or are trying to learn English. Trust me, I am for MUCH more inforcement of imigration laws already on the books, and for even more harsh laws that (hopefully) will come into play. But I think that only providing documents in English will not do ANYONE any good.
We live in America, and part of that is knowing there are many cultures and languages that make up our country, and not all of those people are here illegally or NOT trying to learn English.
English is only difficult to learn for those who were not raised learning it — the same can be said for any other language in the world. Take German, or Spanish, for instance. Do you really want to keep track of the gender of your nouns, for every noun that you know? Or how about all those irregular conjugations? Please. As an English speaker, that’s difficult to me. I’m sure a native Spanish speaker would be bothered that our nouns have no genders.
See, the mistake in thinking of America as a playground for many different cultures and languages is the axiomatic mistake of the Left. It begins by assuming that imported cultures and the native culture of the majority are equal and goes on from there to say that they should be preserved, officially. I have two words as to how those policies end up: Yugoslavia, and Austria-Hungary. Unity preserves nations; disunity leads to their sickening collapse. Which do you want?
Oh by the by, having official documents in English only does me (and all other native English speakers) in America a ton of good. 1) It makes me less annoyed. 2) It saves me time. As far as efficiency in government and business goes, using a single language would save probably millions of dollars a year.
Only having documents in English has done the US fine up until a decade or two ago. Not to say that we should blatantly state, learn English or forever be a 2nd class citizen. Just the opposite, learn English and be a better citizen. EASL opportunities should be made available as in other countries. No not through public education channels but private.
Public channels for EASL education should exist but only with an accelerated and targeted curriculum PRIOR to or SEPARATELY parallel to entry into the mainstream education process. A time limit should be a part of that education, 2 years and only be offered for students K-8. K-8 Students that do not reach an adequate level of EASL in those two years would have to pay tuition to continue at the EASL specific schools. HS and adults would have to seek private sector/channel education with a minimal helping hand from the government (tuition tax credit, a tax credit NOT an income deduction) again for 2 years ONLY (a declining tax credit would be made available to those K-8 students required to stay in the EASL schools 75% 3rd year, 25% 4th year 0% from then on).
The specifics can vary but in the end we have to change the way things are done in a common sense and compassionate manner.
Reason not Passion,
GoingThere
GoingThere, you make a lot of sense. But do you truly think that Reason and Passion can never co-exist? After all, both sides always hold pieces of the other.
Way to go Timothy Bearden, all other states should do the same. Why should we spend millions of our tax dollars to cater to illegals who have the audacity to actually Protest in our major cities for more money,benefits and Rights??? They should all be rounded up and sent home and come back through our immigration system like all our ancestors did. It is outrageous to even consider anything but English in our businesses. Can we go to Mexico and expect the same treatment? I think not, if we Americans went to their country and protested for anything, we would be shot onsight, no questions asked. I am all for people from any nation coming to America to better themselves but the Law is the Law and should be enforced. The border needs to be locked down first and NO AMNESTY given to anyone breaking the law.