English as our national language?

[alfredo]

[Dogmudgeon]

1. ¡Viva Lalo!

--p!

[BlooInBloo]

2. YASWAP

Yet Another Solution Without A Problem

[Karenina]

47. Englisch ist nun LINGUA FRANCA

WHAT DON'T "you people" GET??? :evilgrin:

[porphyrian]

3. Does that mean Americans will have to start speaking English?

I don't think it'll happen.

[alfredo]

4. Go to eastern Kentucky, not in the urban areas, go back up into the

deep woods. You may need an interpreter.

[BlooInBloo]

5. Or south of Pittsburgh - Connellsville, Indianhead, etc.All over the place in the US.

[alfredo]

7. Go anywhere there are people isolated from the rest of the society.

What they call Eubonics is what happens when people are pushed out of society. They develop their own culture and language.

[BlooInBloo]

9. Yup. Either forced isolation or chosen.

[alfredo]

13. Look at some of the mountainous countries and you will find

a different language on the other side of the mountain.

[Radio_Lady]

19. I've been told by a Chinese friend that dialects of the same written language

(Cantonese, Mandarin, and what she called Shanghai-ese) are virtually unrecognizable if you go beyond the crest of each mountain in that huge country.

[alfredo]

22. If you have iTunes they now have iTunesU. You can get podcasts

of Lectures from colleges all over the US. Stanford offers its Geography lectures. It focuses on language and culture. I am about half way through the five lectures.

[porphyrian]

28. I love diversity, and that extends to language. - n/t

[Zookeeper]

34. Don't forget that those are likely descendants of the pioneers....

that settled the eastern part of the country over two hundred years ago and have developed a regional dialect.

As a Northerner visiting the South as a child, my accent (and rapid speech) was as difficult for them to understand as their cadence and accent was for me.

But, it's all English.

[DBoon]

10. "a language is a dialect backed up by an army"

Which dialect will become "official English"?

And will other regional/class/ethnic dialects go peacefully into the night?

[porphyrian]

27. People who call for an official language must never leave their place of birth.

That, or they're just stupid racists.

[MonkeyFunk]

6. English is the national language

it's just not the official language.

[alfredo]

8. I should have said Official language.

[treestar]

11. America needs no "official language"

Only control freaks need everything nailed down as "official."

Who cares? If the majority in this country speak Spanish in 2078, that'll be the national language, so who cares? The Constitution has been and can be translated into any language.

[TankLV]

14. I'll care - along with millions of others...

English should be THE official languange of the USA...

Period...

[jberryhill]

16. You go tell that to the Puerto Ricans, The Hawaiians, The Guamians, The Navajo, etc. etc. /nt

[treestar]

23. For what possible reason?

Again, who cares over the long run what language is dominant in America? It can function under any language.

[Iris]

31. Why?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

32. Absolutely. I agree with you 100%.

Also, Christianity should be THE official religion, and white should be THE official skin color.

[Rex]

12. Okay...fuck this...

It is time to call it what it is - America. We all speak American. If you live here and communicate on a daily basis with other Americans, hell...you just might be speaking American!

Chances are you are! Dialects vary between states and regions.

See ya.

[JANdad]

29. Ummmm

What language is "American"

[133724]

15. How Arrogant of us as americans to insist on one language.

The very nature of language determines how we think about the world.

I am no language expert; and I only speak English, but I have had classes in Latin and Greek and German.

Prior to my graduation from my University I was on a committee to select speakers for a symposium titled "Language & World Order". The purpose of this symposium was to discuss the impact of language on our understanding of the world, its politics and humanity.

I will not go into everything discussed in this symposium; however I will say this: unless you have at least a remedial understanding of foreign languages, you have no understanding of English.

I would strongly suggest that if you do not speak a second language or at least have a remedial understanding of one that you take some classes in foreign languages in order to learn how to think...

Not all thoughts are in English.... Sometimes they are in Aramaic...

[Radio_Lady]

17. Aramaic, huh? Are you really Mel Gibson, 133724?

:sarcasm:

[133724]

20. Whats the matter.. You don't want to speak to GOD in his native language????

no flame intended...

Just a good roast..

[Radio_Lady]

21. Noooooo, I don't happen to believe in a personal god... but, what the hell,

wouldn't S/he understand EVERY language if S/he is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent?

I think I'd try YIDDISH first! Thanks for the roast... it was DELICIOUS!

Good night and good luck.

[133724]

24. thanks

The point is that you cannot understand how an individual thinks unless you understand his language. One's language to a great degree determines how one thinks...

It has been 40+ years since I studied Greek but they have tenses that we do not have in English. For example, I believe that have a tense which we would consider as "a future completed action" ( i can't recall the exact phrase but that will do). What tense do we have in English that describes an event that has been completed in the present and in the future??? I don't think there is one. But that begs the point; how did Greeks think???

That is the question... How do people in other languages think!!!!!!!!!!!!

You can't understand that from just speaking English...

[leftwing9]

44. Actually we do have that tense...

...it's called "future perfect."


For example:

"By the time Bush finishes his presidency, I will have sworn at him 25,000 times."

"will have sworn" is the future perfect verb in this sentence.

I haven't completed this action yet, but I will. It's in the future's past.


When I was studying Russian our native Russian-speaking teacher told us that in English there are 64 verb tenses! In Russian there are only 3.

[DBoon]

41. We should make Olde Anglo Saxon the official language

if it was good enough for the Venerable Bede, it's good enough for us.

Enough of the Frenchified modern English!

[Radio_Lady]

18. Very funny cartoon... especially after just getting back from London and Edinburgh...

Believe me, it's even possible to get pretty lost in other dialects of the English language.

I listened and listened and still had to ask some people to repeat themselves in both cities.

I've studied Spanish and French, and lived in the south for almost three decades, and in Boston for almost another three.

[RB TexLa]

25. Can't have some ignorant whites thinking someone is talking about them

[camero]

26. It would be a start

Right now with Bush our official language seems to be gibberish.

[alfredo]

30. Like that character in "Blazing Saddles"?

[datasuspect]

33. sure, and spanish as the national co-language

multilingualism is something to be desired.

[Zookeeper]

35. I can see that making sense in Texas....

but, there is no reason the "co-language" in the Upper Midwest or Northeast should be Spanish. Why not French? Or German? Or Ojibwa?

The reality in Southwest U.S. doesn't necessarily apply to the rest of the country, which has no historical or cultural connection to Latin America or Spain.

[datasuspect]

40. it will eventually

nativism is no new phenomenon in this country. i for one embrace our brown invaders.

viva mexico!

[Zookeeper]

42. "It will eventually."

Whether we like it or not. Not a message that encourages generosity.

People who use this arrogant argument are doing Spanish-speaking immigrants a disservice, without even realizing it.

[Scout]

36. English is the national language...

and we DON'T need and official language.

[blondeatlast]

45. Well said. nt

[Bridget Burke]

37. I agree with Lalo

English is the unofficial language of the USA. Anyone wanting to "get ahead" here will learn it--as immigrants have always done. (Some of the grandmas won't learn it well.)

English is not in danger. It's a powerful language throughout the world. But it's too bad that so many Americans don't know any other languages.

Making English the "Official" language is just another campaign by the Nervous Nativists.

[blondeatlast]

46. My husband was born and raised in New Delhi, where English is a requirement--since they speak

something like 40+ languages in the metro area. Even in India, if you want to succeed, you speak English, but he still speaks Hindi as well.

If America can't survive a few differences in languages, that doesn't say much for her.

:thumbsup:

[blueworld]

38. It doesn't matter, because your kids (& Congress) won't listen to you anyway

No fuelin':dunce:

[alfredo]

39. I am the invisible man.

In some ways I like being invisible except when my representatives ignore my suggestions and complaints.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

43. Yes. English should be the sole national and official language of the US n/t

[Kerrytravelers]

48. Why would that be necessary?

We've lasted this long without an official language. Is suddenly having an official language going to solve any pressing problems? I see it as a way to discriminate against people who aren't fluent in English, which includes many of my students' and their parents- who are here legally.

[Bridget Burke]

49. Please explain exactly what laws you would enact.

We're all ears!