[Macktee]

I couldn't have said it better myself...!

=D> =D> =D> =D> =D>

 

[budder]

:roll: The United States has no official language: https://www.cia.gov/library/publication ... nt/us.html

While English may be preferred by the vast majority of the population, discrimination against others that speak another language is hardly justified.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Would making it official be "discrimination?"

 

[budder]

Would making it official be "discrimination?"

No, but it wouldn't be terribly American. We're a country of immigrants! What happened to:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

The United States is The Melting Pot, not the Good Ol' Boys Club.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Immigrants is fine, and melting pot is better. Melting pot means learning English!

If I emigrated, I would fully expect to adopt the mother tongue of my adoptive country. Not that I can think of any better place to live.

 

[budder]

Immigrants is fine, and melting pot is better. Melting pot means learning English!

If I emigrated, I would fully expect to adopt the mother tongue of my adoptive country. Not that I can think of any better place to live.

Melting Pot hardly means learning English. There are plenty of people here that don't speak much, if any English and still deserve to be here. Not that I'd have too much sympathy for them if police had trouble communicating with them...

 

[foshizzle]

English is the official language of every airline pilot in the world. Why can't it be our official language?

Nobodys saying people can't speak whatever language they want. I'm sure ethnic stores will cater to certain groups. Publix will still have bilingual checkout machines. You just have to speak English for 'official' tasks.. like at the courthouse, post office or the probate court. Even though the probate court doesn't understand English themselves.

 

[budder]

English is the official language of every airline pilot in the world. Why can't it be our official language?

Nobodys saying people can't speak whatever language they want. I'm sure ethnic stores will cater to certain groups. Publix will still have bilingual checkout machines. You just have to speak English for 'official' tasks.. like at the courthouse, post office or the probate court. Even though the probate court doesn't understand English themselves.

Why do we need an official language?

 

[Thorsen]

We don't need an official language. Studies continue to show that by the third generation immigrants are for the most part completely assimilated into our culture. While most second generation immigrants can and do speak their immigrant parent's native tongue at home, they are adept at american english as well. Market forces drive this as you must be able to professionally communicate in english to be able to succeed. I can't tell you how many times when I ran big box retail stores I would have a young child, obviously second generation, acting as an interpretor for his or her adult parents.

 

[fallison]

What happened to:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

Appears to be written in English to me!

 

[gsusnake]

I can't tell you how many times when I ran big box retail stores I would have a young child, obviously second generation, acting as an interpretor for his or her adult parents.

Happens all the time in healthcare, too.

 

[Rammstein]

Let's ask the United States Constitution...

Does the USC say anything about having an official language for the United States of America?

Or would this fall on the states rights side of the equation?

 

[fallison]

Let's ask the United States Constitution...

Does the USC say anything about having an official language for the United States of America?

Or would this fall on the states rights side of the equation?

Article 1 Section 8:
...
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization ...

That could be considered a common sense rule for naturalization

 

[budder]

Let's ask the United States Constitution...

Does the USC say anything about having an official language for the United States of America?

Or would this fall on the states rights side of the equation?

Article 1 Section 8:
...
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization ...

That could be considered a common sense rule for naturalization

Really?

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Melting Pot hardly means learning English.

Well, what does it mean? The "melting" portion has to mean something, and I always had this silly assumption that it meant assimilating into the culture of this new country, that is different from all of the countries from which it draws its inhabitants, mostly because of the influence on the culture from the assimilating immigrants melting into one new culture, but without losing the distinct character that drew those immigrants here in the first place. Language is a part of that culture, and, without it, you end up with a "Balkanized" society, with different races and nations living in different neighborhoods with no melting or amalgamation at all.

It is not about who "deserves" to be here.

It is about the "melting."

So, what does "melting pot" mean to you, without the melting?

 

[Rammstein]

Let's ask the United States Constitution...

Does the USC say anything about having an official language for the United States of America?

Or would this fall on the states rights side of the equation?

Article 1 Section 8:
...
To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization ...

That could be considered a common sense rule for naturalization

I disagree. Once you start making the leap like that you can use the commerce clause to regulate machine guns. Oh wait....

The Federal government is one of limited and enumerated powers. All powers not enumerated are for the states to decide.

 

[Rammstein]

Melting Pot hardly means learning English.

Well, what does it mean? The "melting" portion has to mean something, and I always had this silly assumption that it meant assimilating into the culture of this new country, that is different from all of the countries from which it draws its inhabitants, mostly because of the influence on the culture from the assimilating immigrants melting into one new culture, but without losing the distinct character that drew those immigrants here in the first place. Language is a part of that culture, and, without it, you end up with a "Balkanized" society, with different races and nations living in different neighborhoods with no melting or amalgamation at all.

It is not about who "deserves" to be here.

It is about the "melting."

So, what does "melting pot" mean to you, without the melting?

I agree with MP, melting pot means coming to America and learning English as well as American culture.

 

[Mafuta54]

Melting Pot hardly means learning English.

Well, what does it mean? The "melting" portion has to mean something, and I always had this silly assumption that it meant assimilating into the culture of this new country, that is different from all of the countries from which it draws its inhabitants, mostly because of the influence on the culture from the assimilating immigrants melting into one new culture, but without losing the distinct character that drew those immigrants here in the first place. Language is a part of that culture, and, without it, you end up with a "Balkanized" society, with different races and nations living in different neighborhoods with no melting or amalgamation at all.

It is not about who "deserves" to be here.

It is about the "melting."

So, what does "melting pot" mean to you, without the melting?

I agree with MP, melting pot means coming to America and learning English as well as American culture.

My ancestors came here from many different countries and all of them "wanted" to learn english and become "Americans" which they all did. This is what makes America great and what makes a melting pot! My Great grandmother refused to allow her children to speak anthing other than english because "We are in America and we are now Americans"!

 

[RepeatDefender]

What are States Rights??? Those haven't been around for more than 140 years now. Just an all-powerful Federal government. And now we have an imperialist president to run a hardly representative Republic.

Sorry to thread-jack, but states rights will get me going every time....

 

[budder]

Melting Pot hardly means learning English.

Well, what does it mean? The "melting" portion has to mean something, and I always had this silly assumption that it meant assimilating into the culture of this new country, that is different from all of the countries from which it draws its inhabitants, mostly because of the influence on the culture from the assimilating immigrants melting into one new culture, but without losing the distinct character that drew those immigrants here in the first place. Language is a part of that culture, and, without it, you end up with a "Balkanized" society, with different races and nations living in different neighborhoods with no melting or amalgamation at all.

It is not about who "deserves" to be here.

It is about the "melting."

So, what does "melting pot" mean to you, without the melting?

What makes English appropriate? Why not German? The Melting Pot idea is about mixing different cultures and benefiting because of the variety. Having a national language could only take away from that.

Learning American culture is good, but choosing English as an Ultimate language is terribly chauvinistic. Assuming we need a national language, why should it be English? Just because we've used it for a couple hundred years doesn't make it any better. We used Newtonian physics for more than the same amount of time.