Do you think a country should have an official language or emphasize the need for a common language?

Just answered this in your other question:

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Regarding the side issue of a common language, I fully support the idea of an official national language for several reasons. The most fundamental of those reasons is the whole can of worms you get into when you are required to provide equal accessibility. For example, your company might make legal contractual documents available in English and Spanish, but what about other languages. Doesn’t that lady from Korea have the same right as everyone else to understand the information? With the specter of businesses being sued out of existence over petty issues, are they required to make all legal documents available in any obscure language a customer demands lest they be brought to court for discrimination?

That being said, however, I believe that Americans as individuals should strive to be multi-lingual.

I hope that we don’t attempt to enforce an “official language”. It seems to me that it would be a prima facie First Amendment violation to even attempt to do so. And you would seriously piss off a lot of Louisianans who conduct most of their commerce and communication in French.

“Culture” is the driving force that forces people who move to America to adapt to American ways, rather than expecting America to adapt to theirs. American culture – whatever opinion you have of it – is strong enough to prevail without the need of a “legal, official” language. We aren’t France, after all, no matter how much I like Louisianans. Plus, English being the adaptive and adoptive language that it is, we love to pick up idioms from every language that crosses our borders, and some that don’t.

People who move to the United States generally try as hard as they can to learn to speak and write English. They almost universally make sure that their children are proficient in the language. I only wish that more of those who have been native-born would try with equal diligence.

@CWOTUS I always wondered exactly what people are trying to achieve with making English official. I don’t think much would change. Countries that have official languages still have multiple languages being spoken on the streets and in homes and communities. Singapore has something like 4 official languages, but I think English is the official language of government? I should check if I remember that correctly.

I was born in Quebec, and my opinion about an official language (or more specifically, about the official languages of my country) has changed enormously over the course of my life. When I was a child, I resented being required to learn a language (French) that was not my own. When I was a young adult, I resented having to speak that language first, and not being able to see signs in my own language. But after some growing up, and gaining friends from that other culture, and experiencing their point of view, which came with its own frustrations, I began to understand why the language laws were in place. I also began to embrace the French Canadian culture more, and to live more comfortably within that province – to feel that I belong there (remember that “there” is my own home). I feel a part of a broader community, and that’s a good thing.

That being said, I believe that the reason that Quebec needs to protect and promote its language is that it is one French-speaking province surrounded by an English-speaking country. In such a situation, it would be very easy for the province to become assimilated into English Canadian culture unless effort is put in to preserve the French Canadian culture. Recall that both England and France had colonies in what is now Canada.

In my opinion, the US does not have the same type of threat to its own culture. The equivalent to the Canadian model would be for the Spanish-speaking residents to need to protect their own language and culture in the face of assimilation by the American culture. However, I don’t believe that America would allow them to do that. For Americans to make English the official language of the US seems like throwing the imminent loss of Spanish-speaking culture in their faces of their immigrants. I don’t see why that’s necessary.

I remember having a conversation recently with an English speaker in Western Canada. She expressed disgust that a coworker would have conversations on her phone, in her cubicle in another language (I believe it was Polish) – this led to a larger discussion about whether people should be allowed to speak other languages in the workplace. I couldn’t help but wonder – if she moved to, say Italy for a job, and she found another English speaker at that workplace, would she seriously decline to speak English with that person? She claimed that she would refuse – I seriously doubt it.

The thing I love most about living in the US is the diversity. I’ll go the necessary extra mile to accommodate someone else.

No.

“Official language” efforts are generally targeted at certain minorities without thought of the impact on others. But Chinatown here in San Francisco has been fine without having to convert everything to English. And I remember when I lived in New York a lot of the Italian kids had grandparents at home that only spoke Italian. They got along fine with everyone.

It adds color and diversity to life, why be so rigid?

In California, we’d have to change most of the place names and street names…

@dappled_leaves I seriously doubt it also. I find in your Polish example she lacked the ability to put herself in another persons shoes.

Your point about making French the official language so it is not lost was very interesting. I always thought of it in the reverse, to sort of force the French to have at least minimal knowledge of English, so they are not limited in their opportunities throughout Canada, but, I completely agree it helps protect the French language and culture. And, for that matter so western Canadians had some basic knowledge of French which is spoken by so many in Quebec.

It would be good if America had some sort of policy regarding second languages, so our population was more multilingual. But, I am not sure I want a law about it. I would like a cultural shift regarding it though.

@CWOTUS – It’s not a matter of enforcing a national language. The thought of trying to make everyone speak a language they are not willing to is absurd. It is a matter of legal coverage. It is the difference between having to provide ballots in Swahili or contractual terms in Mandarin Chinese because somebody filed a discrimination suit, and being able to save a heck of a lot of paper and headache by only being required to provide data in the official national language (which, of course, does not preclude one from providing such information in additional languages if one so chooses).

Nein!
Нет!
Non!
Hindi!
Όχι!
Xeyr!
不！
No!

Like you, I’m for English as a common language but not yet the official language because that take a bunch of tax money to enact.

What surprises me are the numbers of immigrants and new citizens who are boggled by the lack of good English skills of generations old Americans.

@Neizvestnaya Haha. Yeah, a separate topic of course but I am stunned how third, fifth, ninth generation Americans can have really bad English skills. It baffles me. Where I live literally there are people who are poor who are extremely difficult to understand. I assume they have very little education. I find it very said. Most of them are over the age of 40 though. I think Memphis has one of the highest adult illiteracy rates in the country.

@Neizvestnaya – Actually I think such a law would save rather than cost money. We pay the salaries of the congress critters and miscellaneous staff members regardless of which laws they push through the system, so no additional expense to pass the law. Once the law is passed, however, both the government and private industry save a bundle by not being compelled to provide documentation in multiple languages.

Of course I totally agree with you and @JLeslie regarding the illiteracy rate in this country.

Yes. I think the USA should make Klingon the official language.

I don’t see any problem in not having an official language. It’s not like people use 30 languages in a square mile and you can’t reason with them. There were good and bad aspects about it discussed by the above people. I’m not that good when it comes to such things so I’ll just say what I know in my own words. A country benefits from having it’s own language even it’s a language spoken by other countries too. I don’t see any problem into making US English the official language of the USA.

@Hibernate

I’m all in favor of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s dictum that “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”, and I get what it means. But your statement here kind of takes the cake.

Your opening sentence says flat out that you “don’t see any problem not having an official language”. Okay, that’s clear. Your concluding sentence – in the same paragraph! – says that you “don’t see any problem into making US English the official language of the USA”.

Are you running for Congress?

Kaplach! @HungryGuy

(Klingon is the official language of my fencing club..)

@YoBob That sounds like a soup dumpling to me.

I resent that everything has to be in English and French. I’m from western Canada. The percentage of French Canadiens weighed against the population doesn’t make it economical either. I think one official language per country should do it. Quebec has cost the rest of Canada so much money- I’d hate to see that happen everywhere. I’ve read that a lot of products are priced higher for us because of the need for two language labels.

@faye How far does the requirement go? All packaged products? All instructions? I never notice when I am in Canada how bilingual all the printed stuff is. I wouldn’t know what is law anyway, because sometimes businesses choose to print in several languages. I always thought about it in terms of children having to learn both languages to some extent, and that contracts are available in both languages. But, really I have no idea what Canada requires regarding both languages being official. It would seem that if everyone is taught some of each language, bilingual labeling and instructions would be needed less often as the population became more and more bilingual over time.

@JLeslie Yes, all products and instructions unless it’s a small local company. I suspect- though this is just plain meanness- that Quebec doesn’t have to. Highway signs aren’t in both languages everywhere. Banff, a national park in Alberta, has signs in English, French and Japanese. The old saying about losing it if you don’t use it applies to languages for many of us. We had to have a second language to matriculate in the ‘70’s and since we all started French in grade 4, lots of us carried on. I could understand, speak, read, write well enough to pass with honors way back when. Most people I know badly need English now.

@CWOTUS somewhere in the middle you lost the “in my own words”. And since I’m not an US citizen I cannot run for Congress. Even if I was I would have not bothered with it.

@faye Quebec doesn’t have to? That was what I was trying to remember, was the last time I was there. I was in Quebec, Quebec City and Montrael, a couple of years ago, and the bilingual did not stand out to me, but I don’t think it would in any country. Last time I was in Torronto was maybe 4–5 years ago. I just went to look at a Coffee Crisp, but it seems my husband finished the last one! A girlfriend just brought some back a few weeks ago.

As far as Banff, it attracts people from everywhere, so it is logical it would be in the languages many tourists speak. In the library where I grew up in Maryland outside of DC, I think there is English, Spanish, Korean, and one other Asian language on the signage. In the library! In an English speaking American library. Doesn’t bother me, I think it is a good thing.

If products sold nationwide are bilingual, it is not extra money really maybe? Printing a label in English for one part of the country and French in another is printing twice.

I was referring to products shipped from you guys. Though, in reality, it’s probably just me being bitchy about all the concessions Quebec demands.

@faye I don’t know enough about all the demands QC makes, so I can’t comment. But, I believe you that some might be irksome. Most people I know from the west are annoyed with the French Canadians for some reason or another.

I think a country should have one or several official languages. The approach reduces conflicts. A great example is South Tyrol in Italy. Till the end of the 60s there was violence and bombs. Then a regional law declared that there were two official languages: Italian and German. All signs for towns, streets and so forth became bilingual. The violence ended. And has not returned ever since.