Should English be the official language of the United States? Why or why not?

Comments

• we have room for what ever language they want to speak so long as they can function in english when ever needed.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 20th, 2010

• Excellent posting.
  Where did you get the quote?
  I really want to know.

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  by preacherboy24 on May 22nd, 2010

• he already said. teddy roosevelt.
  my favorite quote by him is "walk softly but cary a big stick"

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 22nd, 2010

• Preacherboy24, I got this quote from....http://www.thelibertybook.com/entry/15/What-was-Theodore-Roosevelt%27s-ideas-on-Immigration
  
  However, you can go to the following website to get more insight and the history of this quote among other things.
  
  http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/troosevelt.asp

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  by The Galaxy Hitchhiker on May 22nd, 2010

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• Jambo.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 24th, 2010

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• If they have citizenship, they are just as american as you.

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  by Captain4876 on May 17th, 2010

• German = Germany
  Egyptian = Egypt
  English = Oh wait, England.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 17th, 2010

• English Isn't the native language of America. There were other people living there first. Why don't you learn their languages?

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  by Captain4876 on May 17th, 2010

• So shouldn't America just be a colonial extension of England by that logic master_mind413?

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 17th, 2010

• Freedoms? Thats a laugh, coming from someone who's fighting against the right to vote in one's native language.

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  by Captain4876 on May 17th, 2010

• @vaporeongirl
  Have you ever traveled outside the US? If you go over the pond you will find most European countries have English all over the place. China, India, Russia, all have street signs and storefronts in several lanuges. While it is frustrating sometimes to have to press 1 for english, the fact that English is all over the world has saved my ass more then once. Stop for a minute and think how you would feel as a stranger in a strange country.

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  by DagnyTaggert on May 18th, 2010

• I don't care, we should NOT bend over backwards for the illegal aliens and make Spanish an official language along with English. It's NOT their country and they don't deserve shit squat!!!

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  by Vaporeongirl on May 18th, 2010

• So because they act like that, so should we?

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 18th, 2010

• Vaporeongirl, its not your country either, you're just as much an immigrant.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 18th, 2010

• I like the Poupon. You should learn quiché.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• @vaporeongirl
  I will assume, since your profile mentions Satan and Daemons, you are not a Native American. I could be wrong; I just have never met a Christian Native. It does amuse me when individuals born in America pretend it is "Their" country. We could argue over whose ancestors came to this land first, or whose family had been most beneficial to or influential in this great land. But that would be pointless. What you are failing to understand/remember is that what makes this place America is that ANYONE can come here and try to make a better life for themselves. It is ridiculous to argue that immigration was good when your family came here, but is "ruining the country," now. Every single person alive in America today is part of family that immigrated at one time or another. (Barring Native Americans) The strength of this place comes from two sources. First, the Constitution and Bill of Rights; second, the people. The freedoms afforded by the previous documents attracted not only the huddled masses, but some of the most brilliant minds on the planet. Our system of capitalism allowed the poor and broken to work hard, educate themselves and rise. A lot of Americans identify Einstein as an American Hero; even though he was German born and moved here only after becoming successful. Would you have preferred that he was not a citizen?
  I never said anything about making Spanish an official language. Obviously Public schools should never be mandated to teach classes in Spanish. (Remember when schools had classes in Ebonics?) But would it be such a terrible thing if they offered remedial English classes to assist in the transition? They could also be offered to adults for a fee and maybe even provide a stream of income to the schools. Tell me, Exactly, how you have had to "bend over backwards." Yes, when I call 411 and have to press 1 for English, I sometimes find it frustrating. However, if you ever leave this country, (which I hope you do, everyone should do some traveling if they can) and you’re trying desperately to find a hotel, or somewhere to eat, it's ecstasy to hear your native language and someone who can actually help you. I don’t think I have ever felt more lost and alone in the world then my first trip to Finland while knowing absolutely no Finnish.
  I don’t understand this hatred of illegals. Do you have any clue how difficult it is to become a citizen? I played hockey with a guy from Canada. His father (Malcolm) was a software programmer, made very good money, well over $150K a year. He came in on a 2 year work visa, and after 4 years here, he finally become official. During this time his wife started the process at the same time he did, with no results. The dot.com bust came and Malcolm lost his job; and because his wife was not a citizen and could not work they had to return to Canada after living here for 8 years. If you can’t become a citizen after 8 years, when you already speak the language, there is something wrong with the system. The easier the process, the faster illegals become citizens, the faster they can get work, and pay taxes, which support the systems some of them use.
  
  @Master_Mind413
  Who are you speaking to? Whose kind are you tired of?

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  by DagnyTaggert on May 19th, 2010

• one language for every country/ whatever you do, do not go near Wales, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, or..... Switzerland (4 official languages!)

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  by dea_ex_machina on May 20th, 2010

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• Those Nations have their own languages. Why can't we have ours?

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• You can, just not English, that's from England. Make a new one up.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 17th, 2010

• Do Austrians speak Austrian or German?

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• Meh, they need to get a new one too.
  Not ment in an offensive way, but America is a mongrel country. Its fair enough to have a default language, but not an official one that gives one language an official state of superiority over all others.
  If there is one thing I like about the USA its that its a mixture of everything, I think it should try keep that.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 18th, 2010

• Fair point. Logical in its own way, although I do disagree.

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  by LarryH54 on May 18th, 2010

• just because someone else had it first does not mean we need to reinvent the wheel.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 20th, 2010

• It was a joke, but as someone pointed out in another question, you don't have to have only one official language. eg: Belgium, Switzerland

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 21st, 2010

• They were defeated along with the Spanish.

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  by MillionSix on May 24th, 2010

• So was America in Nam, should we all speak Vietnamese?

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 25th, 2010

Comments

• I believe Canada has two official languages. English and French.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• AMEN.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 18th, 2010

• "Why are we so afraid we are going to hurt somebody s feelings...?"
  
  Wrong. It's not about feelings. America has always been a land of immigrants. Unless you're Native American, your ancestors immigrated to America from another country, most likely speaking their native language when they arrived. Many immigrants, esp. the children, learn English, but many of the elders do not. That's their prerogative, not yours.
  
  "it should not even be up for discussion."
  
  That's fatuous and jejune. If you don't like to discuss things you've come to the wrong forum. It's not up to you to tell the rest of us what we're allowed to discuss.
  
  Have you ever heard the expression, "America is a melting pot"? Do you know what it means? American high school students are required to study American history. Did you miss that class? You'll need it in order to graduate. Ask the teacher about America the melting pot, and America the land of immigrants.
  
  We're not like the European countries where they stick their noses in the air when somebody doesn't speak their language. Except you. You are sticking your nose in the air with your high and mighty declaration that this "should not even be up for discussion." That's just arrogance and bloviating.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 23rd, 2010

• Mr Natural... back in the day people immigrated to america with the objective to BECOME AMERICAN rather than build "little china" type colonies. I am not sticking my nose in the air at immigrants. I welcome immigrants with open arms and my fiance has only been speaking english for 3 years but if you are immigrating to america you need to join in the melting pot rather than expect america to conform to them.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on July 23rd, 2010

• Indeed. America is a melting pot, not a stew-pot.

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  by LarryH54 on July 23rd, 2010

• Indeed. America is a melting pot, not a stew-pot. We don't need chunks of alien cultures sticking everywhere. They tried that in the Balkans.

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  by LarryH54 on July 23rd, 2010

• "We don't need chunks of alien cultures sticking everywhere."
  
  That's your xenophobia speaking. We do need other cultures. America has always been a land of immigrants, not a big, gated community of English-speaking white folks. You need to get out more.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 23rd, 2010

• no. xenophobia would say "keep them out". not "welcome them in to become a part of us". in fact the stew analogy more accurately describes a conglomerate of xenophobes all afraid to melt in with eachother. so really your desire to allow the ingredients to NOT melt together supports xenophobia.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on July 23rd, 2010

• I think the issue is getting confused. Don't read more into it than what the question states. It is about the "Official Language of the Country". The country is America. Sure everyone is entitled to their own language and own culture, I am not trying to change that. It is just why do I have to make a choice to the language that I am going to speak on the phone when I make a call in America?? I did not have that choice in Germany, I had to learn the language or have somebody help me that did.. And there are more languages and cultures that live in and around Germany than than in the US, yes we have peoples from all those countries but not the masses. I hope I mad my point, I didn't want to get so long.

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  by chowdownonme on July 23rd, 2010

• "why do I have to make a choice to the language that I am going to speak on the phone when I make a call in America??"
  
  And I'll ask, why are you complaining about it? Does it bother you that some agencies help new immigrants connect to the right department to get the help they need? Why are you protesting?
  
  And why are you still comparing America to Germany? I've already commented that Amnerica is different from European countries. Americans have no plans to emulate Germany. Let them do things their way, and let us do things our way.
  
  Our way is to accept immigrants and assist them in getting the help they need, such as reaching a translator in a complicated phone menu system. You should be proud of that. It's America, not Nazi Germany, nor Russia under Stalin, nor Libya under Khadaffi, nor Iraq under Saddam. Most of us are proud of our tolerance and acceptance of immigrants. Why not you?

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 23rd, 2010

• [Copied from previous comment:
  ]
  We're not like the European countries where they stick their noses in the air when somebody doesn't speak their language.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 23rd, 2010

• the only reason I related that about Germany is because as a foreigner, you have to utilize the resources that are available, and those being in the language of the country that you are in, be it Germany or America, and just to be clear, I don't have a problem when the recording states, "For Spanish, Press 2, for English, stay on the line, but when I have to make a choice for the language that is the Language of the Country. We are too afraid we are going to hurt somebody's feelings, have to be politically correct.

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  by chowdownonme on July 25th, 2010

• "We are too afraid we are going to hurt somebody's feelings, have to be politically correct."
  
  I have never met, nor even heard of any citizen admitting or even hinting that he was "afraid that "we are going to hurt somebody's feelings," or that we "have to be politically correct."
  
  Are you just making that up to support your personal beliefs?

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 25th, 2010

• they may not use those words but actions speak louder than words and politicaly incorrect truths recieve more hate than anything these days.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on July 25th, 2010

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• England?

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 17th, 2010

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• Always? as in since the dawn of time.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 17th, 2010

• Uh, wrong. America has never had an official language. I think the reasons for this are similar to the reason that we don't have an official religion.
  People should not be forced or obligated to learn English, and if they want to vote, or carry out any other official business in their own language, they should have that right.
  Aside from all of that, your obvious racist ideas are disgusting, and if anyone should not be accommodated in America, it is you.

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  by Clockwerk Beetle on May 17th, 2010

• I agree with Clockwerk. Can you even see how ridiculous your statement is? You wont learn Spanish to accommodate someone else, but you expect them (as equal citizens) to learn English for you?
  
  People have the right to speak whatever language they want to speak.

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  by Captain4876 on May 17th, 2010

• "Spanish to accommodate someone else, but you expect them (as equal citizens) to learn English for you?"
  
  When they come to a country where the primary language is English, yes.
  
  "Always? as in since the dawn of time."
  Maybe, you never know. :)
  
  "People should not be forced or obligated to learn English, and if they want to vote, or carry out any other official business in their own language, they should have that right."
  
  Yes, they should when the language the country they're moving to is English.
  
  "Uh, wrong. America has never had an official language"
  
  *Buzzer*
  
  Wrong, started as a colony of England, therefore the first official language was English.
  
  
  Just like if yours truly was to move to (Not vacation in), say France, I would have to learn French. Why should America be any different?
  
  Again, just because Jose doesn't want to get of his behind and learn English when he's coming into an English country doesn't mean I should speak Spanish.

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  by Anonymous on May 17th, 2010

• *Meep*
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsoqYP9UMI

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  by Anonymous on May 17th, 2010

• The English once had colonies in most of the world should all these countries also have English as their official language?
  
  Why does it matter to you what Jose speaks? Do you want to talk to him all that much?

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 17th, 2010

• America didn't start off as an English Colony. It was invaded by the English, and taken from the natives. Then you guys started a war to break ties with the English again.
  
  Having a colony that started out English does not logically imply that all citizens should be forced to learn English. Thats a non-sequitur.
  
  As we've seen already, English is not the only language spoken in the US. Maybe it's the only language you ever hear because you never venture further than your own cultural barriers allow, but there are other human beings out there that live sufficiently without English in their own communities.
  
  What gives you the right to say that English is superior over any of these other languages?

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  by Captain4876 on May 18th, 2010

• "America didn't start off as an English Colony. It was invaded by the English, and taken from the natives."
  
  The America I'm talking about is the country, not the continent.
  Oh and by the way, it was invaded... it was traded for beads....
  
  "The English once had colonies in most of the world should all these countries also have English as their official language?"
  
  I would think so.
  
  "Why does it matter to you what Jose speaks? Do you want to talk to him all that much?"
  
  I might. Maybe some cheap gardening work I don't want to do?
  
  "English is not the only language spoken in the US."
  
  That much true.
  
  "does not logically imply that all citizens should be forced to learn English."
  
  Yeah, it kind of does.
  
  "What gives you the right to say that English is superior over any of these other languages?"
  
  I never claimed that, I claimed that when "you" go into a country whose official language is English, then you should learn English.

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  by Anonymous on May 18th, 2010

• Once again, The United States of America does not now, nor has it ever had an official language. English is the de facto language, but it has never been official.
  
  Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

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  by Clockwerk Beetle on May 18th, 2010

• When close to everything is in English (Laws, books from America, instructions, keyboards, etc.), the official language is English...
  
  "English is the de facto language"
  English is the reality language? Huh?

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  by Anonymous on May 18th, 2010

• For someone who is so fond of the English language, you have an extremely poor grasp of it. I suggest you open a dictionary and find out what the word official means. And while you're at it, look up "de facto".
  As for me, I have no more time for your foolishness.

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  by Clockwerk Beetle on May 18th, 2010

• Plus Florida was a Spanish colony and founded by Spanish speakers from Spain. As is Colorado, Nevada, Montana, New Mexico, and Texas.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• "Florida was a Spanish colony and founded by Spanish speakers from Spain. As is Colorado, Nevada, Montana, New Mexico, and Texas."
  
  Which the USA took over, which makes the official language English due to the controlling country's official language.
  
  "For someone who is so fond of the English language, you have an extremely poor grasp of it."
  
  For not knowing what de facto means? You're quite logical there.

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  by Anonymous on May 19th, 2010

• Defeating existing peoples who lived there for generations doesn't mean that they will change their language as a pretext in the face of violence. I know this because my parents emigrated from a country that has several languages but a single official language. To have that official language means that there was a lack of legal protections provided to the speakers of the other languages. That means important stuff like written medical sheets wouldn't be providable in other languages so in medical emergencies there's a liability, it means in legal situations a person is denied legal representation or documents that are understandable to them, and it means that there would also be important financial documents that would not be able to be understood and could lead to fines which would penalize a person simply for being unable to READ it. It's a liability issue.
  
  BY THE WAY! I also hate spell Nazis so ignore it when someone makes a non-argument. It wastes space and time. Don't bother addressing it.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 19th, 2010

• "I also hate spell Nazis so ignore it when someone makes a non-argument. It wastes space and time. Don't bother addressing it."
  
  Needs a semicolon between "Nazis" and "so". We hate you too, which makes us even.
  
  "To have that official language means that there was a lack of legal protections provided to the speakers of the other languages. That means important stuff like written medical sheets wouldn't be providable in other languages so in medical emergencies there's a liability, it means in legal situations a person is denied legal representation or documents that are understandable to them, and it means that there would also be important financial documents that would not be able to be understood and could lead to fines which would penalize a person simply for being unable to READ it. It's a liability issue."
  
  Not an issue when the states in question undoubtedly speak English.
  
  
  The only reason, in my opinion, that this whole debate is supposedly an issue is because of the influx of illegal immigrants.

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  by Anonymous on May 19th, 2010

• Nope its beacuse of the inlux of non-english speaking immigrants.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 19th, 2010

• "Nope its beacuse of the inlux of non-english speaking immigrants."
  
  A. it's
  
  B. Because
  
  C. Influx
  
  D. English is always capitalized
  
  E. Which are made up mostly of illegals.

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  by Anonymous on May 19th, 2010

• Then get rid of illegals, not language. Special circle of hell ready, just for grammer nazis.

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  by LePoupon is a proper gander. on May 19th, 2010

• Wonder where Virgil would take 'em?
  
  Actually half the planet and even in the 2 English Majority countries on this side of the planet speak Spanish. Within our own country we're talking 34,547,077 American Citizens who speak it. This isn't including illegals. It's necessary to provide these people the rights to due process that Citizens are entitled to.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 19th, 2010

• "'Why does it matter to you what Jose speaks? Do you want to talk to him all that much?'
  
  I might. Maybe some cheap gardening work I don't want to do? "
  
  This makes it clear that 'one day' is a racist.
  
  I won't bother arguing with you further; it's quite clear that no-one is going to be swayed by the ideas of one whose judgement is so blurred already.

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  by Captain4876 on May 19th, 2010

• "Special circle of hell ready, just for grammer nazis."
  
  A. Grammar
  
  B. Nazis is capitalized
  
  C. Very special circle of hell for those who can't spell well.
  
  "Within our own country we're talking 34,547,077 American Citizens who speak it."
  
  Might I ask where you came up with this number?
  
  "This makes it clear that 'one day' is a racist."
  
  It's called a joke; obtain a sense of humor.
  
  If you don't see the humor, then you can cry along with this kid.
  http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu203/cascy128/th_thats_racist.gif
  
  "It's necessary to provide these people the rights to due process that Citizens are entitled to."
  
  It's also necessary to teach them English.
  
  "Wonder where Virgil would take 'em? "
  
  Who's Virgil?

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  by Anonymous on May 19th, 2010

• Might I ask where you came up with this number?
  
  2009 statistics.
  
  http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_S1601&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=&-CONTEXT=st
  
  It's also necessary to teach them English.
  
  I'm an ESOL teacher, and I know that. It still doesn't change the legal protections the rest of the nonnative speakers need. The provision of ESOL in this country is inadequate, which is why in my personal answer I said even though it is in my best interests for it to be so(I'll make more money); the consequences of enforcement are too great a threat to due process, the safety, and health of our citizens.
  
  Who's Virgil?
  
  Read Dante's Inferno.
  
  I kid, I kid. (^‿^)

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 19th, 2010

• "It still doesn't change the legal protections the rest of the nonnative speakers need."
  
  Yes, that much I can agree on. Isn't that what we have translators for though?
  
  "Read Dante's Inferno"
  
  Honestly never heard of it :|
  
  "consequences of enforcement are too great a threat to due process, the safety, and health of our citizens."
  
  I'm not saying take a gun and force it on them, I'm saying they need to be taught English so they may function well in the USA.

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  by Anonymous on May 20th, 2010

• Yes, that much I can agree on. Isn't that what we have translators for though?
  
  If you make English an official language the US has no responsibility to provide translators. That's why I think it's dangerous.
  
  Honestly never heard of it :|
  
  It's a classic and it's the first illustration of Hell by an author.
  
  I'm not saying take a gun and force it on them, I'm saying they need to be taught English so they may function well in the USA.
  
  Oh I agree wholly, but no one in the government has taken the steps to help immigrants learn to speak English. I teach for free when I volunteer, but I'm the only one who does that in my neighborhood except for NGOs and Churches and our classes are crowded. Immigrants want to learn, it's just not provided well enough for people to learn fast or enough to make English an official language without hurting someone.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 20th, 2010

• NGOs?

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  by Anonymous on May 20th, 2010

• Non Government Organizations.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 20th, 2010

• "I'm not saying take a gun and force it on them, I'm saying they need to be taught English so they may function well in the USA."
  
  Well of course, that'd be great if we could offer English Tuition. But this needs to be for THEIR benefit, not ours- as you just said, they can't be forced to learn the language. Restricting them to only being able to vote (etc) in English, would be to force them.

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  by Captain4876 on May 20th, 2010

• "Restricting them to only being able to vote (etc) in English, would be to force them."
  
  For how many years it takes them to learn survival English (English necessary to living in the USA), they would need to be provided with their needs in their language. However, the official language can still be English without everyone in the country knowing it.

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  by Anonymous on May 21st, 2010

• It already is. This is what having English as a De-facto language means. (^^ )

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 21st, 2010

• So that's what De-facto means. Lol

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  by Anonymous on May 22nd, 2010

• The United States of America has NEVER had an "official" language. The only reason English has been the de-facto language of the United States is because the majority of the original founders of the United States spoke English, as they were from Great Britain, where the English language originates from, coming from England (which is obviously why it's called English). There's a huge number of Spanish speaking Americans therefore if we're going down the path of having official languages, we should be a bi-lingual country of English and Spanish, just like how Canada is a bilingual country of English and French. But unfortunately some Americans are just too xenophobic to comprehend that, or accept it as a reality.

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  by ThinkingTime on May 22nd, 2010

• Or they wish to have English as an official language so others wouldn't be compelled to learn Spanish. Ironic tho'.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 22nd, 2010

• Agree with oneday. I think Immigrants should make the attempt to learn English. Maybe we should use our tax to pay for ESL classes.

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  by rocklesson86 on May 24th, 2010

• Yippee Payday, but it's a bad idea.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 24th, 2010

• Nice new avatar.

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  by Anonymous on May 24th, 2010

• Thanks bro!

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 24th, 2010

• you're welcome :P

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  by Anonymous on May 25th, 2010

• forget Jose, Maria, Jorge or whtever your gardener or cleaning lady's names are.
  
  Cosider this: when you go to countries where the official language is NOT english, which language do you expect people to adress you in?

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  by imcampo on October 19th, 2010

• Politicians, health personnel, and public officials should be able to address me in English because if it isn't, then my life will be in danger if I need help. That's why English is defacto here rather than the official language. It means if someone's life is in danger they'll have a legal responsibility to provide a translator. Otherwise the person can die. Almost happened in another country that I visited. Since the language was official they had no legal responsibility to provide translators.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on October 19th, 2010

Comments

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• Qapla!

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  by Sodapop on February 26th, 2011

Comments

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• Yes I agree with you all the way, Well Said!!

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  by (,,,)(-.-)(,,,) on May 20th, 2010

• You seem to be saying that passing an English test was once part of the requirements for becoming a US citizen.
  
  I was not aware of that (and rather doubt it), so please document that claim.

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  by JakobA I^_^I the alooney on May 21st, 2010

• Jakob, you obviously did not read his answer because that is not what he is saying at all. He simply states that every citizen of the United Sates should be required to know the english language. If they are unable to communicate with the majority of the population then how do they expect to live here?

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  by (,,,)(-.-)(,,,) on May 21st, 2010

• Correct me if I am wrong, but isnt he is saying that current immigrants are 'getting a pass' that his ancestors did not get, because they 'had to learn English' ?

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  by JakobA I^_^I the alooney on May 26th, 2010

• Yes you are wrong. they are getting away without learning the language and no there is no test you have to pass. His ancestors had no choice but to learn the language because thats what everyone speaks in the United States and current idiot immigrants should not get exempt from having to learn as well.

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  by (,,,)(-.-)(,,,) on May 26th, 2010

• Hmm, you dont read much, do you ? Us literature is chock full of families whre the immigrant parents do not even master basic english, and need their children to translate for them. Germans, Italians, Scandinavians, Chinese, ... There is a large area in Pennsylvania (I think) where German is still the common language, Louisiana was originally a French colony and french is the main language of many townships, Texas started out Mexican with Spanish speakers, Seattle have a huge neighborhood where everyone know and speak Norvegian (with a few Danes and Swedes thrown in), The Yopers in Mitchigans upper peninsula are largely Finnish and Swedish, then there are the several Chinatowns, and, and, and.
  
  The fact that the grandchildren of all these groups of immigrants have learned english, does not mean that the immigrants themselves did (or were required to). Many did not
  
  regards JakobA

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  by JakobA I^_^I the alooney on May 26th, 2010

• @Tallyman
  "3/4 of my ancestors had to learn English. ... Why should new immigrants get a pass?"
  
  By this logic, we should all be speaking Native American languages.
  
  When the English settlers (i.e., immigrants) arrived, nobody spoke English in America. By your logic, the Indians should have forced the immigrants to learn Native American languages. Get off your high horse. Your logic is seriously flawed.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 5th, 2010

• mr natural:
  You can't live in the past. Our mistakes are there so we don't mess up again. Back then we did not have government or laws so nothing was under control. So lets not make the same mistake again by letting to immigrants today take over the country, if they wanna live here then they gotta live by our laws, speak our language, and take the time to learn.

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  by (,,,)(-.-)(,,,) on July 9th, 2010

• lol

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  by RefreshPerspective on July 22nd, 2010

• "...they gotta live by our laws, speak our language, and take the time to learn."
  
  But we are a nation of many languages. If you have ever lived in a big city you know that people from many countries, speaking many languages, live there. America has always been a land of immigrants. It still is.
  
  A few hours ago I called University Hospital in my city. The recorded answering message was spoken in 8 or 10 languges! I just waited until it finished. This is one of the very best hospitals in the northwest. They care about patients. When you need help, it's no time to badger a person b/c he doesn't speak English. Remember the expression, "America is a melting pot"? What do you think it means?

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 23rd, 2010

• we have massive unemployment because of companies outsourcing jobs to asia, india, or europe. Republicans allowed this, and now are looking for a scapegoat. Illegal immigrants are not taking any jobs that a citizen would do, at least not at their pay rate, and horrible treatment

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  by sega256 on September 6th, 2010

• "Republicans allowed this, and now are looking for a scapegoat."
  
  Exactly. Thank you. The immigrants aren't taking any jobs that the gullible righties would take, at the prevailing pay scale. They listen to Rush Limbaugh and others and lose the ability to think for themselves.
  ~

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on September 7th, 2010

• when the economy is booming, they welcome illegal immigrants with open arms. Esp corporations, so they can pay nothing, treat them like crap, and pretty much near slavery. Then when the republicans screw up, and blow money away, they blame immigrants to take the blame off them

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  by sega256 on September 7th, 2010

• "We have 10% unemployment. Time to fix that by sending people home."
  
  Do you really think illegal immigrants are doing jobs US citizens would take?

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  by imcampo on October 19th, 2010

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• Actually, you do have to pass a written test to get a license. As far as I know, the tests are always in English.

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  by dwaneanderson on July 27th, 2010

• Look at thae language list for NY city drivers test, unless it has changed since I seen it there are quite a few languages it's written in

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  by ElDorko on July 30th, 2010

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• There's more to it than that. There's legal protections and due process that will be violated for the sake of a superficial idea. All legal documents will be only printable in English if you make it official, and you won't have the option to have legal documents given to you in a language you understand clearly. This means rights of the person to due process will be revoked.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• Thank you. I appreciate people who can be informative without being insulting, as others here love to be.

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  by LarryH54 on May 19th, 2010

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• Who ever said you had to speak it flawlessly?

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• The problem is that this penalizes people who don't speak it flawlessly. They won't have legal protections if they don't speak the language.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• Nonsense. That's why God created lawyers!

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  by LarryH54 on May 18th, 2010

• You aren't provide due process if it's in a language you don't speak. Someone has to ask for an attorney. Which is impossible when they can't respond in English.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• Is there a reason lawyers cannot be multilingual? If people are so concerned about such rights, it seems a simple enough matter to point an unofficial finger in the right direction.

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  by LarryH54 on May 19th, 2010

• That would be if there was an incentive to learn this language, and without a multilingual society with a de-facto language it makes the push not rewarding enough (^^ )

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 19th, 2010

• As the 'yes' argument above states, "Official English does not mean “English only.” None of the 30 states with official English laws prohibit government agencies from using other languages when there is a compelling public interest for doing so."
  This is a non-issue.

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  by LarryH54 on May 19th, 2010

• "That's of course hard to understand for those Americans that never attempt to learn a second language at all."
  
  They don't need to, wherever they go they demand the right to be adressed in their own language... they should consider that when voting to deny other poeple's right to the same treatment

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  by imcampo on October 19th, 2010

• When I visited Mexico there was virtually no English language availability to me. Had I not been accompanied by someone who spoke the language I would indeed have been lost. But all that proved was that I really had no business going down there. There is something to be said for common sense. If you cannot speak a foreign language, DON'T GO THERE.

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  by LarryH54 on October 19th, 2010

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• bullshit. And making a thing official is not the same as enforcing. Look at the Federal immigration law. Totally unenforced. They even complain when Arizona enforces the exact same law.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• sy it is impossible for anyone of non-british genetics to speak english proficiently? wow. then how the hell did south america learn spanish and portugese seing as the vast majority do not have a speck of spaniard DNA?

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 18th, 2010

• Go to Guatemala. They speak 100 some different languages. The enforcement is if you don't speak Spanish you have no legal protections. Which is the same as what will happen in the states if you make English official.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• Larry why bother making a law if it isn't enforced? What's the point besides wasting tax payers money and a lot of peoples time.
  TAP we're agreeing on more and more lol. My Grandmother came to America as a French war bride And while she had learned a little English in elementary school she of course didn't "learn" it. But when she moved stateside she got good and fast. While she always had a thick accent she could speak English perfectly by the time I was born. Also I work with a girl who's parents are from South America her mother works with us too. Her mom speaks both, and my friend and co-worker who was born and raised in the states speaks flawlessly in both Spanish and English with the proper accents in whichever language she is speaking.

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  by Funkycherry on May 18th, 2010

• It infringes on a person's right to due process by not providing understandable legal documents.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• Actually I brought up the enforcement issue as a complaint, nothing more.

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  by LarryH54 on May 19th, 2010

• Good point. My mistake.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 19th, 2010

• Fruit what about a persons right to free speech?

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  by Funkycherry on May 19th, 2010

• Again, making something official does not mean that all of sudden the government is going to stop providing assistance to those who have trouble speaking english. Why does everyone assument that will happen?!
  
  Our government can't even get a handle on immigration as it is, does anyone really think that it's going to start denying english alternatives all of sudden?

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  by Plumbob and wifey on May 21st, 2010

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• Nonsense. Multilingualism has nothing to do with having an official language. And making English the official language would not make anything impossible. It would simply eliminate the wasteful multilingual translations of govt paperwork that has no business being translated into Vietnamese, Swahili, Korean, and god-knows-what other foreign language. It's not ALL about the Mexicans.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• Do you even speak English, Larry? You clearly are having immense difficulty comprehending my comment.

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  by Siyanor on May 17th, 2010

• Sorry, I don't consider SAPIR-WHORF as any familiar form of English.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• That's because you don't know the first thing about linguistics. If you don't know what the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is, you shouldn't comment about it.

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  by Siyanor on May 17th, 2010

• You don't have to major in linguistics to speak English. I am a writer and an author. You won't impress me with your sophistry.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• I'm not trying to impress you...
  
  Do you need me to spell it out for you?
  
  People who are bilingual have an objectively better understanding of life as a whole, and therefore will contribute more to society (unless they're antisocial to begin with). This is an indisputable fact. Officiating English will decrease multilingualism in the US, because people will forget their original language, and native US citizens will not bother learning other languages. The fact that you called my comment nonsense because you were ignorant makes you look pretty damn stupid.

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  by Siyanor on May 17th, 2010

• Go back and look at your original comment. You said nothing of the kind. You merely gave the typical Liberal Elitist BS I see all too often on this site. And don't try to pretend you are some brilliant linguist. Your 'facts' are eminently disputable. And 'officiating English' is HORRIBLE grammar. If anyone here is pretty damned stupid, it's you.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• Haha. I said nothing of the kind, eh? It is actually PRECISELY what I said. You simply don't know what Sapir-Whorf hypothesis means. If you did, you'd realize that IS what I said.
  
  "Officiating English" is perfect grammar, and if you don't know that, you haven't passed 4th grade.

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  by Siyanor on May 17th, 2010

• Officiating IN English would make sense. You don't have a clue how to use one language. Let alone multiple ones.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• 1) That makes absolutely no sense at all... officiate means "to make official".. you can't make official in English, you make English official.
  
  2) The inability to speak a particular language, even if it were the case, in no way excludes the ability to speak multiple languages. It's physically impossible not to comprehend that idea if you have an IQ above 70. I speak English, quite a bit of Spanish, some French, and a little Portuguese and Armenian. All I can say for you is you speak English sufficiently well to communicate concepts that you already understand, but not to comprehend new ideas.
  
  3) "Let alone multiple ones." is not a sentence. It's not even an absolute. It's just a fragment.

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  by Siyanor on May 18th, 2010

• According to Websters, to officiate is to perform the duties of an office. Once again, you show yourself to be uneducated. At least in English.
  I never said people should be unable to speak other languages. But there is no reason for the govt to bend over backwards for people who would be better served by learning English anyway.
  People use sentence fragments all the time. This is not a treatise, and it is not an exercise in technical writing. You are only displaying your narrow minded sophistry. Again.

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  by LarryH54 on May 18th, 2010

• And you show yourself to be extremely uneducated in linguistics and politics, and knowledge of both those fields are of the utmost importance in this debate.
  
  You are only displaying your inability to comprehend basic English. Again.
  
  I don't care if I don't know the exact definition of obscure words, YOU can't understand simple sentences. You haven't addressed a single one of my points, and think you're arguing against them. FYI, you aren't. You're arguing nothing.
  
  Don't accuse me of sophistry if you don't even know what my argument is.

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  by Siyanor on May 18th, 2010

• I understand what you mean by Sapir-Whorf, but it was debunked a while ago with bilinguals being the reason for the debunking. The problem is that I think people will have far less legal protections in the US if this happens.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• Incorrect, Fruitpunchsamurai. The STRONG version was debunked, NOT the weak version, which is what I'm talking about.

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  by Siyanor on May 18th, 2010

• Aaah I see, I thought you were talking straight hardcore Sapir-Whorf. Understood.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

Comments

• This is a novel interpretation of the First Amendment, even absent capitalization and punctuation.

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  by LynfromNM on July 20th, 2009

• hehe just like i said bastardization of english

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  by LilFredNamedEd on July 20th, 2009

• Indeed!

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  by LynfromNM on July 20th, 2009

• freedom of speech is a different thing altogether.
  
  One common official language to all is good thing for the integrity of any nation. American english is the one.

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  by itinary on August 6th, 2009

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Comments

• I disagree fundamentally with your claim because it implies anyone with English as a second language is less American compared to a native speaker. Just seems wrong... Maybe you didn't mean it to imply that so maybe if you'd reword it?

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 19th, 2010

• I'm merely saying that if English was the official language of the US, everyone should be expected to at least be able to say please or thank-you if they are to be considered American. Just as I wouldn't expect to go and live in a country I couldn't speak the language of and be considered a person of that country.
  I won't reword my answer, no. I answered the question, what you choose to think I've said is not my concern.

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  by NatztheGreat on May 19th, 2010

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• Logban! :)

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  by Captain4876 on May 17th, 2010

• Esperanto.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

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• Thank you! Common sense at last in this ridiculous fight.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• I think you are missing the point. Nobody is talking about forcing people to drop their native language. The issue is ultimately whether or not government forms should be written in one language.

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  by OhLook - IamNoLongerAnonymous on May 17th, 2010

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• really? because I thought that until our executives and politicians destroyed us in hte past 20-30 years that we were more powerful and decisive than brittan.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 18th, 2010

• @Sun
  "[the] US is still a British colony."
  
  Good one. :)
  
  English was not the official language when the first English settlers (immigrants) arrived. The Native Americans should have put them onto reservations and forced them to learn Native American languages.
  
  Ugh. Kemo Sabay, Tonto needum wampum for firewater.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 5th, 2010

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• Oops, I meant:
  English isn't even the official language of England, so I suppose if the USA adopted it as its official language we would all have to call it American.

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  by Brian I on May 17th, 2010

• English is an official language of England, though in Great Britain there are many other languages and thus the United Kingdom has more than one official language

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  by imcampo on October 19th, 2010

• England has no legally defined official language, so I'm afraid you are mistaken.

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  by Brian I on October 19th, 2010

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• Indeed they do. But simply because our "official language" would be english would not mean we would simply eliminate all other languages of something like that. We would still study spanish, latin, and other languages for cultural enrichment either way.
  
  Also, nothing major since I'm just a bit of a grammar/spelling Nazi. I believe you spelled "enrich" wrong. :3

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  by Aspergers syndrome on May 17th, 2010

• I think so too! This needs to be a multilingual country.

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  by anonymous on May 18th, 2010

• The problem comes when you don't provide legal protections for someone who speaks another language. Part of what makes English a defacto language is that it guarantees you legal protection and due process no matter what language you speak. To make English official means to not have legal printed documents provided in any other language.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 18th, 2010

• ? What legal document states that? *not doubting you, just curious. knowing our government it's more than likely it's true. :P*
  If there is such a rule it is completely idiotic. D:
  Having English as our "official language" should be purely a political statement, nothing more. :3
  It still makes things easier because it encourages, but does not force, increaced emphasis on learning English for new arrivals so they can become more efficient by dealing with spoken and written language barriers. Of course the option to use a different language should still remain. :D

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  by Aspergers syndrome on June 1st, 2010

• Look up the English only movement. Having English as an official language was pushed by them. They even made it illegal in some public places to speak Spanish you get warnings and then fined for it.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on June 1st, 2010

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• That's completely inappropriate Pandoras. The Statue of Liberty says 'give me your huddled masses... yearning to be free'. Why are people willing to give up their previous homes? Why would they want to preserve what they left behind when that would leave them at a disadvantage here? The freedom offered by America is not dependent on multiculturalism or knowing many languages, but on the INDIVIDUAL stepping up and taking control of his OWN life. A single language for all makes that a helluva lot easier than trying to wade through a Balkanized America where every ghetto speaks a different language.

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• agreed larry.
  saying "welcome" does not mean "we'll bend over backwards to accomodate you"

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 18th, 2010

• right but its doesnt say youd better bend over backwards to accomodate us either

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  by Mud on May 20th, 2010

• People have been coming here and learning the language of commerce since the birth of this Nation. I don't call that bending over backwards. It's just plain ol' common sense.

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  by LarryH54 on May 20th, 2010

• bending over backwards is going out of your way to accomodate someone I am not asking anyone to speak nerd... if I need to communicate with people I can't only be capable of using words like; "acetaminifin", "naproxin", "dihydrogen monoxide", "dioxyribo nucleic acid", "combustion" or "consumables". I for when people do not know what I am talking about I have to be able to say and understand their more common (sometimes less accurate) words of "tylenol", "aleave", "water", "DNA", "fire", "things you can run out of because you use them" yes I can speak nerd when ever I want but when communication is needed I must be able to speak the language of the common american.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 20th, 2010

• its a great point, mine is just that not everyone has a knack for languages but the attitude (not neccesarily here in ab) is that you come here youd better already be fluent in english, unmentioned is the required skill in spanish as well. so move to america from germany and youve got your work cut out

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  by Mud on May 27th, 2010

• oh, no. I am not that anal. I fully welcome immigrants and am pissed off that we keep so many people out. my additude is not be fluent before you touch our soil. my additude is that english proficiency is REQUIRED to become a citizen and we are not going to translate every possible form into every possible language for every possible person who does not want to learn englsih. get out of your little colonies (several nationalities have them) and mingle. if you wanted to live the rest of your life in little china, you should have stayed in BIG china.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 27th, 2010

• there has to be a medium, im glad we continue to agree taprice

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  by Mud on May 28th, 2010

• no underdog. that is what executives do and I dispise them.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 30th, 2010

• Ahem... My son is developmentally delayed. Retard is not an acceptable term. That has been drilled into me for 18 years now.

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  by LarryH54 on May 31st, 2010

• I think political correctness is retarded.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 31st, 2010

• (You're right, but I'm not supposed to admit that, according to every one of his teachers. Idiocy.)

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  by LarryH54 on May 31st, 2010

• ROFLMBO!!!!!!!!! I knew I liked you

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 31st, 2010

• its cool to have a retarded kid mine are completely mentally ill, I mean frigin hanycapt. I ask politely and correctly please crawl into your car seat and buckle up, no responce (even from the ten year old) but suddenly I start flinging retards and stupids and curse words and theyre all buckled up and im out of breath. kids are disrespecting their parents so god should be here any day now to punish em right? damn the truth.

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  by Mud on June 2nd, 2010

• ROFLMAO yes thanks for your reply, I'll add it to the pile!!

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  by Mud on June 12th, 2010

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• right things arent that bad in America...yet, but aperently there are alot of fed up white folks. fed up with outsiders, lets imagine america border to border shall we?...thats right, I want to captain a boatload gypsies into the usa right now!!! lol

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  by Mud on March 18th, 2010

• amen... but I would not even visit somewhere I would need to learn french. much less move there

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 18th, 2010

• we need to erect a tower and call it blah blah blah and let everyone say whatever they want in whatever tongue weather their understood...who cares. babalon is usa when translated from bible to recent day.

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  by Mud on May 20th, 2010

• could perhapse you mean bable?

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 20th, 2010

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• It would be cool if the US could revive Latin and get the majority of people to speak it. Latin is a badass language.

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  by Tamilze on July 3rd, 2010

• Latin was my first furrin language in high school, back in a previous millennium. I liked it. I wandered around speaking Latin to girls I was too shy to talk to, thus exacerbating my nerd quotient by an order of magnitude. (Have you ever been caught exacerbating? [L. exacerbare]
  
  Once I was caught masticating at the dinner table. [L. masticāre]  My mother said, for god's sake, close your mouth.)
  
  So yes, we should force everybody to speak Latin, just as Native American kids were once forced to drop their tribal languages and speak English. Even the French are forced to speak English.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 5th, 2010

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• Yet none of the illegal immigrants who committed terrorist acts spoke Spanish. The rules being applied are racist ones and the language de-facto protects legal american citizens as well. If you want to disenfranchise American citizens by linguistic discrimination it's illegal. It's not happening.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 24th, 2010

• Hello, Fruit Punch Samurai
  
  Terrorism and any threat, whether it be drug cartels from Mexico or whatever are issues to address. This is about making America secure, not about any race in particular.
  
  Yes, I do see huge groups of Hispanics complaining and whining and it seems they are concerned only for thier 'race and rights', not the illegals coming here or those who show no respect for learning English.
  
  If the taco fits, wear it.

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  by Avatar7 on May 24th, 2010

• Actually the problem is it can cause more problems than just whining people. If you don't provide legal documents for speakers of other languages you face a real liability issue. It can actually get people hurt. Whereas leaving English de-facto keeps the provision of documents and forms by demand in a language people can understand.

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on May 24th, 2010

• "Press one for English and two for Spanish". Every instruction booklet with products sold in the USA comes with multi-language instructions. Sorry, America is not Liable for those who come here, use thier crutch of not understanding English to willfully break laws.

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  by Avatar7 on May 25th, 2010

• @Avatar7
  "...those who show no respect for learning English."
  
  Ridiculous. Respect is for people, not for any language.
  Why should anyone "respect" a language? When you start respecting people instead of whining about their language differences, they may start respecting you. That's what you want, isn't it? Respect? Language chauvinism won't get it for you.
  
  "'Press one for English and two for Spanish.'"
  
  That's a functional matter, to get information to those who need it. Get off your high horse.
  
  "Every instruction booklet with products sold in the USA comes with multi-language instructions."
  
  Get serious. Multi-language instructions are a marketing decision, to make a product useful for as many customers as possible. Don't you support business? What are you, some kind of anti-capitalist commie? America doesn't need your kind.
  
  "Sorry, America is not Liable for those who come here, use thier crutch of not understanding English to willfully break laws."
  
  1. Don't tell me what America is for. We gave the king our middle finger more than two centuries ago. Where did you get your crown?
  
  2. How can "not understanding" be a "crutch"? Do you even know what you meant by that gibberish? And you want others to speak English? You could start by setting an example. If you can't speak English, you don't have a case.
  
  3. "...willfully break laws." How in hell did you reach that conclusion from your language rant? Maybe you should revert to your native language, whatever it was.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 5th, 2010

• @Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence
  
  Sooo true... you killed me hehehhheheh!
  
  
  

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on July 5th, 2010

• @Fruitpunch
  "you killed me..."
  
  Not sure what you mean, but I agree with many or most of your comments. Where did you get that old DOS game? We used to play with such "ansi graphics" in the 1970s. Cool.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 7th, 2010

• it means I died laughing from your post it's so true!

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  by Fruitpunchsamurai on July 7th, 2010

• @Avatar?
  
  Seriously? Terrorism? Drug cartels? These are your aguments? I just want to say: where do you think all those people got the money from? terrorists probably got it from some obscure financing by your own country looking for excuses to start a war... and drug cartels get it from consumers within your country (they also get their weapons, yes the ones that kill mexican children, from over there).
  
  And all of the above is not even taking into account that those things have nothing to do with the citizens and immigrants that have rignts in your country, which should be respected no matter what language they speak... specially considering most of them are not even close to being terrorists and drug dealers...
  
  Maybe you should talk when you can formulate an argument in another language at least as well as i can formulate one in yours

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  by imcampo on October 19th, 2010

• The U.S. finances terrorists every time we buy another barrel of oil from middle Eastern countries that harbor terrorists. Osama bin Laden is Saudi, and S.A. is a major source of oil for the West. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who flew our own planes into our own buildings on 9-11 were Saudi. Forget Muslim. They were Saudi.
  
  Here are some photos of George Bush getting some tongue action from Saudi royalty. Before Little George, his Daddy George did the same. It's a family affair.
  
  The U.S. also finances terrorists every time we buy opium, cocaine, and marijuana from Afghanistan, Colombia, and Mexico. We could put a stop to it overnight by growing and selling similar drugs in our own country, but we have declared recreational drugs immoral. The net effect is that Americans prefer watching the drug lords kill innocent families, kids and all. The girls are often raped and murdered and their bodies left in the desert.
  
  Americans prefer torture and violence against brown-skinned people over having a few of their own citizens decide for themselves if they wish to get high.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on October 27th, 2010

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• If people wanna move here then they gotta learn are way of communication.

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  by (,,,)(-.-)(,,,) on July 9th, 2010

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• I also don't have a problem with multilingual DMV materials since you don't need to be a citizen to vote.
  =
  Yes you are supposed to be a citizen to vote. (DMV????---do yo Department of Motor Vehicles? do you do not have to be a citizen to drive bu there should be a non-citizen Driver's License. Just as there are different licenses for Truckers, motorcycles and those under 21 years old.)

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  by my2cents--Vote for Paul on May 24th, 2010

• Ummm... You DO need to be a citizen to vote - but not to drive.

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  by 23Skidoo on May 24th, 2010

• Correct.
  ---
  But in your answer "since you don't need to be a citizen to vote."

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  by my2cents--Vote for Paul on May 24th, 2010

• A sorry... my mistake. I meant "drive".
  
  :-)

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  by 23Skidoo on May 25th, 2010

• "There is nothing wrong with having an official language. It makes all kinds of things easier."
  
  Likewise, we should have an official system of weights and measures. That would be the SI ("metric") system. It's universal the world around, except in the U.S., Burma, and Liberia. We might as well be using cubits, bushels, pecks, rods, furlongs, leagues, and stadia (one stadium = 62.5 feet in Roman measure).
  
  A denarius for your thoughts.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 5th, 2010

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• Would that be northeastern (Bawston) American, Southern (Dixie) American, Western American (Howdy awl) or Middle American?

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  by LarryH54 on May 17th, 2010

• larry. it should be north western. every ESL I know who has been to several different regions says north western US is the easiest english to learn.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 18th, 2010

• But we aren't in England! AAARRRGGGHHH!!1

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  by Anonymous on May 18th, 2010

• The american language is english. Theres no such language called American.

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  by (,,,)(-.-)(,,,) on May 20th, 2010

• the editor should learn the details of language before calling himself an editor.

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 20th, 2010

• But shouldn't American be divided into 4 classic dialects?
  1:Southwestern: Well ah hope the prezdint does sumpin 'bout the nucular power plants.
  2: West Coast: Why yes, thank you, I would love a pepsi.
  3: East Coast: You bastoids!
  4: Gangsta: Yo,wassupmyniggas,man,putithere,man,yo,wassupmyniggas,yo.

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  by Anonymous on May 24th, 2010

• gotta laugh a that one editor :)

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  by TAPriceCTR s son is wearing his COAT on May 24th, 2010

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• real nice, you're just a wonderful ball of charm arnt you? hmm it's people like you that should get out of america. nuff said

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  by sega256 on June 7th, 2010

• r u kidding me! u dont have to be american 2 live in the us. thats all i have 2 say.

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  by :)smiles4rs on July 3rd, 2010

• Okay sounds reasonable, so what American tribe are you? Cherekee? Sioux? Navaho? Or are you of European/English ancestry. If so get on the F'ing boat and get the F out.

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  by Loganx on September 5th, 2010

• wow youre a jerk(meant towards answerer)

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  by sega256 on September 6th, 2010

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• "english is the offical language sincein it's founding."
  
  Actually, America was "founded" (inhabited) by native Ameicans long before the first English settlers (i.e., immigrants) arrived, and probably by others before them. Read a book.

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  by Mr_Natural Abstractor of the Quintessence on July 5th, 2010