<p>why or why not?</p>
<p>Yes. I personally believe that all immigrants should at least be proficient in English in order to enter this country. New Orleans has recently experienced a huge influx of Hispanic immigrants, and mant of these immigrants cannot spak English. At my work, I deal with many customers that I am unable to communicate with because they speak a different language. </p>
<p>Everyone speaks the English and you must be at least proficient to be successful.</p>
<p>engalaosao plz.</p>
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[QUOTE=prmirez184]
Yes. I personally believe that all immigrants should at least be proficient in English in order to enter this country.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>English would be nice, but I would never want it to be forced on anyone. I certainly wouldn’t actively campaign to kick out people who don’t speak English.</p>
<p>People fail to realize that when their own ancestors moved to the US, they most likely did not speak English. And even if they did, they spoke British English, not the warped American English present now. It took time for our ancestors to learn the language, and thankfully no one kicked them out or blocked them from arriving in the US before giving them the chance to learn. We should extend that courtesy to modern day immigrants.</p>
<p>English, but not at immigration.<br>
Citizenship, yes;
government forms and operations, yes;
public education: yes. </p>
<p>Surviving in the US without English should not be made easy or convenient.</p>
<p>If you arrive here, the first order of business is to learn the language, just as it has been for hundreds of years.</p>
<p>I thought English was already nationalized.</p>
<p>german was almost made the national language of america (because our founding fathers hated great britain).</p>
<p>I say English.</p>
<p>Why? Isn’t English the official language of the USA?</p>
<p>I’m an international and I think it’s normal for a country to have an official national language.</p>
<p>agree with toadstool. you should learn english before gaining citizenship in this country</p>
<p>Warped American English?</p>
<p>Actually, American spelling and pronunciation is closer to the the language’s Latin and Greek roots than British English.</p>
<p>Also, most American spelling is actually older than British spelling when it comes to their differences. For instance, Americans spell rubber wheels as “tire” where in Britain it is “tyre.” Tire has been in use far longer. </p>
<p>I am far from an expert in languages but my guess based merely on logic is that American English = British English when the colonists first landed. Then, the British language developed a bunch of colloquialisms and bastardizations that did not spread to America. Of course America made up its own distinct words too but I wouldn’t call it “warped.”</p>
<p>
The immigrants of the past learned English because they had to–no one was going to make things easy for them because they didn’t know the dominant language–and they got along just fine. It is today’s need to be politically correct that has led to an accommodation of other languages (most notably Spanish).</p>
<hr>
<p>@peter_parker:</p>
<p>I think cdover is talking about the change in accent and slang from the “British” English toward the modern “American” English that exists today in the country, not necessarily trying to pick on the American English language.</p>
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<p>And my opinion on this?</p>
<p>I think immigrants should take language classes in relation to obtaining citizenship. These classes could be taught at community colleges or special learning centers, and in these language classes, they can also learn the country’s history, etc, for the citizenship test.</p>
<p>However, I do not think they should be mandatory. :-P</p>
<p>Yes, I know… but I have a certain sentiment for non-native speakers living in the US. After all, my father’s grandparents didn’t speak English, though weren’t immigrants. They were born, raised, and died on American soil—and they never learned a word of English.</p>
<p>
Oh the irony</p>
<p>Living in America without being able to speak English is hard enough as it is, so its not like immigrants don’t have motivation to learn it. My grandma lived in America for a long time, somewhere around 25 years I think, without speaking English. Its not like she didn’t want to. She picked up a few words here and there but once you reach a certain age, learning a new English isn’t as easy anymore. Forcing someone to do something is just wrong.</p>
<p>English should be the official language - and everyone should have to learn it. I think that before anyone becomes a citizen, they should be fluent in English. I also believe that teens such as ourselves should learn to speak in english as well- instead of the LOL, OMG ROFL, LMAO, G2G texting language we always speak in.
Mind you, I talk like that sometimes, but when people use it in everyday conversation CONSTANTLY, i get a little ticked off.</p>
<p>I have a friend in her 70s whose family emigrated to the United States in the 1930s. She did not speak English and neither did her mother. Her father studied English before they moved to the US. </p>
<p>She was about 6 when they arrived to the US and attended school unable to speak a word of English. She said she got in a lot of trouble until she started to understand the language.</p>
<p>Her mother, a well educated woman with a professional job in her home country, never learned English very well and was unhappy as a result.</p>
<p>However, if they had stayed in their home country they would have been dead. They left Germany at the time Hitler was coming to power. They were Jewish.</p>
<p>Her father had to attend medical school in the United States to practice medicine although he had attended the very best schools in Europe. My friend had a wonderful career in her chosen field and is now retired.</p>
<p>They never received any aid from any government agencies and my friend had to learn English on her own with help from her father. In fact the only reason they were allowed in the United States was because they were able to show that they had financial assets to support themselves.</p>
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<p>Well immigrants don’t have motivation to learn it. Being from California you should know this, particularly Southern California. There’s no incentive to learn it because everything is displayed in Spanish anyway, and there are many up springing Latino/Hispanic/Spanish communities where immigrants don’t need to speak English nor have incentive to do so. If they interact and are immersed in a Spanish community and speak spanish and deal with others who do speak English but also Spanish, they really never have to learn English on their own. </p>
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<p>In general, it is? Really? Forcing someone to abide by rules or laws is wrong? I don’t agree with this general statement.</p>
<p>I guess I don’t really care if the government wants to print things only in English, and I can see basic English abilities being a part of the citizenship test. But I absolutely draw the line at forcing people to speak English before they enter the country. I don’t know of any country that hands out language tests on the airplane. </p>
<p>Additionally, I’m afraid that forcing people to speak English will take away any motivation for English-speaking Americans to learn other languages. Language study is really important for many reasons, and it’s crucial to keep people motivated to learn other languages. I doubt half as many people would learn Spanish if it weren’t so useful in the US. Fewer people learning foreign languages would also greatly weaken the United States’ status as a world power.</p>
<p>Yes, the official language should be Salish.</p>
<p>English and Spanish in the lands bought from Mexico, English only everywhere else. Canada does this fairly well with Quebec.</p>