The English language as the official language of the United States

Originally posted by BackFire
Fish n chips is damn delicious.

Slow your damn roll. It is not being argued it isn't delicious.

It is being argued a nice breadstick stuffed with mozzarella cheese is even better

I do enjoy bread and cheese.

Fish n Chips is more of a craving food for me. I don't eat it very often but every now and then I'll want it really badly and at that point it's wonderful. Breadsticks is more the kind of thing I can enjoy all the time.

As an American, the "chips" I prefer with fish are steak fries.

I’ve never been a fan of steak fries. I prefer thinner fries.

Would the designation of the “official” language mean anything or would it be official like each state has an “official” state bird?

Yeah. Offical don't mean shit in this Ballless society of PC Lefty Douchebaggery we live in.

Don't Wanna Offend any one unless they are white.

Then OFFEND away.

Originally posted by Quincy
Would the designation of the “official” language mean anything or would it be official like each state has an “official” state bird?

I got the impression from the OP that speaking the language would be required before immigrating here.

You mean the WAY It is Supposed to Be Done NOW!?

Is speaking English a current requirement?

Back in the Days were becoming a Legal Citizens required more then just Walking Here.....YES! YES IT WAS!!!! One of MANY REQUIREMENTS!

Originally posted by Flyattractor
[b]Yeah. Offical don't mean shit in this Ballless society of PC Lefty Douchebaggery we live in.

Don't Wanna Offend any one unless they are white.

Then OFFEND away. [/B]

Fly speaks the truth.

I think having an official language is silly and leaves no real possibility of language shift. There will always be a dominant language in a geographical area, but there are likewise always going to be future developments.

Even “white” places have undergone this shift throughout history. It happens.

Originally posted by Impediment
Does the English language deserve to be or need to be officially and legally declared the language of the United States of America?

Should it be a requirement to know basic, rudimentary English?

Why or why not?

I checked the stats a while back.

The US has more English speakers, as a percentage of the population, than the UK. But the UK has official English Language designations on government stuff. So not sure what's holding the US back. I guess we still think we are better than our British relatives after we disowned them back in the 1770s?

Welsh is also a legally official language in the UK. There's also currently pressure to recognise Gaelic and Irish as official languages.

No reason why the US couldn't do the same and make several languages official.

Originally posted by BackFire
I got the impression from the OP that speaking the language would be required before immigrating here.

Or you should be required to learn the language once you get here. Give them time to learn and then have people take a test 1 year after arriving to prove they can speak the language, etc.

I cannot imagine moving permanently to another country and not bothering to *ever* learn the language.

My friends mom has lived in this country for over 30 years and she can barely speak the language.

Freedom of Speech. Get that "required to learn" shit outta here.

Originally posted by Surtur
Or you should be required to learn the language once you get here. Give them time to learn and then have people take a test 1 year after arriving to prove they can speak the language, etc.

I cannot imagine moving permanently to another country and not bothering to *ever* learn the language.

My friends mom has lived in this country for over 30 years and she can barely speak the language.

I think most people who immigrate here legally do learn the language beforehand or shortly after. Like I said my girlfriend’s aunt had lived in California for 25 years and doesn’t speak English. But she lives in a city with a huge Mexican population so she doesn’t really need to in her day to day life. I think these people are exceptions though. From my own experience here, my girlfriend and several of her friends want to move to America or Canada, and so they all learned English as a result and speak it fairly well.

Originally posted by jaden_2.0
Welsh is also a legally official language in the UK. There's also currently pressure to recognise Gaelic and Irish as official languages.

No reason why the US couldn't do the same and make several languages official.

What about them?

Originally posted by ares834
Freedom of Speech. Get that "required to learn" shit outta here.

People who live in the US are and always will be free to speak whatever language they like.

However, seeing as how the nation is overwhelmingly a predominantly English-speaking nation I do think that people who wanna immigrate here should be required to at least know the language.