# English as the "official" language of the US **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 6, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066 "2012-05-06T13:45:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/21 "2012-05-07T18:37:22Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > If you want to be an American Citizen then you need to understand English. Why? ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/22 "2012-05-07T18:48:44Z")
> [@gatorslap](#): > > To become a naturalized citizen, yes. Natural-born citizens can speak any language. > > I do not understand why some people are against the use of Hawaiian in Hawaii, French in Louisiana and northern Maine, Inuit in Alaska, German in North Dakota, or Spanish in New Mexico. Because you can’t have a polyglot democracy. Citizens needs to be able to talk to each other and their elected representatives. If you want a empire where subjects are isolated from their government and other subjects then a polyglot is fine. People who actually encourage people not to be able to communicate which each other are enemies of democracy. The EU bureaucrats are in the process of converting Europe from a group of sovereign democratic nations into a polyglot empire of subjects. What better way to destroy democracy than reduce the ability to communicate with each other. A more subtle of censorship. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/23 "2012-05-07T18:56:32Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Because you can’t have a polyglot democracy. Says who? Canada? Ireland? France? Spain? Switzerland? The European Union as a whole? India? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/24 "2012-05-07T19:02:49Z")
> [@Sheriru](#): > > An interesting topic here… > As described in earlier posts, you must speak English to become a U.S. resident. Despite that, there is no requirement that a person _born_ here speak English at all to be considered a full citizen. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/25 "2012-05-07T19:10:01Z")
Under the Help America Vote Act, election materials need to be provided in alternate languages if the most recent Census shows a certain percentage of a particular county (or parish, I suppose, in LA) are solely proficient in that language. Back when I worked elections a decade ago, that meant King County needed to have Chinese language ballots and materials, while Yakima County needed Spanish. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/26 "2012-05-07T21:04:34Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think you can make the argument that having an official language is the equivalent of having separate but equal schools. No matter what you say in theory, the practice in the real world is going to put some people at a disadvantage. Establishing one language as the official language will inevitably deny civil rights to the people who use a different language. > > Would anyone dispute that if California adopted Spanish as its official language and enacted all laws in Spanish that this would put English speakers at a disadvantage and restrict their civil rights? So why should California do the same thing to Spanish speakers by adopted English as its official language? If people in California use English and Spanish then the government in California should use English and Spanish. That is why I added the “so long as” clause. If 83% of Dirty Butte Co., WY speaks English as primary language, and the other 17% have Spanish, Cheyenne, or Vietnamese as primary language but are fluent in English, nobody is harmed by that county making it official. If Los Pies Dolorosos Co TX is 47% Spanish speaking, with 20% effectively monolingual, that’s a totally different story. ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/27 "2012-05-07T21:21:34Z")
> [@Saltire](#): > > Under the Help America Vote Act, election materials need to be provided in alternate languages if the most recent Census shows a certain percentage of a particular county (or parish, I suppose, in LA) are solely proficient in that language. > > Back when I worked elections a decade ago, that meant King County needed to have Chinese language ballots and materials, while Yakima County needed Spanish. I was pleased to see on that Wikipedia page that not only does Washington State not have an official language, we’re a “English Plus” state that specifically acknowledges the need to provide government materials in the language spoken by the citizen. BTW that must have been an interesting job. I wager Snohomish County now has a high demand for Russian ballots. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/28 "2012-05-07T21:26:46Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Because you can’t have a polyglot democracy. Citizens needs to be able to talk to each other and their elected representatives. If you want a empire where subjects are isolated from their government and other subjects then a polyglot is fine. People who actually encourage people not to be able to communicate which each other are enemies of democracy. The EU bureaucrats are in the process of converting Europe from a group of sovereign democratic nations into a polyglot empire of subjects. What better way to destroy democracy than reduce the ability to communicate with each other. A more subtle of censorship. And how is picking one language and making it the only official language going to help? It’s going to have the exact opposite effect - you’re now making people more isolated from their government if they don’t speak the official language. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/29 "2012-05-07T21:55:14Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And how is picking one language and making it the only official language going to help? It’s going to have the exact opposite effect - you’re now making people more isolated from their government if they don’t speak the official language. Exactly how many people who are born and raised in the United States, do you think, don’t speak English? Naturalized citizens are required to read to read write and speak English. ---
**Author:** ![gatorslap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gatorslap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gatorslap)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/30 "2012-05-07T22:16:36Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Exactly how many people who are born and raised in the United States, do you think, don’t speak English? Naturalized citizens are required to read to read write and speak English. Do you support Basque separatism? Do you believe Quebec should be its own country? How about Wales? In India there are 30 languages with at least 1 million speakers – should it be split into 30 countries? ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/31 "2012-05-07T23:23:52Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Exactly how many people who are born and raised in the United States, do you think, don’t speak English? Naturalized citizens are required to read to read write and speak English. 1. More than you think. 2. Required to barely read, write and speak English, more like. I know lots of naturalized citizens who can hardly speak English at all. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2012, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/32 "2012-05-07T23:28:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I think you can make the argument that having an official language is the equivalent of having separate but equal schools. I don’t think so. I can learn English or Spanish. I can’t learn to be black, white, or asian. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/33 "2012-05-08T02:36:06Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Says who? Canada? Ireland? France? Spain? Switzerland? The European Union as a whole? India? These are your examples showing that polyglot democracy is a good idea? Have you never heard of the Quebec separatist movement? The ETA? Switzerland is a loose confederation and I think you will find there is little mixture of languages within cantons. French is official language of France. I’ve already stated my opinion that the EU is trying to destroy democracy in the Europe. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/34 "2012-05-08T02:49:59Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > 1. More than you think. > > 2. Required to barely read, write and speak English, more like. I know lots of naturalized citizens who can hardly speak English at all. That fact that you can’t supply a number for #1 is a demonstration of the weakness of your arguments. The English requirements for citizenship are not very strong. Do you deduce from that that all of the hundreds of languages that immigrants speak should be supported also? Do you actually think that reducing the United States to a tower of babel will strengthen democracy. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/35 "2012-05-08T02:52:09Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > These are your examples showing that polyglot democracy is a good idea? Have you never heard of the Quebec separatist movement? The ETA? Switzerland is a loose confederation and I think you will find there is little mixture of languages within cantons. How have they destroyed democracy? > [@](#): > > I’ve already stated my opinion that the EU is trying to destroy democracy in the Europe. Mmkay. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/36 "2012-05-08T02:58:06Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Exactly how many people who are born and raised in the United States, do you think, don’t speak English? Why is that an issue? Yes, the majority of Americans speak English - just like the majority of Americans are Christian and the majority of Americans are white. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be a white Christian English-speaker to be an American. Americans can have different languages just like they can have different religions and different races. To me, what keeps a democracy strong is the willingness to allow differences to exist. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/37 "2012-05-08T03:07:14Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > How have they destroyed democracy? Read my previous posts. I would also suggest reading S. I. Hayakawa’s book, “Language in Thought and Action”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/38 "2012-05-08T03:13:21Z")
That’s it? A reading assignment? Citing someone’s opinion is not like citing evidence or fact. Having heard some of what Hayakawa has had to say, I have no interest in reading further. Why don’t you make your citation into argument if you think it’s so good? And your previous posts do not establish either facts or reasoning to establish that democracy has been destroyed anywhere by multilingualism. As I pointed out before, your statements are nothing but conclusions. Bring an actual argument. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/39 "2012-05-08T03:25:29Z")
> [@gatorslap](#): > > Do you support Basque separatism? Do you believe Quebec should be its own country? How about Wales? In India there are 30 languages with at least 1 million speakers – should it be split into 30 countries? The answer for the Basque and Quebec are yes. Wales has also no one that doesn’t speak English, so no. Do you actually think the current situation in India is actually good. If you don’t speak Hindi, then you are a second class citizen. Look how much blood has been shed in Africa trying to force people who don’t have a common language and culture to live under a single flag. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066/40 "2012-05-08T03:40:46Z")
> [@JoelUpchurch](#): > > Do you actually think the current situation in India is actually good. If you don’t speak Hindi, then you are a second class citizen. You have no idea what you’re talking about. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-as-the-official-language-of-the-us/621066.md?page=3)