A controversial proposal to make English the official language of Nashville, TN.

[JFox1]

English the official language in Nashville???? Gott im Himmel!!!

 

[OhhJim]

I honestly don't see how making English the official language will change anything. Let 'em do it, I don't see the harm. It'll probably have exactly the same effect as saying the Pledge of Allegiance, which is to say: No Effect at All.

 

[JPPT1974]

I live in TN and we speak in "Southern accents"
But Spanish is growing here for the past couple of years.

 

[LovesTruth]

The secret to America's success is conformity to common America values not diversity. Diversity of language destroys a country... or atleast makes unity harder, and hinders teamwork.

It is about time. Let the immigrants do what millions of others do... learn to speak and assimilate or do what millions did who failed to succeed here: go back home.

 

[PacificPandeist]

Hah!! English has been the Official Language of California for twenty years, by Constitutional amendment.... fat lot of good its done here....

//// Pacific PanDeist

 

[Amin]

I don't know about you, but I get tired of
picking up an instuction booklet and have to search for the English version of the instructions.

Amin ~Short for the musical note~~~Aminor~~~

 

[OhhJim]

Diversity of language destroys a country...

I know this is futile, but do you have any historical examples?

 

[Arnold_Philips]

Did they also make H2O the official chemical compound of the ocean?

 

[Arnold_Philips]

I know this is futile, but do you have any historical examples?

Language can definitely cause problems for a nation, though I hesitate to say that it has the power to destroy.

Belgium was created in the 1830s and had problems because the country was split roughly half and half with French and Flemish (Dutch) speakers. The problem was geographic (North vs South), religious (Catholic vs Dutch Reformed), economic (French were generally richer), and so on. What made it even worse was that the tables eventually turned, as valuable resources were discovered in the north, and the Flemish-speaking Belgians became the wealthy ruling class.

Another example would be in Quebec, where the divisions are similar (religious, economic, cultural, geographic).

 

[soblessed53]

The secret to America's success is conformity to common America values not diversity. Diversity of language destroys a country... or atleast makes unity harder, and hinders teamwork.

It is about time. Let the immigrants do what millions of others do... learn to speak and assimilate or do what millions did who failed to succeed here: go back home.

Why don't we start moving to Mexico and make them learn English there, and print everything bilingual so we can understand it!

 

[Arnold_Philips]

Why don't we start moving to Mexico and make them learn English there, and print everything bilingual so we can understand it!

This does happen. Ever been to Cancun, Cozumel, or Puerta Vallarta? Everyone speaks English there in order to serve the American tourists. And you can bet that this trend holds in many other tourist destinations.

People understand that learning English is an incredibly valuable skill to have. Back when American immigrants were Germans, Italians, Jews, and Eastern Europeans, do you think they learned English very quickly? They didn't. It took at least a couple generations for the native tongue to become English.

And look at the Hispanic immigrants today. They know that they need to speak English and expend the time, energy, and money to do it. They take night classes, go through pains of making sure their children learn English, and so on. These immigrants today are better about learning the language in America than were your ancestors.

 

[cavell]

Yep,because of all the hispanic immigrants and TN has more than it's share of legal/iillegal ones,as does most agricultural areas of America.

I expect Britain to come out of the E.U. The reason being to stop the over-run of E.U. passport immigrants. Which this island cannot maintain.

I do believe that the book of the 'Revelation' supports such an exodus from the E.U.

We wait to see the scriptural fillment.

Amen

 

[bammertheblue]

Wow. People are actually complaining about instructions being printed in a variety of languages?
I don't know about you, but I've had instruction booklets printed in many languages for as long as I can remember (since the mid-80s, really). No one seemed to object to japanese, french, german, spanish, mandarin, russian, etc. versions of things.
Now, of course, with the immigration debate, hispanics have become the "other people" that we are to fear, so people start freaking out about things being in spanish. Interesting.

Just FYI, for those of you who may not know any immigrants: most of them DO speak english. However, it's not like a person gets a green card or crosses a border and immediately has the knowledge of how to speak fluent, understandable english downloaded into his or her brain. My friends who are not native speakers mostly taught themselves english through TV and conversation with other people. It's not an easy process, but it is one that most immigrants want to undertake (often the elderly are the most resistant, actually).
Sure, my friends Cesar, Amilcar, and Marvin all prefer to speak Spanish when it's just the three of them. Why wouldn't they? It's the language they learned first and feel most comfortable using, and the language they can communicate best in.
So please, next time you hear a bunch of people speaking Spanish, please don't assume that they cannot speak english or refuse to learn. Sure, it's true in some cases, but certainly not in all.

 

[indra_fanatic]

Amazing. Half of the council (nineteen out of forty) either don't agree that English is the language of the nation or don't care to speak up either way. That's proof we don't have a country anymore.

 

[PacificPandeist]

Amazing. Half of the council (nineteen out of forty) either don't agree that English is the language of the nation or don't care to speak up either way. That's proof we don't have a country anymore.

Friend, that's been a loooooooong time gone....

//// Pacific PanDeist

 

[white dove]

Amazing.....after all these years the West is having to vote to speak the native language.

And that would be....???


I love how some people (not suggesting it's that ^ poster, specifically) take a topic such as this one and turn it into a whole "us" vs. "them" situation. Every single American who's posted so far, no doubt, has a similar family history of how they got here in the first place. Get over it. Your family were immigrants, too.


On that note, I personally don't think I'd be against a proposal to make English the official language of America simply because, as others have already stated, it is more commonplace than say Mandarin Chinese or Swahili. It just makes logical sense to do so. English (even improper English) has been around here for so long already. HOWEVER, I'd LOVE for America to be as bilingual as our commonly-joked about Canuck neighbors up North. It just makes more sense in such a globally-conscious/culturally-integrated society to do so. That should be mandatory, as well. Spanish would make sense as a second language, but why limit it? I feel as though children would really benefit from adopting a second language, be it the language from their own ancestory or someone else's.


Btw, I just loved some of the posts on here so far. Excellent. I almost said "amen" for a few of them.

 

[lioninoil]

English bill step away from being Metro law.

A controversial proposal to make English the official language of Nashville passed the Metro Council without a vote to spare Tuesday. It needs council approval again next month to become law.

The council approved the measure by a 21-10 vote, with five members abstaining and four not voting. Twenty-one votes is the minimum number needed for passage on the 40-member council, and opponents said they would be lobbying aggressively to change some minds.

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061122/NEWS0202/611220456

This should be done across the country, starting at the Federal level.

But then, considering how much the Dems courted illegal aliens this past election, it shouldn't surprise anybody but that illegal aliens are going to get the red carpet treatment from Congress.

If you're going to come to this country — or visit this country — you're going to speak English and that should be THAT.

 

[lioninoil]

The USA is an Anglo-Saxon country. They are being overtaken by the Latin minority that is already more numerous than the African American minority.

The way I see it is: Either declare English as the official language or step aside and learn Spanish.

How about this? If one lives in America, or a territory which is run (and funded) by America — one reads, writes and speaks standard English as the first and primary language?

 

[bammertheblue]

This should be done across the country, starting at the Federal level.

But then, considering how much the Dems courted illegal aliens this past election, it shouldn't surprise anybody but that illegal aliens are going to get the red carpet treatment from Congress.

If you're going to come to this country — or visit this country — you're going to speak English and that should be THAT.

And most people who live here DO speak english. (I would assume that a lot of people who visit here do as well). It's not like one can just flip a lightswitch and learn english, however, or learn it well enough to be able to speak it well in all circumstances.
I really have no problem with making english the official language, I just think it's a bit silly. There's nothing wrong with making reasonable accommodations that would benefit society (For example, safety signs in english and spanish if there are a lot of people in the city whose strongest language is spanish). That's just common sense and will benefit everyone in society, not just those who speak Spanish.

 

[PacificPandeist]

This should be done across the country, starting at the Federal level.

But then, considering how much the Dems courted illegal aliens this past election, it shouldn't surprise anybody but that illegal aliens are going to get the red carpet treatment from Congress.

If you're going to come to this country — or visit this country — you're going to speak English and that should be THAT.

I'd think if the Dems wanted to court Hispanics they'd do it by offering easy opportunities to learn English....

//// Pacific PanDeist