U.S. should have Eng, Spanish, French as official language!

Guest User   Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:20 am GMT
Even if this list is true, the number of French speakers is decreasing very fast in USA.

For example, the number of French speakers is now less than 2 million in USA. So, French is now fourth, after English, Spanish and Chinese, and some languages like Tagalog will be more spoken than French in the near future.

So, when an American study French in USA, he or she don't remember a word in the next two years because they don't speak it anymore in the country.

The tendency is the opposite with Spanish. There are more than 50 million that speak Spanish there. An American that study Spanish, know that he/she can use it in a lot of States with a lot of people.
Visitor User   Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:33 am GMT
<< Even if this list is true, the number of French speakers is decreasing very fast in USA.

For example, the number of French speakers is now less than 2 million in USA. So, French is now fourth, after English, Spanish and Chinese, and some languages like Tagalog will be more spoken than French in the near future. >>

Spanish is the one that is disappearing among Hispanic communities. 2nd generation hispanics speak English exclusively. The Spanish speakers are supplemented by illegal immigrants from hispanic countries

<< So, when an American study French in USA, he or she don't remember a word in the next two years because they don't speak it anymore in the country.

The tendency is the opposite with Spanish. There are more than 50 million that speak Spanish there. An American that study Spanish, know that he/she can use it in a lot of States with a lot of people. >>

No, the reason why Americans choose Spanish it's because of its "easy language" identity. But in reality they just use it as a stepping stone to graduate from secondary schools and after graduation they remember not a single Spanish word not even "hasta la vista", "La vida loca", or "Bailamos". I heard Americans sing "Bailamos" but don't even know the meaning of the word. The requirements for Spanish is easy. To be able to read Spanish text could give you a very high grade.

On the other hand, those who chose French, undergo a very rigid process. Unlike in Spanish, French department does not allow students to pass the subject without being able to express themselves even with the use of simple tenses. So, by the time they graduate, they can at least speak it at least in higher than basic level.

In other words, those who chose French are serious with it and they take it by heart and they love it and with Spanish it's not. The latter is only being taken for granted getting a high grade but unable to speak it.
K.   Fri Feb 05, 2010 7:47 pm GMT
No, we shouldn't. It costs a lot of money to print everything in multiple languages. I don't even think we should have ballots in other languages except in Puerto Rico. We don't want to become like Belgium and Canada. We should learn other languages, but people who want to be
"American" citizens and vote should learn English.

Our passports are in three languages-that's enough. I don't like the new passports with all those quotes in them. Do we have to reflect diversity all the time? We actually can't-we'll always end up leaving out some group and offending them. It's better to just keep things "official" looking. The State Department isn't Project Runway.
Franco   Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:19 pm GMT
The only official language in USA should be Spanish.
Guest User   Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:28 pm GMT
No, el español solo debe ser oficial en Nuevo Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guam, Marianas, Arizona, Colorado, California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Nueva York, Nueva Jersey, Rhode island, Utah y Nevada, donde al menos el 10% de la población lo habla.
kevin   Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:38 pm GMT
Un idioma donde solo lo habla el 10% de la poblacion no tiene por que ser oficial. Si se hiciese un referendum no se votaría por ser oficial.
Guest User   Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:43 pm GMT
Bueno, el romanche es hablado por el 1% de los suizos y es oficial en Suiza.
Paul   Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:52 pm GMT
<< There are more than 50 million that speak Spanish there. An American that study Spanish [USA] >>


***NO THERE ARE NOT!!!!!***

STOP REPEATING THIS NONSENSE.

There are 50 million people of "hispanic origin" in the U.S. That says NOTHING about the language they speak. Most of them are Americans, and in America WE SPEAK ENGLISH - "hispanics" included.

Just to demonstrate how ridiculous this logic is, consider the following:

In the United States, there are 43 million "German-americans", roughly 15% of the total population.

If you wanted to follow "hispanic" logic, you could then say that there are 43 million German speakers in the U.S.

...which of course would be a bold faced lie/distortion.
Franco   Fri Feb 05, 2010 8:55 pm GMT
In my opinion USA needs more than 100 millions of first generation Hispanic migrants to make Spanish an official language. That would be a truly demographic bomb.
Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy!   Fri Feb 05, 2010 10:21 pm GMT
Americans ARE NOT STUPID!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJuNgBkloFE
Guest User   Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:18 pm GMT
<< There are more than 50 million that speak Spanish there. An American that study Spanish [USA] >>

Yes. It is confirmed. According to the US Census there are 47 million of Hispanics.

According Sinovate, 56% of them speak Spanish as first language, and 26% of them are bilingual. The other 18% speak it as second language or don't speak it.

Besides, according to the Hispanic Center Pew, there are 8.3 million of illegal Hispanics.

So, there are some 50 million Hispanics that speak Spanish.

Finally, you should add all the Anglos that studied Spanish and have a good knowledge.

I think that 52-53 million people speak Spanish in USA.
Gate-crasher   Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:42 pm GMT
<< Spanish is the one that is disappearing among Hispanic communities. 2nd generation hispanics speak English exclusively. The Spanish speakers are supplemented by illegal immigrants from hispanic countries >>

You managed to provide the argument for your own rebuttal. *Every* foreign language disappear amongst 2nd generation speakers. The thing about Spanish (and Chinese, for that matter) is that there is a net influx of 1st gen speakers. In fact there is a sizeable population of immigrants, illegal or not, who only speak those languages. The same couldn't be said about French or Italian, for instance.
USAF VET   Tue Feb 09, 2010 12:56 am GMT
Mexicans living in America need to speak English, If i ever moved to Mexico i would learn Spanish,same if i moved to Germany id learn German etc...It's considered disrespectful to speak foreign and and even bigger slap to have signs in America written in Spanish or telephone options in Spanish; this is so disappointing our fore-fathers are turning in their graves. I'm not being mean in my option, im simply saying respect other cultures and stop with the mixing them together, it takes away the fascinating experience of traveling to foreign countries.
Emperatrice de Antarctica   Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:05 am GMT
Texas or California are not foreign lands for the Mexicans. They are just parts of Mexico that were stolen by USA not a long time ago. So they don't feel the need to learn English.
Annoyed   Tue Feb 09, 2010 5:55 am GMT
I'm sorry, but if they want to remain segregated by language while reducing their opertunities to progress in their new home, they can do as you say. If they wish to open doors to a wider range of opportunities, they should adjust with the times, drop the old grudges and learn English. Nobody here cares that Spain or Mexico used to own California, etc... They themselves stole it from the native populations in the first place. Times change, I think you should too.