America Land of the Free.. Free to speak English only

[legalboxers]

America.. Land of the Free to Speak English Only..

Now tell me something. You are only "SUPPOSE" to speak English here.. THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSE TO LEARN ANOTHER LANGUAGE IN SCHOOL FOR..

Foreign Languages taught in colleges and high schools range from English, Spanish, French, German.

Now tell me, when you go to another country and visit for a month.If you dont speak the language, how are you going to order food?

I will have Sushi? what? I will have Sake? I dont understand English IN JAPAN !!

So you mean to tell me, you took Spanish in high school, for those who only have a high school education, you can understand what they are saying, and yet you dismiss it.

Why are we taking languages in high school and college for, and majoring in them?so we know what people are saying?

So I took another language, its ASL. And I am going to show you what I learned.

So using your argument if they Mexicans come here they need to speak the language, if you go to other counties, YOU SHOULD SPEAK THE LANGUAGE TOO, if you can't, then dont waste money on a passport or a tourist visa!

[Moonchild714]

No where in our Constitution does it say you have to Speak English in the USA or that it is Our Language!!! You have to know enough English to take The Citizenship Oath that's all!! Canada's National Languages are French Canadian and English stated in their Constitution, England - English, France - French, Mexico - Spanish, Italy - Italian, Japan - Japanese, China - Chinese and must know English ( more English speaking people in China than USA) Middle Eastern Countries - Arabic, Farsi Turkish, Lebanese, etc... It is not a law tgat you have to speak English in the USA, it's just Bigoted and/or Uneducated, and Cocky Americans who think it is a Law!!! That's why so many Agencies now provide Interpreters and have everything in so many languages because they've been sued. This is the Land Of The Free, Freedom to Speak Your Native Language and Have It Provided To You!!!

For those who say it's expected for those to live here; can you tell the difference between a visitor and permanent resident? Didn't think so!!!

Americans go to other Countries All Cocky Expecting them to understand Us and Our Many Accents (Southern, West Coast, New Yorker, New Englander, Mid Western...) But we refuse to understand them and help them...

[Moonchild714]

legalboxers, Thank you for MHO.

[saeyamazaki]

actually it's just French not French Canadian, French Canadian is either a dialect or people in Canada who are French Canadian.

[Moonchild714]

saeyamazaki, you are correct. Everyone is always so hung up on saying French Canadian around here when referring to Canadians French language.

[saeyamazaki]

Well, I mean it’s not a different language it’s just a different dialect so I just wanted to point that out

[Daniela1982]

That is when the Constitution was created mostly every one spoke English.

[Moonchild714]

Daniela1982, they spkoe England English not American two totally different languages. And the U. S. Constitution has many Amendments added since the Founding Fathers wrote the Original Constitution in which we are the only Developed Country that does not have a designated language!!!

[MainePrincess]

actually you should speak a native American dialect but they had an HUGE immigration problem, maybe that's why morons are so terrified of immigrants? they fear karma coming back to bite them for what their ancestors did

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

I believe no one should be judged cause they don't speak
the Countries language if we go to Mexico how do we know
there will be places to understand our English language vise
versa they come here and need someone to explain to them
what we are saying , Thanks for sharing your MyTake with us.

[GoodGuyBreakingBad]

Thanks For Most Helpful Guy :)

[StickStickity13]

Americans wouldn't be as stupid as they are, if they could speak more languages.

[TenPoundTabby]

America is a country with a history, a common culture, and a majority language just like most every other country in the world. If you don't like that, that's simply reality. You won't get anywhere in a country (especially if you live in it) if you don't speak its language.

That has nothing to do with the fact that you should respect another country by learning its language when you visit there, or especially if you move there. Most tourists don't do that, no matter what country they're from, so I don't see what the deal is. Rudeness is universal and common.

Also, a past history of discrimination has nothing to do with English only. Stop confusing these issues unless your only point is say "America bad." by the way, don't bother looking at the history of other countries. They're even worse. History is pretty bloody.

If you want to succeed in America, you need to learn English. If I lived in China, I'd need to learn Chinese (at least one variant). It's the same thing for everyone. You don't get a pass and neither do I.

[daydreammarie]

I never really understood that type of anger towards people who don't speak your own language. A lot of people are angry a lot of stuff in America is two languages like you get the English version of something lets say instructions and then you have five other pieces of paper that are in different languages, which takes up paper. Or if you're on the phone you have to wait for a long time to get to English. So that upsets some people.

My opinion: We go though one class if we want to of foreign language in high school, then college I do believe is a requirement. But some don't learn anything or forget it cause one semester isn't gonna do much. I for one had to drop out of the class cause I wasn't learning anything and was failing. I don't think it should be taught for a grade. And I think we should have it set up like every single other country where they learn a language at a young age and keep learning it throughout school to get better at it.

I don't know how many times I have felt so uneducated due other people around the world that I have talked to know English. Yet I don't know any other language. So before people start telling people they need to speak English. Why don't they try to learn a new language and see how hard that is and how long that takes. Some forget certain words, or don't know it all that well yet so its probably easier to just read some thing in their own language. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

Another thing the fact that it has taken this long to start giving ASL options for people is quite disappointing.

America is full of opportunities, but for who, only those who are able? It shouldn't be that way. If your a citizen you should be included. Period.

[BadApple1]

To start off with anyone that comes here DOESN’T have to learn English but since they came to live in an English speaking country it would be wise. Those signs you posted are the exception not the rule. I am law enforcement and come across non-English speaking people all the time. Sometimes I have to call for a translator and sometimes we can work it out without one. My in-laws are non-English speaking although they are trying to learn key works Incase of emergencies. I have traveled all over the world and most tourist areas have people that speak English. I have traveled for work so it’s not in tourist areas so it’s a little harder. Language is important. Living in a country that you don’t speak the language would be difficult, I wouldn’t want to do it. It’s very unlikely that a country will ever have multiple languages and everyone speaks them. When people such as Spanish speaking or any other language don’t speak the native language they tend to isolate and that isn’t good for any country.

[LegendarySir]

Dude, calm down. Those who demand foreigners to speak their native language are douchebags, it's that simple. And there's douchebags everywhere. I'm a white foreigner in the Netherlands and I've had a few people complain because I can't speak Dutch. I'm learning it, but it takes some time. For the most part, people are ok with talking to me in English (the level of English here is extremely high anyways), but I'm always gonna meet some people that aren't going to like it, and that's fine. Hell, even the government here doesn't provide much help for non-Dutch speaking people, despite there being a lot of foreigners. In the US, there's a lot of options for people that only speak Spanish.

Just because you've seen some videos of people complaining someone doesn't speak English in America, doesn't mean that's how most people react in the US, it's just a minority. The US is actually very open about the idea of some of their citizens only speaking Spanish, to the point they adapt to them, when it should be the other way around.

I do understand the people that don't want their language to die in their own country, too. So in a way I'm conflicted. You move to a new country, so you should be the one adapting. Now that doesn't mean that as a citizen you shouldn't try to help me out. It's not that I don't want to speak your language, it's that I'm not good enough yet to have a conversation, so until then, if you can, help me. If I go to a new country and I expect them to speak my language, that's douchey, and that happens a lot too with foreigners in America.

[kaylaS91]

I live in a place where thousands of people don’t speak/understand a word of English and doing something as simple as ordering subway or locating certain products at the grocery store would require me to speak a non-English language. Standardization is very important. I can’t imagine the fear in patients receiving help from emergency personnel who don’t understand them nor can they be understood.

But uh... yeah. I agree that this language thing goes both ways. People should learn to communicate in the language of the country they’re currently residing in, whether it be permanently or just on a work/student visa.

[Agirlcalledkill]

I agree but I believe people should make more effort. We're not talking about holidays, we're talking about living and working in a foreign country. If you come to Italy I don't expect you to speak italian if you're on vacation but if you've been living and working here for 10+ years and you don't even know how to build a sentence it shows me you don't give a shit about my country and culture. It's fine if you have just arrived but I've seen people working here all their lives and they couldn't say a word. One of my best friend comes from another country and her parents were struggling with the language but they did their best to learn it and now they can speak it properly. It doesn't take a lot of effort.

[NineBreaker]

I think we should encourage people to learn English if they plan on moving to the US for no other reason than how it will benefit them.

However, if you speak a language other than English, your right to speak another language is a constitutional right protected by the 1st Amendment of the USC. Similarly, we should not force others to speak or not speak. You want to speak in tongues? Have at it! The USC has your back.

If hearing someone speak a language you don't understand bothers or upsets you, then tough luck. The USC supersedes your feelings.

Everyone is up in arms about the 2nd Amendment (no pun intended), but seem to have no problem prohibiting others from exercising their 1st Amendment, when it's without a doubt the most important one.

[TadCurious]

No one expects people who come to the United States to speak English fluently if they are here on a tourist or other non-immigrant visa. But for those who come here to live, it's perfectly legitimate to expect them to know English and speak it. That should be their responsibility and not the responsibility of the receiving country to provide all services in languages that -- in the case of the United States-- are not English. If I were to be granted an immigrant visa to live in France (which I would never want to do) I would expect to have to be proficient in the French language. And I wouldn't consider it France's obligation to cater to me not knowing their language.

[GigiMary]

I hope my opinion is moderate, but I do think you have to learn our language and conform to our cultural heritage if you are going to live here. Because those are their customs and heritage now that they have become American too. English is our and now their language - and its important for them to speak it.

English is our language the same way Japanese is the language in Japan. If you aren't going to put in the time to learn it for a vacation, then hire a translator, or just google translate your way through it.

My point is, that English is the language of America, and it is ridiculous to suggest it isn't, but it is also ridiculous to suggest that someone should expect English to be spoken in 70% of other countries. It is important for countries to have ethnocultural identities.

[Daniela1982]

If you go to another country for a vacation, that is one thing. But when you go to another country to live you will most often learn the language, either after arriving or in a planned move ahead of time. I know kids of Chinese immigrants that speak perfect English, yet their parents just make do but grandparents not at all.

[AllThatSweetJazz]

Being a tourist isn’t the same as immigrating. If you’re going to be a resident then yes, you should be learning the damn language of the culture kind enough to let you in and allow you citizenship.

If you’re tourist then it’s not as big a deal but ideally you should know someone that can help you out and also have a translation dictionary and ideally at least a little bit of practice with basic phrases and words just to help things along.

You teach languages because some people want to learn and they can be good things to know. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t know English in an English speaking country, that’s just obvious.

For a Mexican tourist then fine they don’t need English.

For a Mexican immigrant then yes you should learn the language as part of being a resident; not only is it important for social cohesion but you need to be able to speak the countries language if you need emergency services.

Same principles apply for anyone.

[BobSansMal]

Your premise is slightly in error. There is no "official" language in the U. S. (though it is effectively English throughout most of it.)

I lived in Japan for a year. Didn't speak any Japanese, still don't. Never had trouble buying things, food, drinks, etc... mostly with hand gestures, pointing, etc...

[DDpsy]

"So using your argument if they Mexicans come here they need to speak the language, if you go to other counties, YOU SHOULD SPEAK THE LANGUAGE TOO, if you can't, then dont waste money on a passport or a tourist visa!"

There is a very big fucking difference between going for a 2 week vacation in some tourism heavy location where you do not know the local language and going to live, work , do business and take care of yourself for years in another country where you do not know the local language.

[DWD94]

I dont travel so this doesn't apply to me. I'm not some racist fuck that goes up to latinos speaking Spanish and says "Hur dur speak american", but when you go to live in another country or travel, you should learn the primary spoken language of that country. If you want to go Japan either to live there or to travel, you better learn the language. If you want to live in Germany, then you should learn German.

I learned Spanish and ASL in highschool and NEVER had to use it. Pretty much nothing I learned in school has ever actually helped me other than learning basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

[Kayla45]

Americans are arrogant in many different ways, but forcing a language down someone's throat is where I'd draw the line. I'm a native English speaker and know a decent amount of French too, but that would piss me off if I'm speaking to a friend in French and someone tells me to speak English.

[PinkMichae]

I think it's important for people to speak English in America if they are gonna be living here. If you're a tourist its completely understandable that you don't speak the language. If I were to go live in Italy I would learn how to speak Italian. But i do understand people can be aholes about it.

[MlleCake]

We have no official language in the US. English certainly isn't the native language. But regardless of that, being bilingual increases intelligence, makes one more competitive in the workplace, and creates cultural bridges within domestic society and abroad that are actually quite good for our nation.

[MlleCake]

That's also not ASL for Fuck You, and your offensive sign has a language error on it.

[DeeDeeDeVour]

Wherever I go, I try to make an effort to learn, understand & speak that community's local dialect. Is it too much to ask visiting foreigners & migrants entering America to adapt even just a little? They can start with learning the host's predominant or national language.

[Wharvey98]

I don’t have a problem with non English speakers visiting America. But if you want to live in a country where the official language is English maybe you should learn that. I’d say the same about anywhere else, if you want to live in France learn French, Germany learn German, China learn Mandarin, or even Cantonese. But don’t go somewhere else and expect people to be able to speak your language, because a lot of them won’t.

[PrincessGrail]

If you come to another country to visit, you don’t need to learn the language (though it is helpful). If you come there to live, yes, you should learn the language. And I think the foreign language requirements in schools are silly.

[PrincessGrail]

It helps you be more cultured if you can speak one or more foreign languages. But it shouldn’t be a requirement in school.

[Bluemax]

Yep.