Not exactly looking to start up the debate, but I have a question on the topic: If english is not declared as America’s official/national language, could a non-english speaking citizen seek legal recourse against a government/law enforcement/emergency service organization for not being able to provide them proper service due to language barriers?
I’m not sure on this, but am interested to see the replies.
Yes they could. But I’m pretty sure all government/law enforcement/emergency service organization provide such services in some way.
EDIT: Actually I’m not sure if they could start a legal battle over it, but it wouldn’t be hard to make a big stink about it in America.
I’m assuming that in this hypothetical, another language is not made official in place of English. Just like now, the government is not required to allow tax filings etc. in Spanish because it is not an official language of the US. Revoking the status of English would do nothing to change the status of Spanish (or French, Mandarin etc)
I think it is a great idea.
I’m not against English as a national language, however, Spanish & French must also be declared official/national languages in their respective regions. Louisiana should having being historically French and having a minority of French speakers should be respected and preserved culturally. All former Spanish/Mexican provinces conquered and annexed by the USA, must have a situation not so dissimilar from Quebec where their original inhabitants can interact with the administration of government in Spanish.
[quote]Rohnyn wrote:
I’m not against English as a national language, however, Spanish & French must also be declared official/national languages in their respective regions. Louisiana should having being historically French and having a minority of French speakers should be respected and preserved culturally. All former Spanish/Mexican provinces conquered and annexed by the USA, must have a situation not so dissimilar from Quebec where their original inhabitants can interact with the administration of government in Spanish.[/quote]
What about all the different native Indian dialects? How about the once Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, and Italian communities?
It makes sense for English to be the official language because all the founding documents and constitution are written in that language. If America moves away from English as the dominant language then the people will also be moving away from understanding the constitution without the aid of an interpreter. It’s a slippery slope and a common language is something that binds the country together and gives the people one primary identity. Without it we will end up a fragmented hell hole like Britain.
[quote]dhickey wrote:
[quote]Rohnyn wrote:
I’m not against English as a national language, however, Spanish & French must also be declared official/national languages in their respective regions. Louisiana should having being historically French and having a minority of French speakers should be respected and preserved culturally. All former Spanish/Mexican provinces conquered and annexed by the USA, must have a situation not so dissimilar from Quebec where their original inhabitants can interact with the administration of government in Spanish.[/quote]
What about all the different native Indian dialects? How about the once Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, German, and Italian communities?[/quote]
The Native communies already have official status, in their respective republics (reservations), they have them as the official languages. I think immigrant communities post colonial, should be encouraged to maintain theri language and culture. However, there’s no need to officialize their language unless they have become a pluralilty or more population of their respective region. In the case of Spanish language, English was imposed over their language after a conquest, and they were assured their continued usage of their language. It’s something that should be honored.
[quote]CappedAndPlanIt wrote:
Not exactly looking to start up the debate, but I have a question on the topic: If english is not declared as America’s official/national language, could a non-english speaking citizen seek legal recourse against a government/law enforcement/emergency service organization for not being able to provide them proper service due to language barriers?[/quote]
Swedish is Finland’s other official language although only 5% of the population rely on it and that’s just because they refuse to do finnish which they could not possibly not understand. If cases of government/law enforcement/hospital personnel not being able to deliver in swedish turn up, the swede rights types raise hell about it and so it is mandatory for them to demonstrate fluency in it.
Just thought I would chime in for an example of how things may go down. The mexicans in America have a far stronger case as it is.
[quote]Rohnyn wrote:
In the case of Spanish language, English was imposed over their language after a conquest, and they were assured their continued usage of their language. It’s something that should be honored.[/quote]
Interesting. I had never heard that before.
Probably a reason for that.
How about we just allow people to communicate with each other anyway they want?!
Fuck what the “government thinks” about it.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
How about we just allow people to communicate with each other anyway they want?!
Fuck what the “government thinks” about it.[/quote]
I strongly agree with this.
And since I am in one of the professions named I can say that no matter what language you speak when you call 911 and request a fire truck and an ambulance you will get one and we will do our best to communicate with you and provide care.
We carry dialect books on our rigs so that we can ask basic questions needed for medical care. This seems to help quite a bit.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
How about we just allow people to communicate with each other anyway they want?!
Fuck what the “government thinks” about it.[/quote]
FTW