Do you think we need to institute a National Language?

America is an English speaking country. Why do we need a -law- stating this? When did it become necessary to create a law about everything? Speak English, live in a "ghetto" of your own ethnic background, or go home if it's that great.

English First

Um no. We don't need the government dictating what languages everybody speaks.

Your story underscores the USA's need to have English as its language ---It costs America billions to write everything the gov puts out in 20 different languages - English is the national language right now in everything but title - why not Spanish...because our roots go to England not Spain....New England....also the # that make Spanish a language spoken by many they are illegal

in addition only 10% of citizens speak spanish

really you sure? press 1 for English and 2 for Spanish

English is the international language and definitely the US language. Learning English whether in school or other wise is an employability skill that is not substituted.

There would be abit of fighting over what language is picked, the large percentage who would have to learn another language wouldnt be amused...But after that is over with it would be easier in general...just had a thought, it would put peaple out of jobs! (translaters etc)

I am just sick of getting pickles on my hamburger!

I speak english & french, I only ever get mixed up when im thinking in both at the same time, i come out talking frenglish lol

I overstand that problem too--especially with Russian. LOL

Im fine aslong as i think in french while im here & in english when im in england, I want to learn italian next, but I find learning a language hard if i dont use it everyday...

The trick (no kidding) is to ignore the grammatical structure and learn the vocabulary as though it belongs to your mother tongue.

For instance in English a chair is also a stool or a seat just add the new word sitzplatz or stuhl to the vocab list. Once you have the vocabulary the grammar rules come much easier. It is how children who are multi-lingual process the data from infantcy on up. As a point of fact the languages need not be from the same language family in the case of my eldest daughter she speaks English, German, Lithuanian, Manderin, and Arabic (her living languages) Latin, Aramaic, Coptic, and ancient Egytian (her dead languages) she is working on Etruscan now.

If I want to live and work in most other countries in the world, I need to learn their language. True, many people throughout the world speak English, but that will not help me in the work place. As far as the US is concerned, even the early immigrants (prior to the revolution) from Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, etc. learned English in order to communicate with their fellow colonists. My grandfather immigrated from Germany in the late 1880s and immediately enrolled in a school to learn English. So did his brothers. When they were together, later in life, they might speak some German, but usually one of them would say, "English! We are in American." By the way, with a few exceptions, if an immigrant wants to become a US Citizen, he/she has to learn English.

When i moved here to france i was just put in a school & told to learn french fast, i found it impossibel when my mum would make me sit out coping verbs etc.

But, you have learned French - or at least enough to get buy. When I lived in Norway I was forced to learn enough of the language in order to shop and make my needs known. Interestingly, though, many Norwegians wanted to speak English with me. So I made a deal with a few - they can speak English, but they had to help me with my Norwegian. By the way, the copying out verbs is the bane of any language education. OMG - how I hated doing that when I was in school. And that was English - my native tongue!

I now speak good french. When my mum got to the pen & paper out & gave me a verbe to do in different tenses i would have my shoes ready to grab them & run out of the house...or just hide, she got the point & told me to learn it myself if i was going to be so stubborn lol
Im better then her now (speaking, not writing tho...)