ok steveA so first of all america, when the first settler came here they voted to speak english and then it became our national language. how long do you think america would have lasted without one unified language?Who voted for what? It's not in the Constituion or any federal law.Canada and Belgium have two languages; Switzerland has three major languages. They've managed to endure. Personally, I think it's advantageous for a nation to speak a single language, but immigrants learn the native language at a certain rate, which has remained pretty much unchanged over the years. The second generation is always fluent in English in the U.S. The Miami area has a very high Hispanic poplulation, and a lot of immigrantion from Latin America. You can survive in some neighborhoods without knowing any English. Yet I've never met a person who was born and raised here who doesn't speak English fluently.The point is, there is a lot of hand wringing and moaning about the language, and it's all for nothing.> not very long as a matter of fact it probably wouldn't even be america today if it weren't for a national languageThat's very interesting, since there is no official national language in the U.S.> secondly you DO need to speak english to become an american citizen....i know this because my mom was rejected citizenship because her (she speaks english very fluent) english wasn't "good enough" so i think your post was based just on how you feel, rather then how it is.Here's what the official U.S. government Web site says on the matter:In reply to:Language Applicants for naturalization must be able to read, write, speak, and understand words in ordinary usage in the English language. Applicants exempt from this requirement are those who on the date of filing: * have been residing in the United States subsequent to a lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 15 years or more and are over 55 years of age; * have been residing in the United States subsequent to a lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 20 years or more and are over 50 years of age; or * have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, where the impairment affects the applicant's ability to learn English.OK, I exaggerated, but I know of people who could barely ask for a cup of coffee in English, but who were naturalized. Are you sure that your mother gave you the real reason she was rejected? That is very hard to believe. Was she unable to answer the questions on the small American history and civics quiz?"Good moral character" is also a formal requirement.
-
Minority
-
true there is a lot of different languages in the states and i agree with you on the one language being advantageous. and the real reason for her not becoming a citizen is purely because of her not speaking fluent "enough" english (at the time of test) she's lived there for over 30 years of her life and now we have just moved to the netherlands (she's dutch) and i do admit learning a different language is not easy at all...seeing as to i have to do it right now. lol
-
the real reason for her not becoming a citizen is purely because of her not speaking fluent "enough" english (at the time of test) she's lived there for over 30 years of her lifeI really find that hard to believe. My wife got her citizenship 5-6 years after coming to this country and getting married to me (I don't know if that made any difference except for her eligibility). Anyways, she never learned English (she had Russian in school) and she spoke English very poorly at the time of the test yet was able to pass. After 17 years her English is still lousy. She couldn't write a legible sentence if you had a gun to her head.
-
lol ya. she didn't take her test after thirty years she took it way earlier then that(before i was born) and i guess that one of the questions weren't "properly" worded so she didn't understand it and they said if you can't understand that well enough you're not eligeble to become a citizen. but i guess it all worked out ok because now i have two citizenships(passports) american, and dutch
-
You don't even need to answer every question.
-
well tell you the truth i don't really care if you buy it or not because it is true and i have proof of it. and steveA i know i don't it's just fun:P
-
I meant that you don't have to answer every question on the citizenship tests. You're allowed to get a certain number wrong, like on the driver's license test.Was it a basic question (like, "What country are you currently a citizen of?"), rather than a history/government quiz question?
-
oh. and all i know is that it was a required one that she had to have....and to this day she is still pissed about it:S it's kinda scarey actually.
-
A Florida state legislator just introduced a bill requiring that that all public schools students in grades K, 1, and 2 receive Spanish instruction, in addition to everything else.
-
hm....well i guess it's always good to have a second language.
-
I don't feel it's wrong for someone to move to another part of the world to pursue a better life and escape persecution for whatever reason. I'm not saying I encourage illegal immigration, but if I were stuck in the same situation that some people in the world are in, I know I would feel differently about it.It's true that having illegal immigrants can be damaging in any country, but at the same time, they are generally the ones who do the dirty work that nobody else will do for such low wages. Imagine if all illegal immigrants could be removed from the US. It would more than likely have a pretty powerful immediate impact on the economy. Although I don't agree with most of Bush's ideas, his illegal immigration work policy doesn't sound too bad.As far as language barriers, I often feel slack needs to be given to some point. Some people can pick up new languages easily, but some people struggle even after they have been immersed in a new language for some time. In the case of illegal immigrants, it's obvious they would join the foreign community so that they don't stand out.I think it would be great if schools in the US required students to take a foreign language starting at a young age, as many other countries do with English and other widely-spoken languages. It's easy to talk about how annoying it is when other people speak their native language, but imagine how any US citizen would feel if nobody would speak English with them while in whatever region of the world.I was friends with several exchange students, and many people were rude and impatient with them while they were just figuring out the basics of the English language. But, did any of those people ever stop and try to help them? On another note, it takes time to realize what is acceptable and what isn't in a new place. Certain things might seem rudeor offensive in one country, but not rude in another. So, a person that is trying to seem on good behavior might unknowingly be being rude in another.