At a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing today on legislation aiming to make English the official language of the United States, Rep. Mike Conyers (D-Mich.) testified in Spanish. As you can see from the video above, his was a broken, lumbering Spanish, but it’s the thought that counts. Indeed, in the proposed law—the “English Language Unity Act of 2011”—any Spanish at such hearings, even the lumbering kind, would be prohibited.
And that’s not all. Beyond requiring all official functions of the U.S. government to be performed in English, the law would make English the “official” language of the United States. It would implement a more stringent language test for immigrants seeking citizenship; they would have to “understand generally the English language text of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the laws of the United States made in pursuance of the Constitution.” Could you pass a test like that?
Could the sponsor of the bill Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) pass such a test? I'll leave it to Legislative Council at the Washington ACLU, Gabe Rothman:
The bill clearly violates both the spirit and letter of the Constitution. Spiritually, the Constitution is a document obsessed with the free flow of ideas (in whatever language) and the accountability and accessibility of federal, state and local governments to the people. These principles inform the First Amendment, of course, but they are also evident in the intellectual property clause, the Speech and Debate Clause and even the Privileges and Immunities Clauses, which reaffirm petition rights across all levels of government.
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Another lamebrain proposal by Rep. Steve King (R-IA), you know... the guy that wants the Federal Government to override CA Prop. 2 - The Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act of 2008, which passed 63% to 37%, with his PICA Amendment to the Farm Bill. How is it that Republicans only tout states rights when it suits them?
This is also the same guy that equates dog fighting with boxing, the stupidity of which I need not delve into.
The U.S. House Representative's name is JOHN Conyers NOT Mike. Anyways, the United States should push for an English-plus society; where Americans are fluent in the English language and additional languages (e.g. Spanish, French, Arabic).
Lucy: "Speak English, Ricky! SPEAK ENGLISH!"
I spent 15 years living in a Ukrainian neighborhood in Chicago and learned the language and culture. Most of these people spoke at leased three languages including English. It was a common joke that a person who spoke several languages was called multi-lingual and a person who spoke only one language and did that poorly is called an American. The dumbing down of America goes on and on.
I'm a little torn on this issue. I believe that immigrants should be given a chance to gain their citizenship in this country; however, it would be better if they learned Basic English due to the fact that there will be situations while living in this country they will need it. Yes, there are little corners in every city where different cultures live and speak their native language; but they must remember that the majority of this country speaks English. Because there are so many different cultures with different languages that come to this country, I think it's only fair that they learn Basic English. It does not make sense to have our different services like Law Enforcement, Healthcare workers, Social Services, Fire & Rescue, Teachers, etc. learn all the languages of the world. Maybe have them learn the top three spoken in this country. But it does make sense for people that come to this country to learn Basic English, enough English to get around the language barrier. That's all I'm saying. Other than that, I have no problem with them coming to America.
Just keep it simple stupid. This is why this country is going down the tubes, because nitwits like this want to change the essential fabric of this country. Go to any other country, I don't care where it is? Try to push this agenda, and you'll disappear. English is what this country was founded on and it should remain that way. It is fine for people to speak another language or learn another language. Yet there has to be a point where it is not ok! Speak your language at home, when you're out and about speak the national language English!!!
They are multi lingual in all of the developed nations of Europe due to close proximity of their populations, and yet English is the launguage of the British Isles, French in France, Dutch in Holland, Danish in Denmark, German in Germany, Austrian in Austria, Swiss in Switzerland, Italian in Italy, and Spanish in Portugal and Portugese in Portugal. Seems to me we could promote other languages of the world as secondary laugages in high school and colleg and university instruction, while having spoken and written English as our primary language, and language of our political, business, and social discourse? Or would you rather be Canadian, torn between French and English still to this day, only Spanish and English for us?
I respect all languages. But “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s". There are countries that have multi-culture community as well. However, these countries have their own official language and no immigrant seems to feel like they are sitting on the edge of the seat given that fact. What's the problem if english is declared as America's official language? In countries where english is not the first language, immigrants learned to speak the native language. That's what it's supposed to be. I am bi-lingual but I am not stupid to believe that because I can't speak straight american english, I'd deem declaring english as the official language of the United States an infringement of my constitutional rights and so on and so forth. Get real!
When in Rome, do what the Roman's do..."Speak English, Rickey, Speak English!" Lucy said!
In Italy a person can speak any language they want to use. I spoke both Italian and English in Italy. A group of Italians tried to speak in English to me and I responded "Porche mi sta parlare in Englese. Da quanto io so stato a Italias mis soscordare parlare in Englese. Adeso parla solamento Italiano." Many Italians in Italy speak several languages. We should promote as many languages as individuals want to speak, but not by teaching "Bilingual Education". Make a specific language a specific course, but do not try to teach both English and another language at the same time. I speak and write three languages, Italian, Spanish and English. I think Italian is a great language, but I know when I need to speak in English. "Bilingual Education" as praticed in the US prevents instead of promoting the two languages. Engish should be basic and then whatever other language the student wants to learn, Italian, German, etc. as a seperate course. The teacher of such a course needs to respect all the languages that he/she teaches.
Sounds to me like Republicans are trying to work corruption of blood. But, in their defence, they're pretty ignorant. Perhaps we should check if they can read before they vote!
Vote a Dem ticket in AMERICA People.