Yes, if you can't speak English than Bye Bye. I did not feel this way a bit ago but I do now. I can not believe the county pays you more money if you are bilingual. Wrong! This is America and English is the language we speak here. I should not have to take a Spanish class to get a decent job in the country I was born in......B/S

Any immigrant knows darn well if they are going to make it here they need to assimilate. That includes learning English. If they have a problem adjusting to the American culture, their kids certainly will not. Courts have ruled that documents are not valid if signed by a person who cannot speak English fluently. If not accomanied by a translation, it might as well be toilet paper. Call it the price of doing business if we're going to allow immigrants into the country.

Official : "authorized by authority: approved, recognized, or issued by a government, public body, or authority." (Encarta on-line)

Yes, if the USA has "official" currency it should have an "official" language. 

I agree with all of you above.  People will be richer if they learn English and retain their native languages at home, good for them.  But learning English *has* to be in their mindset.  I resent that tax dollars are used in creating 14 different language versions of anything and I resent that election ballots are in anything but English.  If people are clever enough to manage to arrive here, darn it, they can learn English.  

Let me ask this: what about people who can't read in any language?  Should we also be upset that many Americans can't read?  Are we upset that taxpayer dollars are spent to help them vote and get licenses etc?

Second, if someone has a skill that is valuable, they should get paid more.  I don't care if your second language is Spanish or Farsi or Java or Ruby on Rails.  You don't have to speak any second language to get a job, but how often do you hear people complain they can't get a job because they don't know SQL?  If you want to make more money, learn more skills.

But if I went to Greece, I'd have to speak Greek...or Germany, it'd be German, France, French, China/Chinese....why not here.

Let me ask this: what about people who can't read in any language?  Should we also be upset that many Americans can't read?  Are we upset that taxpayer dollars are spent to help them vote and get licenses etc?

Tom, go back and read your first paragraph. Do you see something wrong here? People "who can't read in any language" and "taxpayer dollars are spent to help them vote and get licenses. etc?"

Licenses for what? Certainly not driving. Anyone who can't read can't drive.

But if I went to Greece, I'd have to speak Greek...or Germany, it'd be German, France, French, China/Chinese....why not here.

Because certain politicians kowtow to minorities in order to get votes. Most don't honestly give a rat's hind end about minority groups - Both Clintons showed their true colors on that issue recently when Obama threw a wrench into Hillary's "cinch" nomination - but pretend they do because they're after their vote, not unlike a guy who tells a woman that she's really something just so he can get laid, then afterward crawls out the bathroom window, climbs over the fence, pushes his car down two houses so she won't hear the loud exhaust when he starts it, and takes off!

Sí michelle..... Por supuesto.

Pero todavía insisto que mis granes niños hablen la lengua nativa.

Si por ninguna otra razón que la belleza de él.

How far would I get if I went to live in Mexico and tried to speak English??????

If we agree English should be our official language, I think we need to require Americans to learn proper spelling, grammar, punctuation, and pronunciation. Until we can master our own language...I don't think we can insist anybody else does either....

Chico-That's good that they learn both languages and think it's great that you encourage it.

Not very far Woof.

Sometimes I think Americans are far to compromising in their concessions to their various constituencies, even if they are not even citizens................

Others (viz Mexicans in Mexico toward Americans) are not................

To be completely honest though Michele, sometimes I have to admit I do it partly just to PO gramma!    ;=)

HAHAHA!!

"But if I went to Greece, I'd have to speak Greek...or Germany, it'd be German"...

Not true , most modern nations speak multiple languages, have never had a language problem in, Greece,Germany,Italy; Bulgaria, Turkey,Finland, Denmark, Poland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxenberg, Lithuania, Latvia....My son schooled overseas.. Speaks & writes in 4 languages.The elementary school systems are of a much higher caliber overseas, That`s when you have to teach them...

On my very last day in baja,one very nice a waiter volunteered to teach me Spanish~ I found with most people a little Si,Gracia's etc went along way to moving the conversation along.Fascinating, nearly everyone I met off site spoke enough English to help me out,and all menus etc were in Spanish and English.That trip and my desire to move there has encouraged me to learn more Spanish,hence more skills.

That said ,we do need a common tongue to facilitate moving through society. I have seen, and most of you have also, that many "Americans" could use a brush up on correct English to...too..not two..but you get my drift.

Careful what he teaches ya Sagey

Some of it might just be X rated!

Esperanto, anyone?

Esperanto, loosely translated, means  "Obama Supporter"

Gotta give Chico points for that one.

just fer that one?

harrumph!

Say what? No, it's an international language constructed in the late 19th century. It was opposed by both Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia...which makes sense, since both had huge nationalist tendencies...and versions of which we're going through today.

Okay, I get it..."one who hopes." Sheesh. Well, I'm just suggesting, if somebody wants only one language, let's pick one. I'm good with that.

I always liked esperanto

doktor esperanto demento

tower of babble inveigher

a man before his time.............................

My three-year-old is learning Spanish and Sign Language in preschool.  He's going to know more Spanish than I do within a few months.  He's also learning songs and coloring and fingerpainting.  When I was in school they offered French and Spanish, so I chose French, thinking I would need it when I moved to Paris and became a fashion designer!  Ha!  I took 3 years of high school French and 3 semesters of college French, and I loved it.  Learning a language was easy for me, and fun.  Maybe if we ALL (Spanish learners AND English learners) try to think of learning as fun and interesting, instead of a burden, we'll all be happier.  

As for drivers who can't read--WHAT??  People in this country don't have to learn English (or learn to read, for that matter) if they don't want to--that's their business, but in order to drive, considering ALL the signs are in English, I hope they can at least read enough English to pass their driving tests.  The roads are confusing enough without adding more confusion by not being able to read the signs.  Driving is a privilege, NOT a right.

My opinion regarding this question has and will continue to be the same; if you live in America you better be able to speak ENGLISH. I am sick and tired of getting articles in the mail or news letters in school that are 5 pages thick with the same article in seven different languages. I am sick of waiting in line at a grocery store while some customer is speaking Spanish to the cashier, assuming that there is someone in the store, if not that cashier, that can and will communicate with them. Assumption is just that. At work, parents who do not speak English very well (if at all) come in and ask for their son or daughter and while it's easy to distinguish a name, if I ever need to ask them anything regarding their child or themselves I better just forget it.  Sometimes the child translates for them, but how sad is that, not to mention confusing? You want to live in America because life is good here. You want to live in America but insist on speaking your language rather than English....Well SORRY, but you can't have both. Right here I would say, "Pack your bags and leave." but why bother, you wouldn't understand my English, now would you?

Catherine -- I've seen people who move their lips when reading a stop sign.

It is a problem...............

(but not because its in Engrish)

BTW, ASL is very very cool

Wish I knew it better...................

I'm not sure some of you understand just how hard it is to learn a second language, especially when it's English. Lighten up.

Then why is it so many countries teach English as a second language is school?  We see people from other countries coming to America speaking English.  Why are our neighbors to the south so opposed to it when they've migrated here, legally or illegally, permanently?

I'm not saying it isn't helpful to not learn a language of the country in which you're living, or residing, because it is. But, considering the trouble even some Americans have with English (such as Mr. Bush or that lying John McCain), cut some people some slack.

i wish i could speak spanish, i should have payed more attention in that class... :(

Tiffani, you should have paid more attention in your English classes. (Sorry, couldn't resist that one!)

Timec, the pay that county employees receive for being bilingual, isn't enough to write home about; and it's not a given....the bilingual employee has to be certified bilingual, and use those skills a certain percentage of the time to qualify for that special pay.

Why are our neighbors to the south so opposed to it when they've migrated here, legally or illegally, permanently?

Defiance.

I think America should take a lesson from France. If you don't speak French in France, then you are SOL. That's how America should be, if you can't speak the language, then either learn it or get out.....Period. And not have all these other languages have priority other than English.

I think America should take *MANY* lessons from France.  Let's start with national health care and work our way down to the trivial stuff like what we call a Big Mac, though.

"If you don't speak French in France, then you are SOL. "

That's just not true.

"If you don't speak French in France, then you are SOL. "

Ground?  Maybe he meant "SOI".

I had a group of 5 friends who went to Paris three years ago with the bare minimum of French~ the barest,in fact. Once again I think you find what you seek,they had no problem finding friendly ,helpful folks to help them along.