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[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by baltassoc
"People can speak or learn any language they like, but if they want to interface with anything paid for by tax dollars it has to be English. "

Implicit in this statement is that it is a waste of tax dollars to use anything but English. Implicit in that statement is the idea that only English speakers have a right to have a say in the proper use of tax dollars.

Why?

And I'll remind you that the "we were here first" argument is incorrect, at least with regard to California (and Texas).

My point with the bitching issue is that one must be careful what one demands - the same people who insist that there can only be one language for the govenrment are likely to regret that choice when the future majority of the country decides they were correct about the one language thing,* but decides to change the language.

* As to the correctness of the one language thing in general, I'd point out that many countries have multiple official languages, and for much the same reason (combinations of lands where the populations speak another language - and this is this case here: Spanish is so widely kept in the US because there has always been a large geographically concentrated base of Spanish speakers in certain parts of the country who became citizens without the necessity of learning English - they were there when the territory they lived in became part of the US. Obviously, not all or even most Spanish speakers are decendants of these original settlers, but their presence has created a continuity of community in the Southwest especially, with some migration to oher areas).

Switzerland has four official languages, one of which is spoken by less than 70,000 worldwide.

If you moved to Mexico not only would you have to learn spanish, you wouldn't be able to get a job.......for reasons beyond your professional shortcomings.

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/14635383.htm