From: | Starrngr@***.com Starrngr@***.com |
---|---|
Subject: | Official Languages (Was (a topic I refused to talk about)) |
Date: | Thu, 20 May 1999 15:14:45 EDT |
iridios@*********.com writes:
> Actually, English *is* the official language of the U.S. 200+ years
> ago, Congress had a vote whether they should use English or German as
> the language of official government business. English was chosen by a
> narrow margin. (IIRC)
>
> Just because they don't require citizens to speak English, doesn't
> mean that it isn't the official language.
Actually Iridios, it IS a requirement for citizenship. Immigrants wishing to
gain citizenship in this country have always been required to show a mastery
of two skills, IIRC. The first is a basic grasp of English, and the second
is an understanding of our country's governmental structure.
Resident aliens may not be required to learn the language, but those who
apply for citizenship do. I do not remember if the required the refugees for
vietnam to learn it, but I do believe that they are listed as other than
citizens for the most part. Also, if you think back to a few years ago, when
the US introduced the Amnesty program for some of the illegal imagrants from
mexico, one of the requirements from THAT program was that they needed to
speak english as well.
Note that I didn't say they have to be FLUENT in the language, just that they
have to speak it. I don't know just how much is required nowadays.