Monday, February 03, 2014

Speak American!

The above map shows the native languages and even some current languages spoken in what is now the United States of America and doesn't even include Hawaii, where Hawaian, along with English, is the official language of that state. And there is of course American territories such as Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico and they also have other official languages other than English.

I realize that the left is probably making a bigger deal out of the reaction of some conservatives to the multilingual Coke commercial on the Super Bowl...But the reactions were real and represent a real thought of many in this country.

Here is why those who are upset have no right to get upset about a multilingual:

A. English isn't legally the official language of the United States though it is for certain states. In other words, there is no law establishing an "American language".

B. Our official motto, up until 1956 was in another language, Latin and ironically enough, it meant "Out of many, one"...So if anything, the Coke commercial was living up to that notion and those complaining are the ones who are anti-American, not Coke.

C. There are over 380 different languages spoken in the United States with 60 million people speaking a language other than English at home. So the notion that "we speak English in America" isn't really communicating the big picture.

D. Manhattan, Ohio, Miami, Santa Fe, San Francisco, Des Moines, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, Illinois, Honolulu, Alaska, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, Mississippi, Los Angeles, Oklahoma, etc...Are all places in the United States that derive their names from other languages. We took or bought land from Spain, France, Russia, Hawaii, Mexico and thousands of Native American tribes and shouldn't be surprised if some of those languages are still spoken in those areas.

E. Switzerland is one tenth the size of California and has 4 official languages. We'll survive a multilingual commercial.

F. I think I understood more Spanish words on that commercial than I understand "English" words on Bayou Millionaires, Swamp People or Hillbilly Hand Fish'n and ironically, I'll bet the people who watch those shows are the ones most likely to complain about the commercial. So, before we start saying English should be our official language, we need to define English.

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