Thread: Grumpy Old Men

I do think is a big deal... In the early 1900's there was a drive to bring in a second national language, It was German.... Only because of a mass migration.. The US said " no" if you want live in the US then assimulate...Not the other way around. ...If we switch languages with every mass migration we would never have stability inournational language.

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i've learned that although English is a national language of the U.S it is not official. I do not remember where did i read this, but there is no such thing as official language.

well when i signed up for the armey they dident have press 1 for english , and when i pay my taxes they dont have press 1 for english and it is in god that i trust.

Originally Posted by Sailor

I believe there will never be a day where you could find instructions etc in all European languages (not at least from pizza boxes).

I bet the Dr. Oetker pizza boxes cover at least half of them, though.

Originally Posted by Wintchase

I do think is a big deal... In the early 1900's there was a drive to bring in a second national language, It was German.... Only because of a mass migration.. The US said " no" if you want live in the US then assimulate...Not the other way around. ...If we switch languages with every mass migration we would never have stability inournational language.

Okay, now I usually do not play grammar nazi, since I hate it when people do, but multiple irony here forces me to point out it is 'assimilate' and that you are probably talking about mass immigration. I can't remember any mass emigrations from the USA.

And, IMO + being Dutch so I don't know how much my opinion matters, but the inclusion of Spanish on labeling it seems very much a supply & demand thing to me, since there is a large market. And, correct me if I'm wrong, there were plenty of non-English newspapers in the States during the (late) 19th / early 20th century, which did not replace English media, although I do acknowledge that they were probably generally speaking local media.

Sailor: Britannica

Originally Posted by Sailor

Correct me if i'm wrong, but i've learned that although English is a national language of the U.S it is not official. I do not remember where did i read this, but there is no such thing as official language.

According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, the USA do not have an official language or religion, I guess "official" would translate here as "federal".

I don't believe the US government ever said assimilation was a condition of living in the USA. Anyway, what is assimilation? It just decided that the promotion of another language wasn't worthwhile, just as many manufacturers of goods decide that it is worthwhile. More sales is part of it, and in some cases a combination of the commercial and moral reasons for not wanting people to be poisoned, electrocuted or even seriously inconvenienced. I don't think it should be difficult to find more than three sides on a cube, or work out what to do with the pancake mix or pizza.

I can remember seeing Ace Hardware products packaged in English and Spanish decades ago, but neither was an official language, since it was in their Kuwait City franchise, where you would probably be quite glad to see public demand producing the use of a non-official foreign language. I expect you would be somewhat annoyed to see Arab nationalists pushing them into promoting a political agenda they do not themselves agree with. The case in Europe is a little different, as not even the manufacturers know in which country their products are liable to meet the public. But with Spanish in the US and English in Kuwait, the people who need those instructions are out there and ready to buy.

Originally Posted by Wintchase

I do think is a big deal... In the early 1900's there was a drive to bring in a second national language, It was German.... Only because of a mass migration.. The US said " no" if you want live in the US then assimulate...Not the other way around. ...If we switch languages with every mass migration we would never have stability inournational language.

It doesn't even have to do with learning English when you immigrate.

I tend to have a fairly nationalist streak in me. I would demand immigrants to a) know the language or b) learn the language or go back. I would demand that they be a national before being allowed to buy land. I would abolish dual citizenship (you're either in or out). I would do a great deal more and then some, if it were up to me.

But I think it is ok if some company wants to save money by printing multi lingual packaging. That way they have 1 package for the different places where the package is sold. I bet that they don't just sell that package in US states. They'll also sell it in Mexico. And in that case, it makes perfect sense for them to do so.

Originally Posted by Pithor

the inclusion of Spanish on labeling it seems very much a supply & demand thing to me, since there is a large market

For Aunt Jemima, it probably is. Maybe Aunty Jimbolina can weigh in on this (again?)

In my area (closer to the Canadian border than Mexican border) the majority of student in the school district have Spanish (sort of) as a primary language. As a medical student it is required to take a class of Spanish medical terminology.
I used to dislike it, but that's because when I was in high school it was cooler to take french than spanish and now my daughter is required to take spanish as a foreign language. I wish that was the case when I was in school. Now if you wish to survive in my area you need to know spanish (well, their version)

Originally Posted by Pithor

I bet the Dr. Oetker pizza boxes cover at least half of them, though.

You've got it! It was a Dr Oetker pizza with the ten languages. I read the other day that they are the biggest selling frozen pizza in Italy and they are made in Lancashire, England and then exported to Italy!

Talk about taking coals to Newcastle. Apparently the UK makes a lot of the dried pasta they sell in Italy too...

Gareth