28th September 2003, 7:41 PM
As you say yourself there, the language(s) a nation lists really don't matter at all compared to what the people there actually speak... so Canada has two official languages. So? Why does that matter at all? Most CANADIANS, the people who are in the country and actually matter, speak just English!
And the US doesn't have an official language for a very good reason... it would hurt immigrants a lot. In 1776 it was mostly the German immigrants who prompted them to not have an official language, but over the years its been one group after another... and it does help them. Now, do they have to learn English to really be a part of the society? Yeah... which is why it generally takes a couple of generations. An immigrants children will know English even if they don't, and soon they are American... but having an official language would hurt immigration, which would be bad because immigration is what built this country and its what continues to give us people (without immigration, the US population would be dropping just like much of the industrialized world...) and new ideas...
And the US doesn't have an official language for a very good reason... it would hurt immigrants a lot. In 1776 it was mostly the German immigrants who prompted them to not have an official language, but over the years its been one group after another... and it does help them. Now, do they have to learn English to really be a part of the society? Yeah... which is why it generally takes a couple of generations. An immigrants children will know English even if they don't, and soon they are American... but having an official language would hurt immigration, which would be bad because immigration is what built this country and its what continues to give us people (without immigration, the US population would be dropping just like much of the industrialized world...) and new ideas...