Attempting to suppress Spanish would require little less than genocide. The Mexican government tried that when they suppressed Nahuatl, the prevalent language of the indigenous peoples. The language was outlawed until fairly recently. The attempt failed.

Here in Texas, as in many borderlands, speaking multiple languages is a marketable skill. I receive a bilingual stipend at work.

With the growth in the Hispanic demographic, trying to establish a national language would be tough.

I've been researching US immigration laws and found out you have to be able to speak English to become naturalized.

I've been researching US immigration laws and found out you have to be able to speak English to become naturalized.

It's a paper requirement 9or at least it was in the past). My grandmother barely spoke English, yet she was able to answer the few questions asked of her and was granted citizenship.

After the Mariel boatlift of 1980, Dade County voters pushed through an English only requirement which had devastating effects on the economy. As soon as it was legally feasible the county comission struck down the law. It's no longer an issue.

As with previous inmigrant groups, second (like myself) and third generations adopt English as our language of choice, but retain our first one which is extremely helpful. My brothers, and their non-Hispanic wives, have made it a point of their children being bilingual. In the future, they'll have an advantage over those who can only communicate in one language. Many of our friends have encouraged their children to learn Spanish, even if they themselves can't do more than curse or order food at a restaurant.

I'm often jealous of Euros and their linguistic abilities. My pitiful 3.5 languages pale in comparison.

We should be encouraging billingalism in the United States. My boyfriend is trilingual in Spanish (his native language), English (which he speaks as well and unaccented as any other American), and French (which he learned in high school and became fluent in while living in Paris). It makes him incredibly marketable in the jobs market.

The amazing thing is, so many foreigners have to be bi-lingual to get ahead in the world. So many Americans never had to be because everyone else learned English. But out absolute dominance is fading, and those of us who are only English speakers are going to wish we paid more attention in Spanish class in high school. 

Incroyable, mon francais peut-etre utile!

I'm not saying that bilingual or in some cases like me, trilingual, speakers aren't good. There's a ton of good reason why we should be open to other languages in the US from how the US was founded to how many cultures live and work together here.

However, opponents are also right to argue that a language is part of a nation's identity and it is also a unifying concept. The problem is if these guys are going to do as they are pushing, we may end up with an ugly situation of oppressive assimilation. One of the last dominant world power that tried to unify their country through forced assimilation and massive deportation was ironically Spain (Inquisition and Reconquista anyone). They basically destroyed their nation and allowed an opening for English, Dutch, and French to encroach and gain power.

Can it be done successfully? Yes, but it will cost dearly and if you do succeed, you basically are violating the most basic principles of the US , not to mention principles within the Declaration of Independence.

I don't know the answers, but we can't accept forced assimilation as a solution.

you basically are violating the most basic principles of the US , not to mention principles within the Declaration of Independence.

 

I don't know the answers, but we can't accept forced assimilation as a solution.

well you could start by bringing your hopelessly outdated and sometimes irrelevant constitutional documents up to date and fit for purpose for the 21st century