Callete! Este es nuestro pais y nuestro himno nacional ahora!!!

[Marcellus]

Canada's had a French and English version of the national anthem for a while now, and, well, the world didn't end.

Surely that's because both English and French are official languages in Canada? Although the USA has no official language as such, de facto English is the (only) official language.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I was surprised when I first found out that nowhere in the constitution English is named the language of the US. Was it taken for granted, overlooked or was the idea to let natural selection take its course?

What about dealing when dealing with the government? Is one obliged by law to do so in English?

Can individual states enforce a language? The four southwest border states will at the current demographic rate have a Spanish majority within 25 years. Could they abolish English, make these states officially bilingual, or make Spanish an obligatory subject in schools?

[doc_bean]

I was surprised when I first found out that nowhere in the constitution English is named the language of the US. Was it taken for granted, overlooked or was the idea to let natural selection take its course?

There was some debate about it, I think the Pensilvanias (sp?) also proposed German (or was it Dutch ?) as a second language. I think they wanted top avoid EU like situations were every document has to be translated into several languages and every few years the debate about which languages should be used flares up again.

Also, early US was small governement, so this might have been seen as a minor point, not worth arguing about.

What about dealing when dealing with the government? Is one obliged by law to do so in English?

I was told that if you get arrested in the US you're rights have to be read to you in a language you understood. Don't know about other dealings with the government.

[solypsist]

the way some people are behaving you'd think someone had thrown a koran in the toilet.

oh wait, those guys are the nutty ones, as some people here were quick to point out while posturing their own superiority over such things.

[GoreBag]

Surely that's because both English and French are official languages in Canada? Although the USA has no official language as such, de facto English is the (only) official language.

Yeah, although certain parts of Canada speak very little French at all. Maybe certain states should adopt a Spanish version of the song, to be re-written, of course.

[lars573]

Only 2 are not officially English. Quebec (durr right) which is French first, and New Brunswick which is billingual. Also our French population has been here since day 1. We never haven't as yet had to go through the painful and multi-generational task of assimilating a new culture.

[GoreBag]

Only 2 are not officially English. Quebec (durr right) which is French first, and New Brunswick which is billingual. Also our French population has been here since day 1. We never haven't as yet had to go through the painful and multi-generational task of assimilating a new culture.

I disagree. The French Canadians are still dealing with assimilation problems. Even if I do live in an officially English province, we still sing the national anthem in that half-English, half-French medley, and I imagine other places do too (Manitoba, notably).

[Louis VI the Fat]

The French Canadians are still dealing with assimilation problems.

Gah, the problem is that the English didn't assimilate to the French. Canada had been French for two centuries, until it was overrun by the English. Who, much like the latino's at present, won the demographic race and tried to impose their language and culture on an already existing nation.

*shamelessly disregards the native Americans*

[Tribesman]

oh wait, those guys are the nutty ones,
Stop it Soly , how dare you . Ok fair enough some people wish to focus ona small group of extremist nuts to labbel every possible protest down to a bunch of nuts as it makes it easier to dodge the issue , but that is their right ,just like it is everone elses right to turn round and say they is talking bollox .
It is exactly the same as taking a statement from the Aryan nations and saying "this is the viewpoint" .

Don my darling (but not in a gay way Hello pot, this is kettle, you're black


How exactly?
You came across some dumb bog-trotter (yes that is offensive and I use the expression very often towards racist gobshites at work or down the pub) down in Killarney ,who probably considers people from the next parish as foriegners , or even people from the other end of the same parish as creatures with two heads .
And try and corelate it to my statements .... well sorry but in that concern this pot or kettle is working on clean electric and ain't getting tarnished by smoke .
So try something else , it is always possible to come back from the backfoot , as long as you stop insisting that the backfoot is really the frontfoot .

Edit to add ..This angers me assainslte its not that hard
well its clearly too hard to undertand Strike , what does assainslte mean ?

[Louis VI the Fat]

[Edit to add ..This angers me assainslte its not that hard
well its clearly too hard to undertand Strike , what does assainslte mean ?

1 - It's a reply to (English) Assassin.
2 - Assainslte is Spanglish slang which we're not expected to understand anyway.
3 - Ainslte is his boyfriend, who can't get it up: "This angers me ass, Ainslte. It's not that hard".

[lars573]

I disagree. The French Canadians are still dealing with assimilation problems. Even if I do live in an officially English province, we still sing the national anthem in that half-English, half-French medley, and I imagine other places do too (Manitoba, notably).

The problem is that for 200 years the English tried to stamp out the French via strangulation. Then 40 years ago the English majority went "You can be French it's cool." Both groups are still adapting to the new reality that we are going to coexist without one stamping on the other.

[Strike For The South]

This angers me assainslte its not that hard

[GoreBag]

The problem is that for 200 years the English tried to stamp out the French via strangulation. Then 40 years ago the English majority went "You can be French it's cool." Both groups are still adapting to the new reality that we are going to coexist without one stamping on the other.

Yeah, that's about right, if only ignoring the Acadians a little. Giving me the timeline to the culture relations doesn't invalidate my point, though.

[Brenus]

“Then 40 years ago the English majority went "You can be French it's cool."
Hum, and also few bombs and terrorism from the French Canadians if I remember well.
This text is coming from a probably pro-independence site. However, the chronoly of the 1970’s is correct.

“By the time the 1960s arrived, French culture and language was under assault in Quebec. Many people of French heritage in Quebec couldn’t speak the language; the Roman Catholic Church was under assault, as were the French institutions such as education and law that were fundamentally different from those of their Anglo counterparts. Must as the United States had its own Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, Quebec did as well. In Quebec, there was a revival of the French language and French culture. This revolution naturally led to a revival of Quebec nationalism. This Quebec nationalism was fuelled by the 1967 visit of French President Charles de Gaulle when he proclaimed “Vive le Quebec Libre!” (Long Live Free Quebec!). This led to the founding of the separatist Parti Quebecois by Rene Levesque. Two years later, militants create a crisis in Quebec during which civil liberties were suspended in Quebec. A bombing campaign, the kidnapping of a British diplomat, and other events led to this. This was really the high point of anti-Unionist violence in Quebec.
Following the turbulent early seventies, the movement toward Quebec independence grew more peaceful. In 1980, there was a referendum for Quebec independence. Though it failed by a 3-2 margin, it showed that there was in fact significant support for an independent Quebec state (nearly half of the French-speaking Quebecois voted in favour of independence). At this point, the rest of Canada realized that secession was a real possibility. Proposals were initiated that would amend Canada’s 1982 Constitution that would recognize Quebec as a distinct society within Canada. In 1987, this Meech Lake Accord was drafted. However, in 1990, this Meech Lake Accord failed to gain ratification. It was at this point that many Quebec nationalists vowed that Quebec would in fact gain its independence.
In 1994, Jacques Parizeau won the premiership (governorship) of Quebec on a platform of promising a referendum on Quebec independence. This vote occurred in 1995. In the weeks leading up to the referendum, polls were indicating that the people of Quebec would in fact vote for independence. At that point, government owned agencies (including Air Canada) offered pro-Unionists incentives to go and vote for continued union with Canada. As a result of this corruption on the pro-Union side, the referendum was defeated by a 50.6 to 49.4% margin. I remember at that time, as a Quebecois-American, the despair that both myself felt as well as friends of mine in Athens who were natives of Quebec. We thought that our homeland would finally be free, but alas the Unionists plotted to keep Quebec firmly under the yoke of Canada.
Quebec is indeed a nation. The people of Quebec speak a different language, practice a different religious faith, have different legal and educational institutions, and have a different culture than the rest of Canada. This certainly is enough to define Quebec as a nation. As a forced member of Canada, it can also be classified as a captive-nation. This is much the same status that was granted the nations captured by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Until Quebec achieves its independence from Canada, it will continue to be a captive nation and will be an abomination to the North American continent until it finally is able to claim its independence and join the global family of free and independent nations.
VIVE LE QUEBEC LIBRE!!!”

[lars573]

Yeah, that's about right, if only ignoring the Acadians a little. Giving me the timeline to the culture relations doesn't invalidate my point, though.

And I'm saying that the assimilation of bilingualism is going to have to be done by both sides.

Hum, and also few bombs and terrorism from the French Canadians if I remember well.

Actually the bombs and terrorism came after the first billingual act of parliment.

Taken from the Government of Canada's website. http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/pr...ing/hist_e.cfm

1969

Following the work of the Commission, the first Official Languages Act is adopted by Parliament. Its three main objectives are:
the equality of English and French in Parliament, within the Government of Canada, the federal administration and institutions subject to the Act;
the preservation and development of official language communities in Canada ;
the equality of English and French in Canadian society.

New Brunswick enacts its first Official Languages Act , making it Canada 's first, and only, officially bilingual province.

EDIT:Also Quebec is not a viable independant nation.