Everyone should be forced to learn the official language, amirite?

I'm assuming you're trying to say everyone moving to a country should be forced to learn that country's official language? Which isn't really an unpopular opinion.

by Euphoric-Complex831 2 weeks ago

I don't think "forced" is the opinion. I think that there's certainly pressure and people SHOULD do it. But forced? I dunno if that's popular.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Youd be surprised by the amount of people who dont like this.

by Better_Lime_1222 2 weeks ago

Yeah and most of them are linguists

by Aggravating-Type 2 weeks ago

But are they cunning?

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

If they are, they're probably also master debaters.

by ObjectiveManager 2 weeks ago

Number of people*

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Some of the people in this conversation were forced to learn English for 12th years and still haven't mastered it. Strange to demand better of immigrants.

by OrganicDelivery1864 2 weeks ago

Yes basically my point. Demanding that immigrants speak English why not knowing the grammar of their own language.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Yes basically my point. Demanding that immigrants speak English why not knowing the grammar of their own language.

by One-Hall-1081 2 weeks ago

The amount as well

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

"Amount of people" may not be grammatically correct but it's an accepted informal phrase.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Actually the point is that it's entirely interchangeable because that's how language works. When everyone in society understands (not you) the meaning then we are talking the same language. Save your Miriam Webster lesson for no one

by Erdmanjayce 2 weeks ago

The hubris of demanding that immigrants speak your language while not knowing the basic grammar of your own language. 🤡

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

When I write my next scientific journal I will make sure my grammar is on point. Until then, it literally doesn't matter as long as everyone (except you) knows what it means. Ridiculous.

by Erdmanjayce 2 weeks ago

Correct, they're not interchangeable. Amount means something different here.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I mean, saying that people crossing the border illegally should not be granted residency by default (unless for asylum reasons) should not be an unpopular opinion but if you say that people will call you a racist bigot.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

South Africa has 12 official languages. Would you expect fluency in all of them?

by Sure-Pin258 2 weeks ago

People don't want fluency, people want them to know the basics.

by Euphoric-Complex831 2 weeks ago

knowing the basics, say A1 or A2 level in a language is not enough to get by in society. you need to be fluent to understand native speakers, and a high enough level to say what you want to say and be understood. generally this is B1 or B2 in many languages.

by Informal_Worry_3490 2 weeks ago

Idk I'm in on board with forced. i definitely think you have a responsibility to integrate into the culture of the country you decide to move to and learn their language. But forced? I don't think that's a popular opinion

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I mean this doesnt apply to a lot of south Asian and European countries with multiple languages. India has atleast 7 or so major languages (Hindi, English, Marathi, telegu, urdu, malyalam, panjabi) and 1000+ regional languages with no official language. What do u purpose for this

by Final-Ad-1446 2 weeks ago

You'd likely just learn the basics of the region you'd be staying in, no? But generally these opinions are more for the western oriented countries.

by Euphoric-Complex831 2 weeks ago

Ya i get thag was just making a point. I feel like everyone should know one language + English since literally every place I've been to understands English (south Asian countries, europe, Middle east, and ofc us)

by Final-Ad-1446 2 weeks ago

knowing the official language really helps people fit in and get ahead. But I think it's important to be flexible too, especially for those with learning challenges. Encouraging people works better than forcing them

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I don't like being forced to do anything, I should be free not to learn thee language and then live with the consequences of a harder local life

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Consequences as I said..

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Yes, but you're making it harder for everyone who tries to communicate with you. It doesn't just make your life harder.. it makes their life harder as well.

by Euphoric-Complex831 2 weeks ago

Right, but not just for the person who won't learn, also for every person who has to spend a bunch of time trying to communicate with them and can't get their job done because of it. You know, as they said

by daisha41 2 weeks ago

Yeah but if I don't speak the local language and can't explain to the doctor why my tummy hurts is mostly my problem

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

If you live somewhere, you probably have to work and be trained for the job, ever tried teaching something to someone who doesn't speak your language? So you make it more difficult for you, the one who has to teach you and the company because you will take up more time to learn.

by Possible-Mango-3455 2 weeks ago

Most jobs have an official working language. For example I live in Finland and don't speak Finnish (I haven't lived here long, I am learning) so I am only able to apply for jobs where the working language is English. Now, at those jobs, would it be easier for my coworkers to communicate certain things if I spoke the language? Probably. But the working language is English, and so for safety reasons, we need to be able to communicate in English. If that's too much of a strain for non-English native speakers, they should stick to jobs whose working language is their native language. Basically all I'm saying is what country you're in isn't always the deciding factors for what is being spoken at work.

by Balistrerivirgi 2 weeks ago

Of course, you will have companies like this, but you are most likely limited to those companies, if that works for you, great!

by Possible-Mango-3455 2 weeks ago

Depends on your industry. In my industry, 80% of companies use English as the working language, and those who don't are split evenly between Finnish and Swedish being the working language. So there's not much limitation.

by Balistrerivirgi 2 weeks ago

I've tried that... it took so much more effort trying to train them. They still needed more and more help due to the fact they couldn't really understand English after 1-2 years.

by Euphoric-Complex831 2 weeks ago

If you cannot read signs and follow authority orders, that is everyone's problem

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Willfully obtuse people don't get more of my time

by daisha41 2 weeks ago

You're right, you can make things more difficult for everyone else but you're just being inconsiderate

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

For citizenship sure. For moving in and living there as an immigrant, it is just a weird bullying requirement.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

It's more that you'd struggle getting around in a few countries without learning their language. I don't believe you should have to become a fluent speaker, but at least basic words in the case that people can help you. Going to the hospital and you live in Australia whilst only speaking Dutch for example, you're only making it harder for them and yourself.

by Euphoric-Complex831 2 weeks ago

Yeah, but the typical scenario is that an English-speaking immigrant from wherever is hired in a country which doesn't speak English. They typically can get by without much struggle, but it is criticized nevertheless.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I spent 4 months in Curacao where almost everyone speaks English. I still had a hard time and vividly remember frustrating a store owner and her employee because I didn't know how to ask for garbage bags in Spanish or Papiamentu

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

So you are going to a place and stay there, but you dont speak the language and dont want to learn the language. Sound like a coloniser to me.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

No, it sounds like a person with temporary intention to stay in a certain place and not really in need to invest significant amount of time into learning the language. Someone is willing to employ them there and they just mind their own business.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

definitely. but as far as i know, i think most countries, when applying for citzenship, make you pass an exam in the country's language, where you need enough knowledge on that language to be able to talk about daily life and history of that country, meaning for citzenship, you need the language. do you know of countries where for obtaining citzenship, you don't need to pass such an exam?

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

A certain mass of people born in the US--I think it's about 20%--speak another language than English from infancy onward into adult life. They generally also Iearn English, but those who immigrated as adults may find it beyond their power to become fluent in English. There are Asian seniors in my building who seem to speak only a few words in English. Of course, every time I have to deal with a DoorDash delivery driver who doesn't speak English, I wish they would work a little harder.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

The Members of my bilingual family who have become fluent in standard English - and standard Spanish - have all done better than those have not.

by Just-Tea 2 weeks ago

The US doesn't have an official language so this doesn't apply to the US at all.

by Beginning_Fennel 2 weeks ago

"Doesn't have an official language" is technically correct, but you're still gonna have a heck of a time if you don't learn English. Just knowing Spanish is usually doable though.

by Mother_Drawer 2 weeks ago

Wait, is there a country where in order to get citizenship you don't need to know the language? Isn't that super standard?

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Australia doesn't even have an official language.

by No-Worldliness 2 weeks ago

The US does not have an official language. You can also take the test with a translator.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

A lot don't, and many that do have many exceptions (eg US doesn't require lang proficiency if you're above 50/20y in the US)

by Pollichearlene 2 weeks ago

Not every country even has an official language

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Or what?

by Feisty-Elk5559 2 weeks ago

I wanna know too

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Idk maybe fine or smth

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

Good thing our best legal and political minds won't be taking legislative advice fron you.

by Feisty-Elk5559 2 weeks ago

Sir, you just made a spelling mistake, expect a fine of $600 arriving at your adress shortly.

by Heathcotejimmie 2 weeks ago

The United States has no official language and the Founding Fathers did that by design. The ideology of the nation against the abuses of the British government is more what they cared about in their citizens.

by HighwayOdd 2 weeks ago

So a law written in Spanish and passed by congress would be as valid as all the other which are in English?

by Gaylordjunior 2 weeks ago

Yep.

by lehnerunique 2 weeks ago

How is this relevant to the opinion OP has? The US (and anywhere else without an official language) doesn't apply.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Do you think anyone who moves to India needs to learn 22 languages?

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

who moves to India?

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

The Dalai Llama.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

What if the country doesn't have an official language? I mean USA technically doesn't though I know most of us speak English but you'd have to get that part settled first.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Not every country has an offical language. We don't have one in the UK for example.

by Euphoric-Complex831 2 weeks ago

That may be so, but you still need to get a B1 (or B2 even?) in English if you request for citizenship

by Only-University-8288 2 weeks ago

Apologies, it was designated the official language in March of this year through executive order, I must have missed that. Prior to that there was no official language.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I'm also not convinced an executive order has the authority to make something an official language. At most, it's the official language of the executive branch.

by welchyolanda 2 weeks ago

If you read the EO, it has literally no legal effects, it's just rhetoric.

by Certain-Milk1975 2 weeks ago

So it doesn't create an official language

by welchyolanda 2 weeks ago

English was made the U.S.'s official language less than six months ago. And not every country has an official language—many are multilingual have laws written in or translated into multiple languages, and eschew designating a single language because the official one (to OP's point) because their populations are too linguistically diverse.

by portermayert 2 weeks ago

I mean you do have to learn proper english just so that people can talk and work with you, my text was clearly good enough for you to understand it, wich is all i want

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

which*

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

No, it's made worse by your mistakes.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

LOLLLLL! Got ‘em!

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

How many languages have you learned buddy? It takes a long time as an adult

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Languages should be incredibly easy to learn and their country of origin should provide free language learning tools to help.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

And what about countries like the USA that have no official language? Skip the step since there is no official language to learn? Or countries like Canada that have 2 or more? Do you need to learn all of them? Because most Canadians don't speak french, forget about the recognised native languages.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Then the country should have resources to support language learning

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Everyone should be forced to learn their secondary language as well like Spanish in America or French in Canada for example.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Countries are big and not all parts of them are perfectly integrated into the whole. Many regions might have their own languages and regard forced use of the official language as a form of cultural assimilation.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Yeah cool, whatever is codified as official. Because here in belgium its alteast 3

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Nope. Only if there's an economic incentive.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

What if the country doesn't have an official language? USA did not have an official language until very recently. I'm sure there are a number of countries without one.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I agree, we should have more programs to assimilate immigrants, but forcing them to do it is not ideal. People will obviously be interested in making their life in another country easier, so the incentive is already there. Those who have the time can choose to take these programs.

by Altruistic-Math 2 weeks ago

What do You mean by "forced to learn"? What happens of You don't? Who is this force being applied? What happens if You don't. I agree that You should speak the languaje of the country You love in but the how You force people to do something is the key aspect here.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

The us has no official language

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Yeah, just like how the Western countries learnt the languages of the host countries they invaded and made it colonies.

by Gullible-Fondant7038 2 weeks ago

Nope,it depends on a country basis for example one has a National language like say Britain with English and a majority speak it as their native but countries like India having Hindi as an official language which isn't spoken by a half of the country.

by Personal_Mongoose702 2 weeks ago

Well we tried that in Turkiye, apparently we're fascists and they murdered the teachers.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

ok....... now tell me what language an american has to learn. have fun- :D

by Yasmin19 2 weeks ago

TIL we have had an official language since March.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Ask congress to make Navajo as the official language.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

if i could ask congress to pass a law, gauranteed, it would not be about language.

by Yasmin19 2 weeks ago

English recently became the official language for America so.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

An executive order doesn't carry the power to establish that. Just because Trump writes something down doesn't make it law.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Even then it's still silly to live in America & not learn basic English. It's just being lazy. And I say this as someone where English is my third language.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I agree that it's not a good decision, I disagree with OP that you should be penalized by law though. Being ostracized, unable to work most jobs and unable to communicate your basic needs should be enough of a penalty.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

"Spanish"

by Able_Resident1737 2 weeks ago

English?

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

Citation Needed

by Certain-Milk1975 2 weeks ago

There is no official language of America.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

"if you are a native you should be also be excused" Explain that part…

by portermayert 2 weeks ago

Or else?

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

This isn't unpopular

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I disagree But I think anyone who can't speak the official language of where they live should be mandated to employ a translator or banned from using any public service that would require them to converse in the local language

by JuggernautRoutine 2 weeks ago

Sure, but that goes hand-in-hand with providing comprehensive language training. It is sort of absurd to expect language acquisition without the provision of support to accomplish it. Or is that socialism?

by RelevantEffect3628 2 weeks ago

The USA does not have an official language

by Few-Consequence 2 weeks ago

So in Wales everyone should be forced to learn a language that is not related in any way to any current language spoken and only about 10% of the country speaks it?

by Massive_District9551 2 weeks ago

English is a offical language in wales

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

Yes, but some Welshifiers (Silurophiles?) seek to have all official English usage replaced by Welsh. Not exactly a forward-thinking proposal.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Well make an exeption for that then, most countries dont have this problem

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

Yeah, if you don't educate people they might end up doing huge run-on sentences like OP did.

by Visual-Bee-3001 2 weeks ago

Yes yes, but I dont live in a country where you speak english so it doesnt apply to me

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

Yes, to a degree. Not fluently, but yes i do think she should know enough to get by

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

You haven't answered my question: "or what?" What are you going to do if people don't speak the language? What does "force" mean?

by Feisty-Elk5559 2 weeks ago

Learn it or be deported. Pretty basic

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

And what of people that have citizenship but don't speak the language?

by Feisty-Elk5559 2 weeks ago

If you are not a part of society, you shouldnt be able to stay in one, citizenship be damned. It might be harder in America due to your immigrants actually participating, but European ones do not contribute in any way shape or form, so we have to be more strict than the US. Welfare states necesitates it.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

About things that are completely unrelated. The ability to speak a common language does not at all speak to whether someone is integrated. First world countries all over the world that have several different languages . There is linguistic prosecution; there is a whole host of reasons why this is a bad idea.

by Feisty-Elk5559 2 weeks ago

Currently, if you can't pass the English proficiency exams you will not be granted citizenship. You can remain here with a visa or green card though. I imagine OP wants all residents to learn English? Which I do think would be prudent of them, but it's not really feasible to require.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

I was thinking more world wide. There are no such requirements in most European countries, and we are paying heavily for our leaders stupidity. Requiring immigrants to speak the primary language is a really low bar, if thats too much, i dont think the person deserves to stay. Become a part of society or be forced to leave, its not that hard.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

This conversation is ridiculous. In countries like India, Canada, China, Russia, Spain, most of South America, and a bunch I just don't feel like listing, this idea has no legs. It only works (and barely) in a few countries in the world with homogeneous languages situation—insofar as such a thing exists.

by Feisty-Elk5559 2 weeks ago

What are you talking about? Most EU countries to require proficiency in language. Most of the first world does require it for naturalization. I agree that communication with the locals should be a priority if you wanna live in a country, but requiring all immigrants to learn a language would be a logistical nightmare.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

What? Are you for real? Boat immigrants, asylum, family reunions, the only people required are those coming to work or through legal means, which are not the source of the problems. If its not a cost people are willing to do, then there is one option left. Deny all immigrants except for legal work related ones, and deny all asylum and family reunions. Pick your poison.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Your a clown. When you reach that age you'll understand how your brain simply doesn't pick up stuff the same way. But you don't care about how the human brain works, you just want to blame foreigners for ‘ruining' a country.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

then maybe a person that old shouldn't move to a completely different country

by hirthegarth 2 weeks ago

You think that can be mandated by policy?

by portermayert 2 weeks ago

60 is not that old.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Many countries have multiple official languages, and some have none. If someone can move to your country, get a job and support themselves, pay taxes, and make a life for themselves, chances are they will learn the local language to a degree. Also, countries that require citizenship tests also usually only offer those tests, so an immigrant would have to learn enough of the language to pass.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Then there is no problem

by kendallhane 2 weeks ago

Yes, the problem is your opinion isn't unpopular

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

American didn't have a legally "official" language til this year but has required an English proficiency exams for citizenship since 1906. Most countries require this for citizenship. The immigrant part would be much harder I think it is fair to expect someone who wants to live in your country to be able to communicate with the citizens. It is also fair to expect them to assimilate culturally. If you want to be apart of a country, you should be apart of it socially.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

Ooo I hope your country's official language isn't English OP, otherwise you're in bit of a trouble.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

It's always people who barely speak one language making such kind of statements loll

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

People already do their best to learn how to communicate with the people around them. Of course they do. It's a practical necessity in day to day life. Why would we add a bunch of beurocracy to enforce what people are already doing? It would be a waste of taxpayer money, an unnecessary pain in the ass for everyone who needs to prove that they're learning, and an even bigger undue burden on everybody who needs to prove that they have a disability or other issue holding them back.

by Anonymous 2 weeks ago

...? If no law forces immigrants to learn the language, then the culture and economy will force them to do so.

by Livid_Priority1338 2 weeks ago