Okla. Indians balk at English-only bill

[malkin767]

By TIM TALLEY, Associated Press Writer

Comments

[ragnarok20]

English is a bastard language which continually appropriates terms from a multitude of other languages. Therefore, at this point, Oklahoma is English.

[ragnarok20]

True enough, but English is notorious for being a bastard. Other languages, not so much so.

[sin_agua]

/from Oklahoma

[petal_abstract]

I was in Wales and all of their signs, documents, etc. are in English and Welsh. I honestly didn't see any threat to English society by having bilingual stop signs and driver's liscences. Those Welsh savages are quite well adjusted to modern English soceity.

/sarcasm

[gahdzuks]

I'm sorry, but English being established as the national language is, at this point, a mere formality. All the signs are in english. All the textbooks (that I've run across) are in english. They teach english in the schools as a core class. It really would not be a huge issue. I know the native population is still pissed off at us -- and rightly so, might I add -- but a national language would do next to nothing (at the very worst) to dampen their efforts at reviving their languages.

[gaelfarce]

Besides there was a vote back in the early post-revolutionary days and English won out there so all these laws are just position statements.

[quasilover]

I totally understand the Indians are worried about their languages. Even at the beginning of last century, their children were actually forbidden to use their native languages. The status of the Indian languages could easily get weaker than now if the U.S. had only one official language.