It takes more than a language to unify a nation

[Joel S. Berson]

Wilson, I think you've over-interpreted me.  I did not say that
English should be made the privileged language of the U.S. de jure,
only of juries -- and I suppose not even that, since juries are not
supposed to interpret the law, only judges are.

I was speaking *only* of the language in which U.S. law should be
interpreted, not of any other aspects of the "English only" thesis,
with which I disagree.  For example, while I am sympathetic towards
requiring laws to be interpreted in the language in which they were
written (so English, in the U.S.), I would oppose a law requiring
that testimony in court be given in English.  Or that those speaking
to the government, to hospitals, etc. be required by law to speak English

Joel

At 2/23/2007 12:19 AM, you wrote:
>Not "Why shouldn't we?" but "Why should we?" English is already de
>facto so privileged in this country. What requiires that it be made so
>de jure? The fact that the E.U., consisting of several different
>countries speaking an even larger number of distinct languages, does
>so? The fact that the French do so?
>
>-Wilson
>
>On 2/22/07, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>>---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>-----------------------
>>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>>Subject:      Re: It takes more than a language to unify a nation
>>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>At 2/22/2007 09:48 PM, Dennis Baron wrote:
>> >King's bill also reveals the paranoia
>> >behind all official language legislation. It privileges the English
>> >versions of our laws because the bill's sponsors, who surely don't
>> >object to translating the Bible into English, insist that translating
>> >our laws, not to mention sacred secular texts like the Star-Spangled
>> >Banner and the Pledge of Allegiance, will distort or pervert their
>> >meaning.
>>
>>The E.U. privileges the language in which the law of a country is
>>written, as being the most accurate rendition of meaning.  Why
>>shouldn't Americans privilege the English language verions of U.S. laws?
>>
>>Joel
>>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>
>--
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-----
>-Sam'l Clemens
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org