if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803
Me Fail English? That’s Unpossible!
by Lee
West Virginia has a new official language.
Two days after the end of the legislative session, state lawmakers are discovering something few were aware of: They voted to make English the official language of West Virginia.
The language amendment was quietly inserted into a bill addressing the number of members that cities can appoint to boards of parks and recreation. Among mundane details about record-keeping, the amendment adds the provision that “English shall be the official language of the State of West Virginia.”
Senate Majority Whip Billy Wayne Bailey successfully offered that change to House Bill 2782 amid a flurry of bills moving back and forth between the House and Senate on Saturday, the last night of the 60-day legislative session.
“I just told the members that the amendment clarifies the way in which documents are produced,” Bailey, a Democrat, said Monday.
To promote the state’s new official language, the governor made an announcement outside the capitol building. “Yeap, we gon’ be speakin’ Anglash all ufficial-like fer now awn, cuz at’s the law roun’ these here parts frum now awn. Yee-haw!” The governor then asked an aide to find his wife and sister so he could leave. She was located out back by the toolshed.
Comments
West Virginia has a new official language.
Unfortunately they voted in Victorian English, proper for the queen.
The state officials were then forced to pronounce aluminium to the liking of an Englishman over 100 times.
On the bright side they were given a spoonful of sugar by Mary Poppins.
I wish a legislator could pull this off here in California.
This may have a lot to do with illegal immigrants (yes, even to WV). If the official language is English, then state documents must be published in English, forcing residents to learn the language.
Cletus and Brandine are upset because now they’ll need to go back to school for ESL classes.
Wait...a state is actually going to REQUIRE people to speak English? Now, I’m in Massachusetts (which is THE MOST LIBERAL STATE in the Union), and I can tell you right now that they put more emphasis on the children speaking Spanish and Failure...er, French, then they do with the English curriculum, or the English as a Secondary Language (ESL) courses. It really is sad.
Go West Virginia! UMass still owns j00, though.
It’s about dern time.
For English press 1
Para Español oprima 2
For English press 1
Para Español oprima 2
There’s a ton of Vietnamese and Filipinos in this area and I can’t remember the last time I heard an option for their languages. Of course, most of the Vietnamese and Filipinos actually go to the trouble of learning English…
If the official language is English, then state documents must be published in English
It saves money. A lot of states and municipalities (like San Francisco) spend quite a bit of money publishing all their forms and booklets in a variety of languages. That shit adds up. I bet SF spends more on that shit than anywhere else.
You can take the CA driver license exam in several dozen languages. They also went to the green walking dud and red hand for crosswalk signals to accomodate them
I bet SF spends more on that shit than anywhere else.
According to one source I heard at the Riverside County Registrar’s Office, LA City/County has to print their ballots in 13 different languages.
That shit is ridiculous. We’ve only got two in this county (English & Spanish) “because there isn’t enough of a need for other languages”.
Yet.
You can take the CA driver license exam in several dozen languages.
You can also listen to an audio test (for those who can’t read). Now if you were to ask me, I’d think that not being able to read the freakin’ test means that they probably wouldn’t be able to read the traffic signs, either, but I guess that’s just too logical for California.
(Speaking of which, why do they have braille at a drive-up ATM?)
Even though I’m 50% latino (and bilingual), I hate to see the OSHA posters in my office in both English and Spanish. It’s OK, hispanics want to preserve their culture, their heritage, their language. But, once you decide to leave your country and migrate to another one, then you must adopt the new country’s culture and language. Not the other way around. The only way to achieve success starts by learning the language.
I concur 100% with Bashir Gemayel. In the Washington DC Metropolitan area, where I live, there’s a huge hispanic population, and there are also a large group of Koreans, Sudanese, Chinese, Africans and so on.
We conservatives hate double standards. And I don’t hear: “For Korean, press 3”.
My 2 cents, a standard should be created, all telephone menus should be in English. There should be a key, like pound (#), that if pressed, should send you to the language selection option. That should be tacit, not explained each and every time you try to contact someone. I hate to wait, even if I just have to stand-by for English, specially if you’re having an emergency, when those 15 additional seconds could make the difference.
The only immigrants that don’t seem to want to learn English are typically Mexicans in specific locations.
They seem to consider parts of the US to actually be Mexico, so don’t see why they need to learn another language when they can go their entire life in those places speaking Spanish.
Some people’s unwillingness to learn English reaches ridiculous levels. I know people living in the US for a long time, some of them for 20 years or so, that have no interest whatsoever to learn more that the minimum, and sometimes not even that. The outrageous part of this situation , and I have witnessed it more than once, is that mothers of kids born and raised here, cannot communicate with them. They don’t speak English and their kids refuse to speak spanish. At their age (middle-high school)it is apparently not cool. As a direct consequence, kids are failing by scores. Parents are unable to help them with their homeworks nor have never talked to a teacher. No wonder why Gangs’ violence is on the rise in the DC Area.
(Speaking of which, why do they have braille at a drive-up ATM?)
You can still walk up to them.
Yeah, that’s what I want to deal with - a blind person walking around a parking lot looking for the drive-up ATM, rather than using the one designed for pedestrian traffic, located on the side of the building.
Lee: You are increasingly sounding like someone from the Democratic Underground.
You have totally missed the point, and if you’d take your blue state blinders off you might realize that there are important principals actually at stake here.
the most important point is that this was slipped in without anyone really noticing, the system definately has many flaws. What if this had been something more serious.
Lee: You are increasingly sounding like someone from the Democratic Underground.
You have totally missed the point, and if you’d take your blue state blinders off you might realize that there are important principals actually at stake here.
Dude, are you retarded or something? This was a joke about people with southern accents. Lighten the fuck up.
the most important point is that this was slipped in without anyone really noticing, the system definately has many flaws. What if this had been something more serious.
Duh. Then we’d repeal it. If necessary, we’d hold an emergency session to do so.
The really important point was that this was the 15th attempt to pass this through the state legislature by a group of conservatives with a rational immigration policy and that they succeeded finally by doing it with little fanfare. But it DIDN’T happen without anyone really noticing. I’m sure that the Republicans knew what was going on but kept thier mouths shut in order to avoid a contriversy.
I’m quite sure this had nothing to do with a lack of elloquence on the part of West Virginians, and everything to do about the growing problem of rural factories increasingly employeeing large numbers of illegal immigrants.
The fact of the matter is that most rural counties can’t afford to be bilingual, and in the long term I’m not sure that becoming a bilingual country would be worthwhile. When did these become contriversial positions with conservatives? Are we to suddenly become champions of non-integration , identity based politics, and the rights of illegals?
Duh. Then we’d repeal it. If necessary, we’d hold an emergency session to do so.
yeah, they do this all of the time, politicians love to admit that they fucked up, and have no problem attending an emergency session to try to take care of it.
"Dude, are you retarded or something? This was a joke about people with southern accents. Lighten the fuck up.”
I’m from Arkansas. While my wife was working on her Masters degree at Penn State, I was invited over for Thanksgiving dinner by a family from New York who proved to be liberals. When they learned I was from Arkansas, I endured a night of hilly billy jokes and other ignorant comments that don’t bear repeating here. I will say that I had never in Arkansas ate thanksgiving dinner with a pair of dogs lying under the table eating scraps.
While living in Pennsylvania, I got more jokes about Southrons than I cared for.
I don’t know how many conversations I endured which went like this:
Them: “Are youse yokel or are youse from the coyege?”
Me: “My wife’s at Penn State. I’m from Arkansas.”
Them: “Why youse don’t sound like youse got a Southern accent.”
Eventually I came to understand that they meant by this, “Why, that’s amazing. You don’t sound ignorant.”
My point is that comments regarding the ignorance of the ‘hicks’ in red states are something that I expect to be coming from ignorant and untraveled liberals who learned everything they know about the South by watching the Dukes of Hazard.
Are you retarded or something?
I think I will sue my state’s government to force them to allow all driving tests and other government-issued tests in Pig Latin.
My point is that comments regarding the ignorance of the ‘hicks’ in red states are something that I expect to be coming from ignorant and untraveled liberals who learned everything they know about the South by watching the Dukes of Hazard.
You have to remember that I *am* a Red State Hick. Lighten up, Francis.
Relax celebrim. Most of us know that southerners are not all a bunch of ignorant hicks. In fact, many are brilliant. But, by and large, they do have accents. Can’t we just have a little fun playing on sterotypes without you reflecting all your bad experiences on us?
Lighten up, Francis.
Dude, I was totally going to say that but went a different route! Once again…
Stick me in a southern state and in less than two weeks I’ll be talking like the locals. I love almost all accents.
I could have only wished I had an accent. It was sad but many New yorkers moved to Miami during my schooling years and I was forced upon a new York accent.
I had a friend from Bamy who had a delightful country accent. I was jealous. I grew up in Florida and all I got was this shitty nonsensical accent.
I’ll bet it would surprise most “Educated” Northerners that Southern English with it’s “Aint’s” is really closer to the King’s English that was spoken in the original Thirteen Colonies by the Scotch-Irish settlers.
BTW, does anybody else think that Joe Manchin is an improvement over Bob Wise, even though Manchin’s a democrat?
The really important point was that this was the 15th attempt to pass this through the state legislature by a group of conservatives with a rational immigration policy and that they succeeded finally by doing it with little fanfare.
Ummm.... Actually, it was put in place by a group of Democrats (unless the article is wrong). They’re not ussually conservatives.
The reason there is braile on the drive up ATM’s is because those ATM’s use the same parts as walk up ATM’s. It wouldn’t make sense to make non-braile buttons.
Not the button. The little plaque with the braille instructions. I’ll try to see if I can’t take a picture and show you what I mean.
While I’m thinking about it, I also saw a sign at the McDonald’s drive-up menu. It read, “Braille and picture menus available”.
Who is this sign for?
That ranks right up there with the sign I saw in a subway years ago. “Illiterate? Write for help!” with a government POBox listed.
I couldn’t stop laughing.
While I’m thinking about it, I also saw a sign at the McDonald’s drive-up menu. It read, “Braille and picture menus available”.
PLEASE take a picture of that one!! :D
. “Illiterate? Write for help!” with a government POBox listed.that is freakin hilarious
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