eMarkLee

Why do we need to translate documents in different languages in the UK, US, or any other country? I can understand different translations in brochures, but why would we need it on EVERYTHING? In San Diego, for example, everything has Spanish on it. My calls to Sprint PCS to get “Dropped Call Credits” all ask me if I want to to hear my choices in Spanish. This last point doesn’t relate as well because there is money to be made by Sprint but what I don’t understand are the official documents that the government produces such as passport applications, social security, etc, etc. Aren’t these for US residents?

This debate comes up time and time again in California, but it’s interesting to see how broad the concerns are that it does not make sense that a country’s own residents don’t learn the national language. The UK has a lot of the same sentiment, being a country flooded with non-English speakers. I am definitely more on the side of a country demanding its residents to learn its national language…call me crazy. It’s ok if someone doesn’t want to learn the language, but that person should not be allowed to attain citizenship and also must figure out the meaning of their documentation on their own time and money. This probably oversimplifies the problem, but I think sometimes problems are overanalyzed. If I created markleeville, I would require that everybody speak in L33t, make chocolate lakes for me to swim in, and sing songs when fat kids come drink my chocolate. I can only dream.