Resolved: English should not be the official language of the United States

:) I'll start by attacking my opponent and also reading my case. 1st off= DEFINITIONS) I disagree with the definition of "English" since he defined it as a language. There are many languages in the world, but English is one type. I offer this counter-definition that works better in the debate. English = European language belonging to the West Germanic branch; the official language of Britain and closely to the United States and most of the commonwealth countries. . http://dictionary.reference.com... > I accept all the other definitions --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2nd off, addressing the value and criterion of my opponent v) My opponent's value was diversity, which was defined as "not all people can speak English,they speak different languages" First off, that definition is incorrect, since diversity is not the lack of English speakers. Second, having English as the official language does not deter diversity from occurring. There will still be different cultures, and those languages will still be spoken, but they won't be the official ones. c) My opponent's criterion is quite arbitrary to the resolution. Human life, that's the right to life. We aren't debating on human life, but merely about official languages. Human life is not damaged when an official language is used. There are official languages all over the world, and human life is still preserved . http://www.infoplease.com... > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And now, for the feature presentation. Attacking my opponent's case. His contention 1) "Not everyone can speak English. .. ." There are ways in which people CAN learn different languages. We can't stop something just because some of the people can't speak English. These some of the people are the minority. According to an article website (. http://findarticles.com...) only 17.6% of the population don't speak English at home. That is the minority, and we can't base ourselves on them only. There are easy ways to learn English, and you wouldn't necessarily be required to speak it. Why? Because making a language an official one, doesn't MAKE you speak it. His Contention 2) "Relationships between countries can make learning English dangerous" This is an arbitrary contention regarding the resolution. He said that if a person comes to the US, the relationships between US and Vietnam become sour. This doesn't happen. We have people coming from all over the world, some of them from Mexico. Our relationship with Mexico is still quite healthy, despite them not knowing English. Leaving a country is not treason, it doesn't affect them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOw, on to my case v) Similarities (Having something in similar. . quite straightforward definition) c) Utilitarianism (The greater good for the greater number of people) CONTENTION 1: English being the official language is beneficial, since that way, we can all communicate in one way. If we have all these different languages, chances are, some of them, you won't know, and communication will be difficult CONTENTION 2: What's there to loose in using English? Nothing, but much more to win. By using English as the official language, we will be able to communicate even more effectively. CONTENTION 3: States that have English as the language, don't only speak english. When it regards safety, public health, tourism, learning foreign languages, etc. , you are allowed to speak what ever language you wants. Also, state authorities speak what ever they want. . http://www.proenglish.org...; This is why I believe CON should win. I have stated why English is necessary. There isn't much to loose. And besides, a little question for my opponent. What language is he currently speaking? ~Radicalguy44