Gozar wrote:Wouldn't excluding one language from being official only aid in creating division?
If every child is fluent in (the same) 2 languages, then they can communicate in either. That would be ideal. However, that is rarely possible, for a lot of reasons. This means that some people will always be unable to communicate with others. That creates the division.
I fully believe in teaching languages, but I think requiring everyone to learn 2 languages would limit the knowledge of third languages too severely. I don't care if children know English and Russian, English and Chinese or English and Spanish. The more languages the better, but knowing a Nation's language is first and foremost. In our case (the US), its English. If groups of kids all know English, they can talk and debate together to make our democracy function. The other language is then an added bonus.
You don't have to look just at Canada. If you find a country with multiple languages, they either unite under one common, official and practical tongue (often English in today's world) or you find a nation that is heavily divided. IN fact, where there are multiple official languages, division is generally what you find above all.
Gozar wrote:I think our bilingual status is indicative of our acceptance.
And it isn't just Quebec that is bilingual, New Brunswick is also a bilingual province, and has never had a secession vote.
True Bilingualism, everyone in a population being truly fluent in 2 languages would be wonderful. However, my observation is that this is not happening. Many in France barely know enough French to order from a menu or find directions, never mind debate politics and many French Canadiens don't know sufficient English to properly communicate.
And... Canada is a pretty stable, relatively polite and peaceful country. If YOU cannot really and truly make this bilingualism work, how can another, larger and more complex nation (much more diverse is virtually all ways) hope to do so?
However, I suppose this is heading off topic, so I will begin a new thread.