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hyrailer t1_jdhyu1y wrote

Why does any state need this?

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mattaccino t1_jdi2ihg wrote

…an acknowledgement that WA is a multilingual society, and efforts to limit government’s communications to a single language are seen as attempts to limit government accessibility to non-English speakers.

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whidbeysounder t1_jdi8h7m wrote

Official language? We don’t need no stinking official language!

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Druskell t1_jdij1lb wrote

I feel like having an official language (in the sense that it is a language forced to be used) would be a violation of freedom of speech.

Having an official language as a matter of streamlining operations in the offices of government I don't have a problem with. Although once that is declared I feel like it will encourage people to declare the former. (I Know this is a slippery slope argument)

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I like how most things I see in WA. Documents are either in english, or english and other languages. With more languages available upon request.

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MaximumStep2263 t1_jdijcoz wrote

There's close to 100 different languages spoken in King county alone

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dp3166 t1_jdio6ms wrote

The official language of Washington State is the tax code.

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BareLeggedCook t1_jdiu1n8 wrote

Yet, the USA doesn’t have an official language. So states having one is moot.

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duckduckohno t1_jdj24c6 wrote

Chinook wawa should be our unofficial language

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Eskimoobob t1_jdj821f wrote

I feel like most of us English speakers just wish we knew more languages

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Flash_ina_pan t1_jdjnl4d wrote

Official languages are kinda pointless unless you are trying to protect a dying language. While most Americans can barely speak English properly, it is far from a dying language

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vidaderojoyverde t1_jdjrhen wrote

Make it Chinuk Wawa. A multicultural language with heritage right here in the PNW/Washington

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punkbluesnroll t1_jdk0abf wrote

Because people in Washington don't talk to each other so we don't bother /s

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realmamamorgan t1_jdk201d wrote

There isn’t a federally established national language; why would there be one established by individual states?

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sleeknub t1_jdk4ngd wrote

All states have a de facto official language that government business is conducted in and laws are written in, I believe.

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Vegethenics t1_jdkxefm wrote

I think there should be an official language but there should be translation services available to ensure accessibility. I think it should be encouraged to maintain one's culture but to also learn the local culture both. No reason you have to sacrifice one for the other. I like that I can walk outside and hear like 5 or 10 different languages just by going on a walk, but its important to have a basic common language as well. Of course the common language can change over time as is needed if one language becomes the majority spoken.

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onlyinyaks t1_jdlcdkm wrote

Every person I’ve ever met is able to speak English or Spanish. I grew up in central WA, so we never really had Asian/Middle eastern languages spoken. It would have been very cool to meet random Asian/Middle Eastern folks who speak totally different languages than what I’m used to.

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mentallyillustrated t1_jdlhttw wrote

I think it would be good if every public school member has to learn greetings in Salish. Fail them out if they can’t pronounce it right.

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dp3166 t1_jdnd1mf wrote

Replying to hyrailer (#2,341,012)

I lived there until Seattle put a homeless hotel 1/4 mile from my home and being an employee at Boeing Renton got to be barely enough to pay the bills and I figured out that Sound Transit was just another payoff program. And don’t forget about the I-5 interchange in Tacoma. Also they should require all DEMOCRATS to ride the train from Tacoma to Olympia as a trust fall. Oh don’t forget about only going to the movies at the 72nd street theater.

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hyrailer t1_jdpk5ts wrote

Replying to dp3166 (#2,364,745)

You're not happy. You're harboring a litany of things that are wrong about a place you chose to move away from. Like, a long list of things that you're not letting go of.

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Druskell t1_jdrwtl5 wrote

Replying to onlyinyaks (#2,349,339)

That isn't what I said.

  1. "a language FORCED to be used" meaning disallowing individuals and communities to use what ever language they want. Freedom of speech is saying what you want how you want. You want to protest is in Portugese, or via interpretive dance... go for it.
  2. I was saying I like documents having multiple translations, or at least having access to translated versions of the same document. would not violated freedom of speech.
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hyrailer t1_jdszkxo wrote

Replying to CraftyFellow_ (#2,377,044)

I swear, none of you can read- what did my comment say, exactly?

"ONE of the basic tenets of fascism..." One. Along with Powerful and continuing nationalism. Disdain for human rights. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause. Military supremacy. Rampant seismic. Controlled mass media. Obsession with national security. Religion and government laced together. Corporate power protected. Labor power suppressed. Disdain for intellectuals and the arts. Obsession with crime and punishment. Rampant cronyism and corruption. Fraudulent elections.

Of the semi-socialist countries any of you have listed, do any of these descriptions apply to them?

Maybe a more appropriate question- name a country that is embracing all of these concepts.

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