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Archiver > PABERKS > 2004-01 > 1073147201


From: "Jeffrey B. Gibson" <>
Subject: Re: [PABERKS] RE: "You're Dutch"
Date: Sat, 03 Jan 2004 10:31:28 -0600
References: <20040103.093636.-16768605.1.warnerlarry@juno.com>


"Larry A. Warner" wrote:

> Reason being, many of these people do not want to learn English,
> like our parents before us DID.

Leaving aside the questions of whether the first part of this statement
isn't a sweeping generalization and/or whether Larry is in a position to
know if in fact what he claims is actually true, what is the actual
evidence that the original non English speaking immigrants to PA (never
mind the rest of the "country") actually **did** want to, let alone took
steps to, learn English? Is it really the case that any (let alone all)
of the first generation of Germans or Poles or Swedes or French, or even
the second or third wave of them, did what Larry claims they did?

Yours,

Jeffrey

>
>
> On Sat, 3 Jan 2004 09:03:19 EST writes:
> > In a message dated 1/2/2004 6:43:53 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> > writes:
> >
> > >One bit of history I find interesting is the fact that we would all
> > be
> > speaking German or Deutsch instead of English, except for a margin
> > of one vote.<
> >
> > This bit of "history" is a nice story but not true. It may seem
> > plausible to
> > someone living in Pennsylvania, which had a large minority
> > population of
> > German speakers, but if you consider that some states, such as those
> > in New
> > England, had almost no German speakers, it doesn't make any sense.
> >
> > The United States has never had an “official" language, including
> > English.
> > There was no vote in 1776 to make German the official language.
> > Congressional
> > debate and a vote concerning German probably did take place in 1795
> > but dealt
> > with translating US laws into German. The proposal to publish laws
> > in languages
> > other than English was rejected a few months later (perhaps by one
> > vote). For
> > further details, you can go to the following web site:
> >
> > http://www.us-english.org/foundation/issues/german.asp
> >
> > Jim Ensinger
> >
> > Living in Connecticut and researching my German speaking ancestors
> > in
> > Colonial Berks County.
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> >
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--

Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon.)

1500 W. Pratt Blvd. #1
Chicago, IL 60626




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