Should all signs be bilingual?

I completely agree with you. I have been looking for a new job lately, and it seems everyone gives preference to those who also speak spanish. I live in an area where there are people from Russia, Somolia, France, and other places... Does that mean I also need to learn all THOSE languages? I think it's wonderful that America is so diverse and has so many different cultures, but I also think that anyone who lives here should have at least a basic understanding of the english language.

i think it depends on the area. here in SoCal, latinos are quickly becoming the majority so the signs are going to cater to them. i dont have a problem with the signs being in two languages, as long as one of them is english for me. In Lil Saigon and Chinatown, the signs are in chinese, so I really dont see an issue with it. I'm sure I'll be in the minority, but English is NOT the official language of the USA, we dont have an official language. Yes the constitution was written in English, but we didn't have as many immigrants from other countries, now we do.

only if you are officially bilingual. here in canada we are and all food products and highway signs are bilingual but because i live in ontario, most city signs are not but if you travel closer to the province of quebec, you will find most signs are bilingual. if you are in quebec, many signs are just in french.

It doesn't bother me. It is a courtesy really. What does bother me is when I call for help with my phone or electric, etc. and the recording starts out in spanish and I have to press one to hear it in english. seems to me it should be the other way around. And then when you do finally get a real person....you can barely understand that person because of the strong accent.

I honestly believe we should have a national language, most other countries do. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0855611.html) However, I do think that we should be like other countries and post our signs in dual/multi languages. If you visit a foreign country in the major cities you are more than likely going to see signs in both English and a National Language. It seems right that we do so in America as well. In a 2000 census over 47 million children over the age of 5 spoke a language other then English at home. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2003/10/09/percentage_of_non_english_speaking_americans_surges/Though I feel we should speak English as that is our language, I do feel we need to make sure that people are able to find what they need if English is not their native language. We expect that courtesy when we visit another country, why would we think we didn't need to provide here? Namaste-Anora

agree In China,there are so many international shopping center. Walmart & Carrefour in my city is also using two foreign languages French and ENglish, but In CHINA, mandarin is our offical language. I felt very uncomfortable when I was shopping in those places

I think sence Most of the world knows English there should be a standard that you must know english as eaither your primary or secondary language, and as for signs, they should be changed to pictures so that any one can under stand there meaning.

I have also shopped in some of these places. I am sorry, but we live in the U.S. other countries do not cater to other languages and we should not either. It does bother me to have different sign when I am shopping. Everyone should learn to speak the language of their country and then this would not be a problem. I would not go to China and expect all the signs to be in english. I think the same standard should apply here. I know this may sound a bit biased, but if you are in this country learn to speak english, otherwise, find somewhere new to live.

I think it's a good and a welcome strategy for stores to adopt bilingual signages. I could imagine my frustration if I were to shop in a store where the signages are in a language I can't understand. I may not be able to buy anything! My son who travels to China, Japan & other countries had anecdotes about his shopping experiences. Not all people migrating to your country can adopt to your language right away. Many Americans who have lived in my country never learned the native language except maybe a few words, but not enough to carry a conversation with a no-English local.Luckily for them we use English extensively as the language of commerce. I would only mind having bilingual signagaes if the intended customers are only the English-speaking people, because it would be ridiculous, and useless.

Well this is an interesting topic. I agree with some of the other mylotters who have said that it depends on the area. I live in south texas and here both english and spanish are used on a regular basis. You have to keep in mind that here in the United States we don't have an official language. I'm all about people knowing the english language here in the united states but on the same token it goes back to where you live, culture, etc. I'm Hispanic and I don't have my spanish down perfectly but I'm still learning. You see the use of both language especially in the public school systems down here. I don't see nothing wrong with signs being bilingual or people within society knowing two or more languages. As a child I was always spoken to in English and that is my native language. I understood Spanish but never had a need to speak it so I never did. Now I'm in college and I'm in last year of being a bilingual elementary school teacher and now I am struggling to better my Spanish. I have shopped in stores where there are signs in both languages. I personally don't mind.

hmmm, I think some things have every langauge on the product, some have just english. I found in a UK airport it was all english, yet in a Spanish airport, it was in 3 languages, yet not english, but out of the 3 one was very close to english and understandable. Altho some words like: Automobile, you just have to think about.