I have already explained why I believe that English should be our official language, but I have to admit that my arguments have a major shortcoming. Although I do not want to pursue the impossibilities of supporting all recognized languages, I have to admit that there are some languages other than English that really do require some of our support. Spanish, the language that I previously singled out, happens to be one of them.
Why do we need support for Spanish? I can answer that question in two words, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is a part of the United States, and people who live there speak primarily Spanish.
Spanish isn't the only language that we need to support. Even though I believe in putting the past behind us, I do not believe that our past mistakes justify finishing off Native American culture. Native Americans should have the right to keep their languages alive, and we should be willing to accommodate that desire.
Spanish and Native American languages should be viewed as regional. Here in Washington, I do not see any reason to invest resources in Spanish or Cherokee. I believe our native language is Lushootseed. That is a language that we should accommodate
None of this should be viewed as backtracking on my part. I still believe that English should be our official language. In fact, I was already planning on explaining these issues before I wrote my initial post. The concern here is that we also should name some secondary languages. This simplifies language demands by having a common starting point rather than having to support complete neutrality since neutrality would require communications directly between all languages. That would require translators to go directly from any supported language to any other. Also, the regional component of secondary languages means that you could have just two languages written on sign and various forms of documentation, making it easier for people to find information in their preferred but supported language.
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