1. Japanese 2. English Yes OR No OR Maybe?

[alanX]

There is already tons of English words used in Japanese, so there would really be no point. But I voted yes just for the heck of it...

[Aniki]

What country, who has a deep history of it's own language, would want to make English as it's second language?

[cridgit001]

The only reason any country should have a 2nd langauge is if the people that speak lets say English is like 30% or 40%. Definately not when it's less than 1%(I'm talking native speakers).

[Nyororin]

There is no reason for it, and anyone who actually believes that it should be is in the same category as those people who think that Japanese should be reduced to kana only.

In other words, for their own convenience, without thinking anything of the real needs and issues of the Japanese country itself.

Japan does not have a large number of native or truly bilingual English speakers. There is no reason I can think of that would justify making a second language at all, let alone making it English.

There is already tons of English words used in Japanese, so there would really be no point. But I voted yes just for the heck of it...

And no, there is not really all that much English in Japanese... The words that have been absorbed often do not even carry the same meanings. There are far more words in English that have been absorbed from various foreign languages. It is no justification for making any of them an official second language.

[Payne222]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Japan does not have a large number of native or truly bilingual English speakers. There is no reason I can think of that would justify making a second language at all, let alone making it English.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but arn't there a lot of Japanese households
that speak Korean at home? Maybe even Chinese is as popular as Korean?

[Nagoyankee]

Originally Posted by Payne222

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but arn't there a lot of Japanese households
that speak Korean at home? Maybe even Chinese is as popular as Korean?

Only 1 out of roughly every 200 households are of Korean descent and the majority of the 3rd, 4th and 5th generations don't even speak Korean. The Chinese constitute a much smaller percentage than the Koreans.

Japan is 99% Japanese, which makes this thread a rather silly one IMO.

[Payne222]

Originally Posted by Nagoyankee

Only 1 out of roughly every 200 households are of Korean descent and the majority of the 3rd, 4th and 5th generations don't even speak Korean. The Chinese constitute a much smaller percentage than the Koreans.

Japan is 99% Japanese, which makes this thread a rather silly one IMO.

Ohhh I see now. Thanks Nagoyankee!!

That seems rather odd to me though, seeing as I have friends and family
that speak languages at home and know of a lot of houses that operate
like that with languages like:
Polish, Spanish, Hungarian, German, etc.
And of course English haha.

[MMM]

I can't understand why anyone would answer "yes" to this question unless it is out of arrogance or ignorance.

[Kayci]

Originally Posted by MMM

I can't understand why anyone would answer "yes" to this question unless it is out of arrogance or ignorance.

I know, right?

[YanBrassard]

Originally Posted by Aniki

What country, who has a deep history of it's own language, would want to make English as it's second language?

I confirm. If English would be considered as the second official language in Quebec, it would be an insult for me and my nation. I think it would be the same thing if English would be considered as the second official language in Japan.

English is already spoken in many countries, I think that's enough. Actually a lot of young people like to use English expressions while speaking their native language (in case of Quebec, it is a big problem, especially in Montreal). I think that a lot of English words are already used in the Japanese language.

The language is one of the most important cultural identity for a nation, we must respect it. I think it's not a necessity to add English as a second language if less than 5% of the population actually use this language at home.