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

I don't think so at all.
:/

Yeah, maybe it's beneficial for them to learn it. (Okay, "scratch" out maybe if people will argue...)

But that's THEIR language. It already has enough english being added into it, apparently, according to some.

Just let them have one language only...

its japan not england soo they should keep their language.

is there any 2nd language in Japan currently?

No...not that I know of :/

edit; Crap I accidently double posted

I honestly see no rhyme or reason for doing so.

uh..theres really no reason for that...it's like saying should japanese be made a second language of USA

Go ahead
 

i mean i would be happy if it was a second lang in the US but isn't :o

I do believe that it would be beneficial for English to be available there, but to make it an official second language is unecessary...

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...

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

I know, right?

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.

English isn't Canada's second language though.
English and French share the position of national languages of Canada.
Neither of them is above the other.

If English would be considered as the second official language in Quebec, it would be an insult for me and my nation.

Not to put to big a point on it but France abandoned Quebec to the English after losing the battle of the Plains of Abraham. You only think you're a nation and if left to survive on your own you would lose your culture likely far faster than you feel you have. Be thankful that the English were gracious when they won because usually the loser's culture is forfeit.

They say, what, 3 English words a song?

And not even a million Americans live there. And from what I read on here
99% of Japan is Japanese....so....kinda pointless.

Thanks but I know my history. Even if France abandoned Quebec, we will always stay a French colony. The English signed the Treaty of Paris in 1763 but even if Quebec was officially considered as an English colony, we've never been colonised by them, we don't have the same culture and we don't speak the same language. It is a good reason to consider that we have our own nation and we will always stay an old French colony inside an English country. We share the same first and last names than them and we are members of the Francophonie.

Yes English people were very gracious with them. They allowed us to keep our religion, language and traditions. But the Quebec nation worked very hard to convince the English that we are a nation.

I'm not against the separation of Quebec province and I think that we actually won a lot of power but there are still some people in Quebec and in the other provinces of Canada who still have a hostile mentality about our nations. I think there's an incomprehension in both sides so that's why some English-speaking Canadians still have difficulty to accept Quebec nation and some Quebecers have difficulty to accept to live inside Canada.

I could see doing it for only one reason, and that is a greater relevance amongst the international science community. I have seen it said in a couple different places that despite Japan's large science and technology community they have a relatively small presence at international confrences and generate a small number of technical papers. The reason given for this is the poor english skills of Japanese scientists and engineers. English is the defacto language of scientific communication and usually the required language for presentations and papers. By making English an official language of Japan the english literacy would increase and so would the Japanese presence at international scientific events.

Valid point but I think we all know this is just a pipe dream.

Again, only arrogance or ignorance could justify a "yes" remark.

That or just not smart enough to learn a foreign language.

I have voted no. English is a great language and a platform for different people to interact, but Japan is, indeed, not Great-Brittain or the U.S.A. for that matter. Japan is Japan, and as long as English is not forbidden to be spoken, it will be alright. Nihongo IS Japan.

They're not obligated to make English as an official language of Japan to increase the English skills of Japanese scientists and engineers. They just need to force them to learn English as a second language during their school formation.

Expecting scientists to explain themselves in a language other than their own is a barbed-wire to progress.

There are thousands of talented translators who can translate their findings when needed. Why make the scientist learn a foreign language?

I agree with MMM. Let us not forget that every nation has to have the freedom to operate internationally in her own language if it wishes to :)!

Japan is "trying" to internationalize so I guess English as a second language would be a good start.

Surely it's bound to happen as the language is so dominant in the world and the wishes of so many Japanese wishing they could speak English..

Nothing wrong with Japanese but I would think it's ashame not to know and use a second language...

I think most people enjoy speaking a second language....

Lighten up guys.. It's not that bad;)

That is fine and dandy but the international science community doesn't work that way. They produce papers in english and give lectures in english. Occasionally an organization will allow two choices, english or the national language where they are headquartered. And the reason to learn english as a scientist is that rarely do organizations allow guest presenters of papers. Additionally, a translator wouldn't be allowed to present the paper only someone trained in the field and familiar with the research. Not having good english skills as a researcher is akin to not having certain computer skills. You are ultimately reliant on someone else more than is neccesary and you can't be certain of the result you get from the translator/computer operator if you can't generate the results yourself.

Well said:vsign:

I am not understanding this Japanese VS English thing that so many seem perplexed about..

It's just not about that....

Actually, I think it is worse than that. Japanese do have the chance to learn english- they make schools just to learn.

Why make it a second language. Other countries can choose to have that, but Japan doesn't really bloody need it.
Latin used to be the most sought after language itself...look at it now?


And for people who want english to be the international communication and only language- that is pure selfishness :/

Excuse me, I live in Fresno.
Foreign language in high school is usually required, for university, but it's not Spanish.
I never took it.
I took french, and am now taking Chinese.

It's not a requirement.
It's wise, I think, but not a requirement in all of california.

What percentage of Japanese citizens are scientists?