Tweet
MARYLAND COUNTY WANTS YOU TO TALK AMERICAN, NOT ARMENIAN
http://www.aravot.am/en/2012/11/27/134631/
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 15:24
A county in northern Maryland is under the grave threat of creeping
Armenian culture, or so a local lawmaker believes. In Carroll County,
Commissioner Haven N. Shoemaker Jr. has introduced legislation that
would make English the official language of the county of 168,000
residents.
The Washington Post reports that Shoemaker~Rs bill came about after
he heard that a Washington suburb spent taxpayer money on translating
government documents into Armenian. But Carroll County is transforming
from a mostly agricultural region into an more diverse exurb of
Baltimore, and Shoemaker~Rs proposal has its detractors:
~SIt~Rs divisive,~T said Dane Manges, 31, a Manchester resident who
works in Cup, a tea bar on Main Street here. He thinks the ordinance
distracts from more substantive threats to the community~Rs traditions
and heritage, such as rapid suburbanization. ~SThese things could be
maintained without an ~Qus~R and ~Qthem~R mentality,~T he said.
Backward as official-language regulations seem, they do have some
popularity in Maryland. In February, Frederick County passed such an
ordinance in February; Queen Anne~Rs County followed suit in May.
Carroll County~Rs commissioners will debate making English their
official language at a hearing next month.
http://www.aravot.am/en/2012/11/27/134631/
NOVEMBER 27, 2012 15:24
A county in northern Maryland is under the grave threat of creeping
Armenian culture, or so a local lawmaker believes. In Carroll County,
Commissioner Haven N. Shoemaker Jr. has introduced legislation that
would make English the official language of the county of 168,000
residents.
The Washington Post reports that Shoemaker~Rs bill came about after
he heard that a Washington suburb spent taxpayer money on translating
government documents into Armenian. But Carroll County is transforming
from a mostly agricultural region into an more diverse exurb of
Baltimore, and Shoemaker~Rs proposal has its detractors:
~SIt~Rs divisive,~T said Dane Manges, 31, a Manchester resident who
works in Cup, a tea bar on Main Street here. He thinks the ordinance
distracts from more substantive threats to the community~Rs traditions
and heritage, such as rapid suburbanization. ~SThese things could be
maintained without an ~Qus~R and ~Qthem~R mentality,~T he said.
Backward as official-language regulations seem, they do have some
popularity in Maryland. In February, Frederick County passed such an
ordinance in February; Queen Anne~Rs County followed suit in May.
Carroll County~Rs commissioners will debate making English their
official language at a hearing next month.