Vietnamese becomes official language in San Francisco

According to the voting results on June 11, Vietnamese will become one of the official languages of the city of San Francisco (USA).

Thành viên Hội đồng Giám sát San Francisco Shamann Walton phát biểu ngày 11-6, công nhận tiếng Việt là ngôn ngữ chính thức ở San Francisco (Mỹ) - Ảnh: San Francisco Chronicle — *San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Shamann Walton speaks on June 11, recognizing Vietnamese as an official language in San Francisco (USA) - Photo: San Francisco Chronicle*

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the move by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is part of an effort to expand English-language services to the nearly 6,800 people who primarily speak Vietnamese here. Since 2001, San Francisco has issued regulations on language access. This is a measure to help residents receive services in the language they feel most comfortable with. English will be translated into these languages in city services, and the old regulations applied to communities with at least 10,000 people who are not fluent in English. The list of official languages in San Francisco previously included Chinese, Spanish and Filipino. However, the adjustment on June 11 lowered the threshold of 10,000 to 6,000. Meanwhile, in San Francisco, there are 6,791 people who primarily speak Vietnamese, which means they have reached the threshold required to make Vietnamese an official language. The decision means the city will provide interpretation, announcements, web documents, etc. in Vietnamese. For those who support the move, the latest change is necessary in an effort to address language accessibility challenges. It also serves as a "reminder" to comply with language assistance regulations for immigrants, as some have complained about city staff not providing services in Spanish. Promoting services in languages other than English is seen as important to meet the requirements of equitable access to welfare and benefits for immigrants. Currently, some African or Caribbean communities still have difficulty using services in San Francisco.

Tuoitre.vn

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tieng-viet-thanh-ngon-ngu-chinh-thuc-o-san-francisco-20240612210243575.htm