JulesMaximus
No Lifer
- Jul 3, 2003
- 74,583
- 984
- 126
I lived in so cal for 20 years, and I still call this bull. Yea, there are tons of asians and spanish down there that don't speak english so well, but to say well its not their fault is stupid. THe nanny for my little sisters came over when they were 60+ and yet still took local classes and learned english well enough to communicate with me, a 0 spanish word speaker (ok, maybe stuff like si, and que). Fine, you can make a case for the adults, but I see tons of 2nd, probably 3rd and 4th gen immigrants that refuse to speak spanish, all the while going to the public schools my taxes pay for, and then b1thing and protesting that we're not teaching their kids in spanish? WTF?!
Yes, they have english signs in mexico, do you know why? Because they want ENGLISH speakers to go there and spend money. THats the big draw for all the other countries, ENGLISH speaking tourists usually have the most money, so they're catered to. That is it, end of conversation.
EDIT: Yea, and those signs aren't exactly super happy either. They're big, yellow, red, all these colors that usually mean "do no come in, danger will robinson, danger." That, coupled with the fact that there was probably like 90% less people there should have clued them in.
I haven't read this whole thread but here's my $0.03. A central language is needed in a society in order for everyone to be able to effectively communicate with each other. In American society that language is English. I have no numbers to back this up but I think its safe to say english is the dominant language of this country spoken by more than 75% of the population. All of our legal documents are in english. Almost all of our road signs are in english.
Now I have absolutely no problem with immigrants (legal ones) who choose to speak their native language in their home and teach it to their kids. Because the majority of these immigrants also at least have a working knowledge of the english language and know what "STATION CLOSED" means. But I do have a problem with those who come to this country and expect the masses to conform to them. I only took 2 years of french in high school and none in college. I didn't care to learn a second language because I was too busy learning thermo, calculus, and dynamics. Now someone in this thread was calling all of us monolingual people stupid and ignorant. Well you're entitled to your opinion. Now I want that steak medium well.
Now I have absolutely no problem with immigrants (legal ones) who choose to speak their native language in their home and teach it to their kids. Because the majority of these immigrants also at least have a working knowledge of the english language and know what "STATION CLOSED" means. But I do have a problem with those who come to this country and expect the masses to conform to them. I only took 2 years of french in high school and none in college. I didn't care to learn a second language because I was too busy learning thermo, calculus, and dynamics. Now someone in this thread was calling all of us monolingual people stupid and ignorant. Well you're entitled to your opinion. Now I want that steak medium well.
Why does it matter so much to you guys? It seems that not learning English is much more inconvenient for THEM than you. Does it really affect you so much that some immigrants missed their train? Is that a personal slap in your face? I can understand wanting someone you have to interact with, like a cashier, to speak your language. But is it really THAT important to you that the cook, the construction worker, the painter, the apple picker, and the factory worker speak English? Would you be willing to pay the price premium on food, cars, produce, manufactured goods, and housing, just to ensure that all the workers you never saw were English speakers? If they want to make life difficult for themselves by not learning the language, so be it, as long as they do their jobs.
mugs
Lifer
- Apr 29, 2003
- 48,920
- 46
- 91
Exactly! :thumbsup: I can't go anywhere around here without hearing someone speaking a language other than English (usually it's Asians and eastern Europeans here). Who cares?
And all due respect to the supposed English speakers here, but many people whose FIRST language is English don't speak it very well.
If you can't speak english then you're a crippled member of American society, no matter what anyone says.
- Dec 14, 2000
- 68,143
- 10
- 81
why does it bother me? well 1 my daughter HAS to take spanish in school (where what language she takes should be up to her), many schools are teaching both spanish and english classes and costing the schools millions, We print everything in both english and spanish again costing taxpayers thousands.
dainthomas
Lifer
- Dec 7, 2004
- 14,932
- 3,911
- 136
Because butting up barricades and huge signs with the word "CLOSED" in orange paint is so ambiguous. You could be in the US for two minutes and figure out what the word closed means.
Door Locked + Lights Out + Nobody There + Closed Sign = Cerrado
It's not like you have to be a friggin' linguist to figure it out. :roll:
Phoenix86
Lifer
- May 21, 2003
- 14,644
- 10
- 81
No it's a horrid comparison that only works on some levels. You don't need to be chirstian, baptist or buddist to communicate to other chistians, baptists, or buddists.
As for you folks up north saying "it doesn't affect english speakers", you have NO idea the issues it causes. See public education in spanish speaking areas. See public safety issues. It IS a problem.
I think the signs should have been in spanish as well. They know the people don't speak english and it's a public safety issue.
That being said, english NEEDS to be promoted heavily in this country. There are always going to be exceptions for things like public safety, but english really needs to be pushed as the primary language of this country.
That being said, english NEEDS to be promoted heavily in this country. There are always going to be exceptions for things like public safety, but english really needs to be pushed as the primary language of this country.
OrganizedChaos
Diamond Member
- Apr 21, 2002
- 4,524
- 0
- 0
Illinois Statute: Chapter 5, Section 460/20 - Official Language (1969)
The official language of the State of Illinois is English.
The official language of the State of Illinois is English.
Hell no we don't...or rather at least I don't. Whenever I am in Germany or another european country, I assume that that whoever I may talk to does not know much English and I am ok with that, because it makes sense. I do my best to say what I can in their language and get by.
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