“Why Aren’t You Speaking English?”

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


I give care to a woman who has been in this country for over eighty years. She doesn't speak a more than a lick of English. She's never spoken English to me or any other caregiver in our facility.

She speaks Norwegian.

Shall we throw her out on the street to please you?

reply to post by TheWalkingFox


Norway does not encourage not to learn english. It is in the mexican culture that it is acceptable to not to learn english and that it is ok to speak spanish. It is not.

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
reply to post by TheWalkingFox

 

Norway does not encourage not to learn english. It is in the mexican culture that it is acceptable to not to learn english and that it is ok to speak spanish. It is not.

I think you misunderstand. I'm not talking about Norway. I'm talking about a lady here in the US - Washington state, to be a little more exact - who is in a facility I work at. She has been in this country for the greater part of a century, does not speak English.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


I remember reading this article. The Oregonian now says it was a joke.. 2 years later..

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Position Available: Interpreter, must be fluent in Klingon.

The language created for the ``Star Trek'' TV series and movies is one of about 55 needed by the office that treats mental health patients in metropolitan Multnomah County.

``We have to provide information in all the languages our clients speak,'' said Jerry Jelusich, a procurement specialist for the county Department of Human Services, which serves about 60,000 mental health clients.

Although created for works of fiction, Klingon was designed to have a consistent grammar, syntax and vocabulary.

And now Multnomah County research has found that many people - and not just fans - consider it a complete language.

``There are some cases where we've had mental health patients where this was all they would speak,'' said the county's purchasing administrator, Franna Hathaway.

County officials said that obligates them to respond with a Klingon-English interpreter, putting the language of starship Enterprise officer Worf and other Klingon characters on a par with common languages such as Russian and Vietnamese, and less common tongues including Dari and Tongan.


google = oregon + klingon language interpreter + ap

There are a couple of pages ..

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

It is in the mexican culture that it is acceptable to not to learn english and that it is ok to speak spanish.

be nice if you could back that up with stats.

reply to post by TheWalkingFox

See, a conceit of monolinguists

I am tired of hearing this bull. My father in law is from Mexico. He dropped out of school in the second grade to start working the fields and streams of his tiny village. His father was killed and it was up to him and his brothers to help support the seven sisters and their mother. He had nearly no formal education to speak of.

He lived in Mexico until he was about 30 years old. He had no use for any language but English. After he came to America he struggled for years to learn English. He learned the language and opened his own business. Now he has contracts with some of the largest real estate and insurance companies in the state.

He learned the language out of respect and a desire to get ahead. A man with a second grade education that lived in Mexico was able to learn English. He speaks English conversationally at a college level. He can read and comprehend at an 8th grade level.

So don't give me any bull about how hard it is on them and how we don't consider them. I know English is one of the harder languages to learn. I know that it takes years to get yourself past a basic understanding if you start late in life. All that means is that you need to work hard if you truly want it. If you want to be accepted as part of the culture you need to work to learn the language.

ETA:

Thus even a person who is completely fluent in one language, may feel the need to use their native tongue with a translator to get across certain ideas that are difficult to translate for that person to translate between the two. Especially on topics such as this one, which do involve a lot of linguistic complexity and rely on cultural memetics.

Then testify in English and if you are having trouble let the translator help you out. It shows a level of respect that will win you many more friends than refusing to try it in English. Show the effort and people will work with you. Usually they will be happy to help a person that is trying to learn and grow.

Originally posted by TheWalkingFox

Originally posted by THE_PROFESSIONAL
reply to post by TheWalkingFox

 

Norway does not encourage not to learn english. It is in the mexican culture that it is acceptable to not to learn english and that it is ok to speak spanish. It is not.

I think you misunderstand. I'm not talking about Norway. I'm talking about a lady here in the US - Washington state, to be a little more exact - who is in a facility I work at. She has been in this country for the greater part of a century, does not speak English.

What percentage of norweigans who get US medical care do not speak english?
What percentage of mexicans who get US medical care do not speak english?

The one norweigan lady example of yours does not set the example for norway, whereas in mexican culture it is encouraged not to speak english as well as to speak spanish. Why do you think that arizona passed their bill? Do you think norweigans were invading arizona?

Originally posted by jam321
reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL

 

It is in the mexican culture that it is acceptable to not to learn english and that it is ok to speak spanish.

be nice if you could back that up with stats.

Its personal experience and illegal alien stats. Most of them are from mexico.

I think the proper way to have handled this would have been to say at least a short introduction in English, and if he was uncomfortable with his grasp of the language, he could continue his statement in Spanish after explaining that he was continuing in Spanish to be sure that his meaning was understood how he intended it and not misinterpreted through him misspeaking.

That way he would have shown at least a little respect to those he was testifying to and still get his point across in the language he was most comfortable with.

I have seen this done on a number of occasions and most people listening at that point were very understanding of the speakers intentions.

It's sad to see all of you closet racists speed through the article (if you even bothered to click on it at all) just so you can make some derogatory comment about about a man who is more comfortable speaking his first language in front of a room full of people. Did any of you ever think that maybe he was nervous and thought he could possibly mess up something said which could then be misconstrued and used against him? If any of you were testifying in a foreign country where you had the right to use a translator, would you rather use him, or risk looking and sounding like a total fool with zero credibility?

Originally posted by MikeNice81
However, when a person has been here for years and refuse to either learn or speak English it is insulting

And? You find it insulting? So what must this man do? cater to your feelings? This man is free to do what he wants and you admitted it yourself, nobody can force him to speak english, and that is exactly what he is doing, irrigardless of how people like you feel. It's his decision, and while his decision may be frowned at, thats just what he chooses to do. Some people believe in satanism, I find this offensive, it's their choice, nobody needs to change their ways to suit my feelings, this is America. The senator was "offended", you're "offended", well you have every right to be.

and it is dangerous. I was trying to evacuate a place that was under going a full fire alarm. I had a group of six hispanic men standing in a circle yammering franticly. They were freaking out because of the alarm but didn't know what was happening.

Thankyou for *cough* caring about the safety of these people Mike, clearly to you their decision to speak spanish only endangers their lives and possibly others somehow. That being said, if that's the only language they choose to speak in, well, that's their choice. Never you mind Mike, people make choices in life, they have many of their choices protected by the constitution, you can respect them by respecting their choices.

As a side note the man who spoke spanish at this assembly knew how to speak english anyway, so I trust he'd understand evacuation alarms in english.

I have a friend that works as a critical care paramedic. She had a patient die because no one could speak English. With ten people standing around not a one could tell her the nature of the injury. Turns out the person had been having minor heart attacks for hours.

above.

If you want to speak Klingon I don't give a rip.

Oh you don't?

However, when doing business with the majority population you should learn the majority language.

So let's get this straight. You are more than welcome to speak your own language, just don't do it infront of people like you as it will be "offensive". Practice your freedoms at home, not in public. Liberty at it's finest folks.

reply to post by Adyta


That is not the same logic. Language has far more complexities than driving. Suppose you want to talk on a very specific subject matter, which is very, very important for you. Wouldn't you rather be sure to get it 100% right? Wouldn't you want to be confident about what you were saying? I'd wager you'd be a lot more confident in your native language than one you did not learn as a child.

reply to post by gougitousakusha


Wow, that is funny, because then also all those native americans that keep speaking in the tongue of their ancestors should be questioned regarding their citizenship?

汉语/漢語 华语/華語 中文 n 你 需 要 用

Hope you guys understand that, I feel more comfortable speaking chinese so I will speak chinese from now on ATS.

Originally posted by gnosticquasar
English is the majority language in this country. It's the native tongue of the vast majority of the inhabitants. It just seems to me that it's basic common sense to at least try to learn a little bit.

Oh I agree with this statement here. If I went to live in Hong Kong, I'd recognize that the main language there would be cantonese and to some extent, Manderine. It would be silly for me to go to that society to live there and not to learn even the basics to mix into society. That being said, this isn't about what's perceived as "common sense" or what "ability" people has. This man mentioned in the OP along with many others like him choose to speak spanish and only spanish, some with other languages. Maybe it's a snub to the rest of society, maybe it's a snub to the armed chair revolutionaries, I don't know, but it's their choice. You people are so offended by the fact this man has chosen to stick by one language in full knowledge of what he is doing, really, get over it? Leave him be, it's his choice.

reply to post by jam321


"Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish" speaks for itself.

reply to post by bonnieprince


If I roll my car on the interstate and lay there dying, I don't want the person calling 911 to be put on hold while the operator finds a translator. I also don't want that person getting all confused and asking for coffee instead of help.

I want that person to be fluent in English.

Originally posted by MikeNice81
reply to post by TheWalkingFox

 

See, a conceit of monolinguists

I am tired of hearing this bull. My father in law is from Mexico. He dropped out of school in the second grade to start working the fields and streams of his tiny village. His father was killed and it was up to him and his brothers to help support the seven sisters and their mother. He had nearly no formal education to speak of.

He lived in Mexico until he was about 30 years old. He had no use for any language but English. After he came to America he struggled for years to learn English. He learned the language and opened his own business. Now he has contracts with some of the largest real estate and insurance companies in the state.

He learned the language out of respect and a desire to get ahead. A man with a second grade education that lived in Mexico was able to learn English. He speaks English conversationally at a college level. He can read and comprehend at an 8th grade level.

So don't give me any bull about how hard it is on them and how we don't consider them. I know English is one of the harder languages to learn. I know that it takes years to get yourself past a basic understanding if you start late in life. All that means is that you need to work hard if you truly want it. If you want to be accepted as part of the culture you need to work to learn the language.

The irony of someone who demands English be spoken, themselves being unable to grasp even the central idea of a post written in English.

Sigh

I'm not giving you any bull about how hard it is to learn (though to be quite honest, English IS a pretty wacky one to learn). I'm pointing out that the languages are different and that people tend to think in their mother tongue, even if they speak multiple languages fluently. I promise you, when your father in law speaks in English, the words are initially forming as Spanish.

If he would be comfortable giving a speech before a legislative body in English, then good for him. it's a matter of personal preference.

ETA:

Thus even a person who is completely fluent in one language, may feel the need to use their native tongue with a translator to get across certain ideas that are difficult to translate for that person to translate between the two. Especially on topics such as this one, which do involve a lot of linguistic complexity and rely on cultural memetics.

Then testify in English and if you are having trouble let the translator help you out. It shows a level of respect that will win you many more friends than refusing to try it in English. Show the effort and people will work with you. Usually they will be happy to help a person that is trying to learn and grow.

Ever considered that most of us don't want assholes for friends?

reply to post by THE_PROFESSIONAL


sure, write what you like.

No tengo problema con tu lenguaje thanks to google translate.

The problem is that they come here illegally and do not want to speak English. They want to speak their native language. Maybe its laziness but I think its reconquista.

reply to post by Adyta

"Press 1 for English, 2 for Spanish" speaks for itself.

sure does, means that a business has learned how to make some more those almighty dollars

and government has learned how to win over some votes.