“Why Aren’t You Speaking English?”

reply to post by hotbakedtater

While there are no actual laws on the books that state English is the official language of the US, infact the only place where it is pushed right now is Georgia, most places of business, all of the employees have to speak English when around other employees. Every job I have worked or applied for, the one thing that comes up is that you have to be able to read, write, speak and understand English. And most businesses have it as part of the rules, that English has to be spoken when at work, or a language that everyone knows.
If for example, you have a store, where the employees are speaking spanish, and one employee walks in and does not understand or speak spanish and the 2 continue their conversation in Spanish, that company can be sued and lose millions in a law suit on the grounds of hostile work environment. So if the businesses are requiring such, why not the law makers?

Originally posted by sdcigarpig
there is a standing rule that it has to be a language that every one can understand, or else it is an act of hostile work environment.

That sounds like common sense. You may want to read this to get an idea of where the US is going.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
Maybe the lazy snip knows English, but chooses to speak Spanish. You know because it is a free country and there are lots of non englsh speakers in Texas?

More from the story that the OP failed to share with us:

"Through his interpreter, Aguirre said Spanish is his “first language and since it is his first time giving testimony he would rather do it in Spanish.”

“It is insulting to us,” Sen. Harris fired back. “It is very insulting. And if he knows English, he needs to be speaking in English.”

edit on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 07:51:59 -0500 by hotbakedtater because: added facts OP failed to list

I did not "fail" to share this with you, I simply did not quote the entire article, had you watch the entire video the interpreter actually says what you quoted so it is redundant to actually type it out. Good day sir! or should I say 'buenos dias senor!" ??

sending their children to school without knowing a drop of english cost tax dollars. having to have documents translated and printed out just for them cost tax dollars. when someone misreads a traffic sign and slams into a construction worker doing road work it cost more then tax dollars. i have a friend who was hit by an illegal immigrant while crossing at a stop sign, you cant do anything about it though because there uninsured or whatever.

reply to post by gougitousakusha


Legal status and language are not synonymous. The driver's inability to speak English has no bearing on his lack of car insurance. I'm sorry that your friend has met with such an unfortunate situation.

Originally posted by SteveR

Originally posted by sdcigarpig
there is a standing rule that it has to be a language that every one can understand, or else it is an act of hostile work environment.

That sounds like common sense. You may want to read this to get an idea of where the US is going.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

I did not know "racism" was a crime in the UK. Isn't that kind of like "snobbishness" being a crime? or "vanity"? or "stupidity"?

Originally posted by hotbakedtater
There is NO official language in the melting pot.

Really, so all Americans that learn ENGLISH in school is not considered the OFFICAL Language of the US? Why do they teach people English in school then? why is everyone who is American speaks English as a 1st lang? Call me silly but I am sure if we where in Russia or The Netherlands, I am positive the 1st land they pick up would be considered the official lang of the country whether it be Dutch or Russian or whatever...

America's 1st language is English(Actually broken considering the EU has a different version than us) That is how it is and has been since the birth of this country.. If you want to talk about Official languages, I guess we should all get to learning some native American then because well.. They were the 1st here therefor Official Language would be Native American.

See how this works..

Everyone knows to talk to someone here you have to speak English, that is how is, has been, and always be.. I don't have to learn Spanish because someone who comes to my country don't want to learn my language so i don't communicate with them.. I am American I speak English... That is that.. I don't see how it is so hard to understand this..

And yes I get pissed as hell when my kids watch Dora.. Why to do they need to be learning Spanish at a young age and they can barely comprehend English...

reply to post by hotbakedtater


We can find a common ground with anyone in the U.S. having the right to speak in whichever language they choose.

I get several Spanish channels with any cable package available to me, but I have to pay more than $100 per month to have Japanese and Chinese language channels. Why do I have to subsidize Spanish programming for those who wish to exercise their right to watch it? I would have no complaint if there were channels for every language included in cable packages without incurring additional cost.

in the uk wen u get any sort of offical docs or letters u can apply for it to be sent in over 60 odd languages

now thats wot u call a melting pot, soon we are gunna b the minorities in are own countrys cuz were getting so over run with these freeloading #s!!!

Originally posted by Scoriada
I did not know "racism" was a crime in the UK. Isn't that kind of like "snobbishness" being a crime? or "vanity"? or "stupidity"?

''Inciting racial or religious hatred'' is a crime in Britain.

No, it's absolutely nothing like vanity or snobbishness being a crime. The legislation is intended to protect minorities from any insidious and nefarious actions which may come from the majority.

You see, in the UK and other countries in Western Europe, we adopt a logical, common sense and fair approach to our way of life.

In the USA, on the other hand, you fashion your society and way of life around a 200-year-old document which was written and composed by people who believed that it was acceptable to ''own'' another human being as property.

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes
Yes yes, your society is so much more civilized than ours, this is why a 14 year old girl was arrested for informing the teacher that she didn't understand the language her classmates were speaking.

Come to think of it, here in the U.S. she probably would have been tazed and stomped on after she was stripped search, nevermind my argument is invalid.
You win.

reply to post by SteveR

It sounds like the assignment that the child was given, required that she work with her classmates, and as there was a communication barrier between her and her classmates, she would have failed if she remained with the group where there was a communication barrier/gap.
But that is the UK, and the point of the aritcle is the US.
In the US, most school districts provide classes, specifically English as a Second Language class, for those students who do not speak such. And currently, from what all is being taught, it is 12 years of English that is required that most students take. When you go to College, it is college level English courses that are required to be taken to get a degree of any kind. And the largest employer in the US, English is the only language spoken, we may want to consider it to be the language of the country first and foremost, not a secondary optional language.

There seems to be a misunderstanding..

It's the mans right to speak whatever he wants. No real American would say otherwise.

However..

It is incredibly rude to know even a little bit of English and make absolutely no effort to speak it. OR, speak English perfectly well but speak another language to someone else in the middle of a conversation. It violates social etiquette.. If I visit Mexico I will speak Spanish, even if it's really crappy Spanish, and when I can't say something, politely ask in Spanish how to say it.

Otherwise I'd be a rude, ignorant American. This man is a rude ignorant Mexican. It's the same all over the World. The only difference is Hispanics never seemed to learn that bit of etiquette.

There are plenty of people that speak Italian at home, or Russian, or Vietnamese, or Spanish .. but not in public. They might hold dearly to their heritage as I do, they might fly an Italian or Russian flag .. but it's under the American flag.. what's wrong with Hispanics (mostly Mexican) in this regard?

Easy answer: They have absolutely no respect for us.

Originally posted by Scoriada
Seriously? You have been in the country for 23 YEARS and you still feel more comfortable speaking Spanish? You're either LAZY or STUPID or both.

Ma dai!
I am an ESOL teacher, and I speak Italian. I spend 90% of my time communicating with my Italian friends in Italian, but if something is important (as testifying before the 'enemy' would be) I want to use English. It doesn't mean the guy doesn't speak English, (he probably speaks it better than 80% of Americans here, to judge by what I have read tonight *, it probably just means that when arguing before a legal body, he prefers to speak Spanish so he doesn't get misunderstood.
Seriously, except for Sherlock Holmes (great nick!) you're all such truly unpleasant people. You remind me of the ignorant git of a bus driver who yelled at my son's Korean friend as soon as he got on the bus "I'm sick of you bloody Asians coming here with your jabbering ignorant language and you don't know anything!'
The stupid racist man jumped to a conclusion... Jin Koo's English was perfect, even though he had spent the first 8 years of his life in Germany. Yes, he'd grown up in Germany, and was perfectly bilingual.
Conclusion jumping seems a popular sport here...

*1. Diffferent than
2. Would of instead of 'would have'
3. Death steak instead of death stake
4. Idolology instead of idolatry
5. Millinia instead of millennium
That's enough for now.

Originally posted by Vicky32


*1. Diffferent than
2. Would of instead of 'would have'
3. Death steak instead of death stake
4. Idolology instead of idolatry
5. Millinia instead of millennium
That's enough for now.

Dammit! speak English woman!

Originally posted by Scoriada
Yes yes, your society is so much more civilized than ours

Thank you. I agree.

Originally posted by Scoriada
this is why a 14 year old girl was arrested for informing the teacher that she didn't understand the language her classmates were speaking.

The source of this story is the Daily Fail.

I would be extremely surprised if the girl was actually arrested for anything other than being violently disruptive and fractious.

Originally posted by Scoriada
Come to think of it, here in the U.S. she probably would have been tazed and stomped on after she was stripped search, nevermind my argument is invalid.
You win.

The US Constitution is the main reason why people in the USA, in the 21st century, are living in comparative ''Totalitaria'' !

It's modern, advanced European societies which pave the way for a workable, civilised society.

The fact of the matter is that the USA hamstrings itself by slavishly and unthinkingly holding on to other geezers' thoughts from over 200 years ago.

Think critically, people !

Why should you slavishly adhere to a ''Bill of Rights'' which was constructed and written by a group of people who believed that black people were sub-humans, and that women shouldn't be entitled to vote ?!

The USA would be a great country if the people actually formed independent and intelligent ideas for themselves, rather than hiding behind a dog-eared, ridiculous parchment in an attempt to impose their reactionary views on everybody else.

Originally posted by Scoriada

Originally posted by Vicky32


*1. Diffferent than
2. Would of instead of 'would have'
3. Death steak instead of death stake
4. Idolology instead of idolatry
5. Millinia instead of millennium
That's enough for now.

Dammit! speak English woman!

Hilarious...
Thanks for quoting all the mistakes I've seen AMERICANS make on ATS just tonight..

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes
Oh yes, and live under sharia law like the UK, have your guns taken away, have our country watered down by your rampant immigrants flooding your tiny island, support worthless, inbred Royals that are good for nothing ??
No thanks, we are still better off the your snobby Europe states.

reply to post by Scoriada


I would have excused the terp from the proceedings if I were him. Then looked at Mr. Aguirre and said, “You may continue.”

If he would have continued in Spanish, I would have let him babble and at the end told him, “I have no idea what you just said, you may be excused. Thank you for your time.”

It was a intentional insult and should be treated as such.

English perfectly well but speak another language to someone else in the middle of a conversation.

But that wasn't a conversation. It was testimony in a legal context. As such I can fully understand his wanting to testify in his native tongue.

When my parents first emigrated to the US in the late 70s they didn't know a word of English. Us kids, were the first adopters, we went to school and it was English or nothing, my parents soon followed. Today us kids speak English like the natives and my parents speak English with accents, but fluently. However, I believe that should they have to testify in a court of law they would prefer to do it in German. I have no issues whatsoever with that. I do have issues with anyone who lives long term in a country in which the predominant language is not their won who doesn't bother to make an effort to learn - that's just wrong.