Originally posted by hotbakedtater

Originally posted by tamusan
I try to learn the native tongue for every country I live in. It's only a common courtesy. I have also studied Spanish for several years, beginning in grade school. I speak Spanish when I visit countries where that language is predominant. While in the United States, I greet Spanish speakers with a blank stare, despite usually understanding what they say to me.

He was here for 22 years and still won't try English? How pathetic.

He knows English, and it is his constitutionally protected right to speak in any language he sees fit. There is NO official language in the melting pot.

So, cool, he has the constitutional protected right to be insulting and rude. We all do.

Doesn't make it right. He needs to grow up.

The way I see it....

In order for a country to work together and be cohesive they should all be able to speak the same language. There is a reason everyone knows of the concept of the "language barrier"

It is absolutely this mans right to speak whatever language he wants, but when interacting with others I feel it's his duty as a citizen (maybe he isn't actually a citizen?) to speak English. While there may be no law stating that English is the official language of the US, I think that is pretty much understood by all but the most dense people out there.

Should China have to cater to people that speak German? Should Sweden have to cater to people that speak Japanese? I don't think they should.

Someone else mentioned the US as being a melting pot. You are absolutely correct. So these people need to get to melting already! If Mexicans, Chinese, Russian, etc immigrants refuse to integrate in any way, and just stay secluded in their own little version of their home country, they are not a member of a melting pot, because they aren't integrating into the US, they are just trying to turn the US into where they came from.

I would expect the exact same thing from any US citizen going to Mexico, non-English speaking parts of Europe, Asia, or South America. Learn the local language if you want to live there, don't impose your own will onto the people who you choose to live with. They can't choose for you to be their neighbor, you are the one making the choice to move to a new country and live there, so have a little respect, and learn the darn language already.

I'm not at all anti immigrant.
However...
You left your country for a reason if that reason wasn't to become an american, language, manners, laws, taxes, voting etc then you came here as an uninvited guest to a party paid for by someone else.

There is a thread about chinese mothers coming here to gove birth to an american citizen so the disrespect is not limited to south of the border.

Welcome to the country not to our taxpayer funded perks, your kids want to go to school pay tuition or send them to private school, You want to bring yor parents over then 'you' pay to support them (No Social security checks for them) them aor public health care, you can buy them their own health insurance on your own dime not ours thank you.

Welcome to the country not to the public trough.

Originally posted by Merigold
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.

He should have had notecards with his testimony in 'english' if he needed help with a word he could merely look down at the card.

Growing up poor doesn't excuse poor manners.

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.

Maybe he's just expressing his freedom to speak whatever language he pleases? The united states doesn't even have an official language.

Originally posted by Sherlock Holmes

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.

That's why you allow the "Asians", as your press calls them., get away with so much crime. And now they have Sharia law zones? So much for common sense.

How can multi-culturism possibly work when immigrants refuse to learn the language of their host country?

How can multi-culturism possibly work when immigrants form their own little communities and refuse to integrate with the citizens of their host country?

They come to live in our countries for a better life for themselves and their families - then they get here and live exactly the way they were living in their own country. Why is that? How can they hope to begin a better life when they won't even learn the language? Surely they would fare better if they did.

I am in the UK, and one of the Polish immigrants I worked with came here with his wife almost 10 years ago, and they both speak very good English. They now have a 4 year old son who starts school in September, and who speaks no English at all despite being born in this country, because at home his parents only speak Polish to him or around him. I imagine this boy will start school wondering why he cannot understand a word his teacher and classmates are saying to him.

I asked if there was a reason why they didn't teach their son to speak the language of the country in which he was born, they told me they were not qualified to teach English and because of this they didn't want him learning it from them

I pointed out that my parents were never qualified to teach English either, but I learned it from them and never had problems.

All I know is if I was an English speaking immigrant, I would want my kids to have the best advantage possible when they start school, by making sure that they can at least speak and understand the language. I would feel I was letting them down if I didn't.

Originally posted by totalmetal
Maybe he's just expressing his freedom to speak whatever language he pleases? The united states doesn't even have an official language.

While the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides for freedom of speech it does not guarantee that your speech will be understood or force the listener to understand you in a secondary language.

No official language? What language do the words "or abridging the freedom of speech" appear as? What language were all of the official documents the Founding Fathers drew up written in? Please see the Deceleration of Independence, Articles of Confederation, and the U.S. Constitution. Clearly their intent was for English to be the dominant language.

Unless the rules have changed in the military since I have been in(over 8 years ago), you were or were not allowed to speak in ANY other language other than English while on duty speaking to other personel. Reason for it are obvious, security. Plus ALL LEGAL FORMS had to be filled out in English.

Not to mention that it is also disrespectful to the customs/language of the local tribesmen =) .

Until we get the crinimals out of office,you can expect this to continue,if not grow worse.Our country and consitution is being made a mokery of.just look at the border,it is a revolving door.they come here and suck off of our system,and society,leaving nothing for natural born citizens.and yes it is a good question,who is paying for the interpretor?we are i suppose.I dare say can it get more pathetic?I think we know the answer.

IF you are going to live in any country, learn the language or get out. Bravo Senator.

I don't know gang, I think it is just a stunt by the politician. Sometimes I feel this way about the whole "learn english to live here" deal, but sometimes I take the other side.

In my job as a supervisor, I have about 80% that speak spanish on my crew. And some of you are correct, the language barrier is used as a crutch. But here's the deal. I didn't speak spanish 5 years ago, they taught me.

Now that my crew understand that I can understand regardless of how well they speak english, we get along great. We are the best crew at what we do. I am their representation when they need something from management, they are mine if I need help from them.

If I had kept my old attitude of "they need to learn english," I would have never learned spanish or advanced to a management position. I would have missed out on getting to know some really good people, people who have faced the economic situation that we americans are about to be faced with.

The illegals have mostly taken jobs that we americans didn't want to do in the first place. Immigration has not caused near as much harm as outsourcing on the governments and corporations behalf.

My gang is here legally, I for one am happy to know them. They are philosophers, conspiracy theorists, mothers, fathers, etc. Stop giving in to apathy and realize that these people wanted better lives, they have been duped by TPTB same as us.

They have much to teach if you just show a little caring and understanding, meet in the middle.

I saddened by the hypocrisy in this thread. Here is an American citizen testifying in court, in a country that strives to ensure his rights are upheld and his voice is heard.

Why are you not proud?

Do you not understand what E Pluribus Unum means?

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I apologize because I have not read through all the other replies, so this may be out of sync with where the discussion has gone!

My first thought was that - absolutely, a person MUST learn the language in the country he/she is in.

Then I saw the video and it became clear the man could speak english. This added a different perspective for me.
I am an american living in a foriegn country, (for 20 years now) and I had to learn the language by ear and use it daily. But still, I feel I can more accurately communicate in my native tongue. There are still sometimes subtilities of the language and culture that I might not be aware of that can get across a slightly different message or gist to what I say in this second language. So if I was in a very important context (like in court) I would prefer to speak english and have a competent interpreter, when every word I say is extremely important.