“Why Aren’t You Speaking English?”

Originally posted by daskakik
reply to post by Night Star

 

But it is happening world wide and it's mostly english required by employers and most that have to adapt are not complaining like you are.

It's a new world and no amount of complaining is going to change it back. Even that important law making english the official language isn't going to make a difference.

edit on 29-6-2011 by daskakik because: (no reason given)

What is happening worldwide? That people are being forced to speak English in other countries? Or Spanish? I don't think it's anything new that English is taught in other countries, but I dont' know the reasoning for it. Surely it is not because there are so many illegal Americans and British in those places.

reply to post by Scoriada


That's not how it works. If you come to a country as a child, you will learn the language with little to no difficulty and with little or no non-native accent because your brain is still able to wire the language correctly. There are brilliant people who have accents of varying degrees. Look at Henry Kissinger, his accent is thick, but he is able to communicate very well. I'm sure he still has his accidental missteps from his native language (German? Yiddish?).

At any rate, a person may understand a language very well, but that doesn't mean they can speak it as well. I imagine, that when you are in a government hearing, you would want your words to be understood clearly and concisely. If, let's suppose, this man has a very broad knowledge of immigrant issues, sociology, migrant labor, etc., but his English skills are not up to snuff when it comes to third person verbal conjugation and question syntax, things that would be complicated for a Spanish speaker because of their difference in Spanish, then he would want an interpreter.

Speaking English is not a sign of intelligence.

reply to post by Kitilani


The US does not have a de juris official language. Naturally, English is de facto.

Originally posted by ThirdEyeofHorus
What is happening worldwide? That people are being forced to speak English in other countries? Or Spanish? I don't think it's anything new that English is taught in other countries, but I dont' know the reasoning for it. Surely it is not because there are so many illegal Americans and British in those places.

Whatever the reason it has become a global language. Night Star was saying that people are required to know spanish to get certain jobs. In many countries people need english to be able to get certain jobs.

Of course it isn't because of illegal english speakers but it is a fact of gobalization (both examples) and people are accepting it without all the complaining that some seem to be doing in the US.

This issue really needs to get under control quickly. I live in California ( go figure ) and I live in the "All American City". When I pick up the newspaper and look into the job classifieds ads, all I see is "must be bilingual" for the simplest employment to find. If you don't speak Spanish your not getting that job period. What is happening now and you can thank whoever you like for causing this, us real born-breed-hotdog-eating-country feed folks better get in line at the local library and learn that spanish. Not because we have to but we need to (not). If we don't get a grip on our country quickly, it will be taken over (it already has). Now the freedom of speech thing needs to apply only to the English speaking people and not spanish or any other tounge twister. If you can't read or right (write) English and not a U.S. citizen then don't worry about what the Constitution says...again learn our language please. The laws of "this land" was written in English only, so yea, stop the complaining and learn to speak english!!! I'm looking forward to the day when Texas make it into law that it is required for every citizen to speak English as a primary language. Why?? Ohhh because you make american living on american dollars. How many times must I say "english" to get you to understand what I am saying. Look it's only a matter of respect for ''us'' and the "our country who were founded and slaved here. Lobbyist its time to get to work. Make it the law!!!

-This is what you call " Freedom of Speech"

reply to post by sylent6


Yes, and forget all of those so-called "Christians"...if you want to know the teachings of Christ, learn Aramaic like any other hummus-fed-red-blooded-fertile-crescent-born human.

Newsflash: the Constitution could just as easily be written in any other language and carry the same meaning:

"Nosotros, la Gente de los Estados Unidos, para formar una Union mas perfecta, establecer la Justicia, asegurar la Tranquilidad domestica, mantener la defensa comun, promover el Bienestar general, y conseguirnos las Bendiciones de la Libertad a nosotros y a nuestra Posteriedad, decretamos y establecemos esta Constitucion para los Estados Unidos de America."

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Same meaning, and probably a bit more comprehensible to a Spanish speaker, since words like "welfare" get a cryptic meaning in English, whereas the Spanish version is pretty straight forward "bien" (well) and "estar" (being) put together.

By the way, people who speak one language are a minority. Forget Spanish, that's just your California reality. The whole world does not revolve around California. And while I agree that you shouldn't have to learn Spanish to get a job, I would ask you why it is that there are mostly only service sector jobs available to you. Why is it that answering telephone calls and working at a desk typing emails or greeting people as they come in are the only available jobs...why is that? I'll give you a hint, it's not the immigrant's fault.

reply to post by pplrnuts

For your information these mexicans you talk about have been here for hundreds of years. They never went anywhere when their land was taken from them. Other nationalities have come from thousands of miles to be here, they are from here. In the border states their are communities that are still here from hundreds of years ago. Just because your country is occupied by foreign invaders you don't completely abandon your heritage. Yes they must learn English, but alot of their everyday lives do not coexist with ours. They keep to themselves, like you want them too. They have nobody to teach them proper English because their communities have never mixed with the new natives. By the way immigrants and slaves helped build this country...never forget that! "Mexicans"are becoming the majority and when the official language is"mexican"will you learn it? What goes around comes around.

Let him speak any language he chooses to speak but simply do not acknowledge his comments. He will get the message soon enough.

as soon as he went ya well I etc in english with ZERO accent, then went back to spanish, I woulda flat out been like, you're wasting taxpayer money for a interpereter english or get out.

reply to post by hsngdragon

Originally posted by hsngdragon
as soon as he went ya well I etc in english with ZERO accent, then went back to spanish, I woulda flat out been like, you're wasting taxpayer money for a interpereter english or get out.

No, he had an accent. It may seem native like after "ya well I...", but give him a complete sentence and it comes out. Plus, having a good accent does not mean you speak or understand well. It just means you are good at imitating sounds. Take me for example. When I first learn a language, I tend to get the sounds down pat really quickly, even before I learn a lot of vocabulary or can speak fluently.

Language just does not work like that. Some people can understand very well, but have issues speaking. And when you are addressing a panel in order to get your cause furthered, you probably want your message to be as clear and comprehensible as day. He wanted a bilingual translator who is trained to know exactly the right expressions, phrases and metaphors in English that are the best equivalents to invoke the most similar meaning possible to what he wants to say in Spanish.

As they say, there's no such thing as an exact translation, only a best approximation to the same meaning.

**By the way, I noticed you are still working on your English. When did you move to the US?

Originally posted by fusionhunter
If the guy had a translator then whats the problem with speaking spanish? It's not like it some sort of crime to speak his first language. God what is wrong with some people.

They are bloody freaking racists is what is wrong.
2nd line.

Originally posted by Janky Red

Originally posted by kozmo
He knows English but is more comfortable speaking his "First language". The Senator is correct in his questioning. It is the liberal, politically correct coddling that is crumbling the foundation of this country, among others. Do you know what I do not live in France? Because I cannot speak French. If I needed to live in France, I would certainly learn the language of my host! Failure to do so is simply indicative of ignorance, laziness and a false impression of self-importance.

I was in France this morning, Italy now... You would be surprised how prominent
English is, I am lucky they speak english here! They are way more liberal and coddling here,
I think our problems are other things too, not just librals and mexicans

The real problem here is that liberals have been on this bandwagon of destroying everything that promotes US National Sovereignty. It's just like the ex-KGB Yuri Bresmenov said, sleeper agents abound in the US to deliberately create chaos for the express purpose of breaking down the order of society. It is engineered for the purposeful destruction of the US from within. Anyone remember Kruschev's suggestion of that? Alinky's Rules For Radicals have definitely had their impact. It's working out so well that liberals run around bashing everything distinctly American and that goes for the language.

reply to post by hotbakedtater


And if you continue to have these opinions there will be no English in America... But maybe that's what you are wanting...

Did you see Italians demanding we put labels on food in Italian?
Do you have to push 1 to continue in Chinese?
How about Russian? Polish? Icelandic? Gaelic? What about the Sweeds and Dutch?

Of course not because it's only the Spanish that think that we should turn our culture into theirs...

Learn the how to speak it or LEAVE...

America should not be forced to subside to your demands...

I was @ Walmart the other day looking for an item and half the people working on the floor could not speak English... And this is what American Customer Service is...

Damned if I couldn't find a 1 to push for English either...

Also... it's damn rude to talk in another language when others are around... and yes idiots I hear you talking trash about white people because I took the time to learn your language...

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.

Maybe not but...

English is the de facto national language of the United States, with 82% of the population claiming it as a mother tongue, and some 96% claiming to speak it "well" or "very well".[3] However, no official language exists at the federal level. There have been several proposals to make English the national language in amendments to immigration reform bills,[4][5] but none of these bills has become law with the amendment intact. The situation is quite varied at the state and territorial levels, with some states mirroring the federal policy of adopting no official language in a de jure capacity, others adopting English alone, others officially adopting English as well as local languages, and still others adopting a policy of de facto bilingualism.
The variety of English spoken in the United States is known as American English; together with Canadian English it makes up the group of dialects known as North American English.

Spanish is the second most common language in the country, and is spoken by over 12% of the population.[6] The United States holds the world's fifth largest Spanish-speaking population, outnumbered only by Mexico, Spain, Argentina, and Colombia. Throughout the Southwestern United States, long-established Spanish-speaking communities coexist with large numbers of more recent Hispanophone immigrants. Although many new Latin American immigrants are less than fluent in English, nearly all second-generation Hispanic Americans speak English fluently, while only about half still speak Spanish.[7]

So because 12% speak Spanish the 82% should learn it? Try that in another country...

Go to Iran, Russia or Poland and tell them they should except English or Spanish... It isn't happening...

As you can see in the posts all over here, Spanish people are down right too lazy to learn English ALL OVER THE WORLD... but demand the world know Spanish...

en.wikipedia.org...

And you act like the Constitution is ACTUALLY used anymore... These days it's just a piece of paper that some old men wrote some ideas on and then later on some more old men changed those ideas...

Originally posted by hotbakedtater

Originally posted by tamusan
reply to post by hotbakedtater

 

That's fine. I understand Spanish in any country except for the United States. That's also my right.

Of course it is your right, where did I discuss your rights? I am talking about all citizens, what each individual citizens choose is their right, thanks for agreeing with me. Our choices define us as people.

As is your right to be ignorant too I guess...

Originally posted by gougitousakusha
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.

My mom works in the ER and has this problem all the time...

She told me she feels like saying "Oh you don't speak English and I don't speak Spanish so I guess you need to find a different hospital".

How can you become a citizen of a country that you can't speak what 82% of the citizens do? They ask stupid questions about parts of government when getting a citizenship but they never ask if you can speak and write the majority language...

Point is our "adapting" to their needs, wants, and demands has cost thousands in tax dollars...

WHICH THEY DON'T PAY!!!

Originally posted by ThichHeaded

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...

I agree 100% and they watch Dora so they can communicate in school... or maybe if they needed to ask for help @ Walmart...

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.

Hey didn't we adopt the idea of slavery from you guys?

Slavery in Britain and Ireland dated from before Roman occupation.

en.wikipedia.org...

Originally posted by SmArTbEaTz
Hey didn't we adopt the idea of slavery from you guys?

Slavery in Britain and Ireland dated from before Roman occupation.

en.wikipedia.org...

Slavery existed long before the Roman Empire. You may have adopted it directly from us, but your motley bunch of slave-owners, rapists, drunkards and genocidal maniacs, oh sorry, the ''founding fathers'', kept the policy on with glee, and in Jefferson's case, he utilised his ''ownership'' of slave-girls to do unconscionable things to them.

Britain abolished the slave-trade in 1807, a full 54 years before your country was torn apart by going to war - all because half of your population still thought that it was acceptable to ''own'' black people as property.

Originally posted by Sherlock Holmes

Originally posted by SmArTbEaTz
Hey didn't we adopt the idea of slavery from you guys?

Slavery in Britain and Ireland dated from before Roman occupation.

en.wikipedia.org...

Slavery existed long before the Roman Empire. You may have adopted it directly from us, but your motley bunch of slave-owners, rapists, drunkards and genocidal maniacs, oh sorry, the ''founding fathers'', kept the policy on with glee, and in Jefferson's case, he utilised his ''ownership'' of slave-girls to do unconscionable things to them.

Britain abolished the slave-trade in 1807, a full 54 years before your country was torn apart by going to war - all because half of your population still thought that it was acceptable to ''own'' black people as property.

edit on 22-7-2011 by Sherlock Holmes because: (no reason given)

WRONG it was 1833 and I even posted a link for you too... wow... Lazy much?

Slavery in Britain and Ireland dated from before Roman occupation. Chattel slavery virtually disappeared after the Norman Conquest. It was finally abolished by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (which made some exceptions for other parts of the British Empire). The prohibition on slavery and servitude is now codified under Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights, incorporated into UK law by the Human Rights Act 1998.

Learn your history so us slave-owners don't have to teach it to you...

Slavery in the United States was a form of slave labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1865.

Wow just under 100 yrs for the US... How long did it take you Brits?