I was born in America but English was not my first Language... English was forced upon me

reply to post by SG-17


I wouldnt know about that, Russians wont be very happy about this.

I mean then we will have to fight over which english we have to learn the American english or the British english or the Gangster english or the Hick english.

Im pretty sure this is wrong

reply to post by jessieg


but what if suddenly chinese becomes the worldwide spoken language, will you learn it?

I mean you should learn it since your saying everyone should learn english since it will be used in bussiness

reply to post by DaddyBare


English is not the problem, bad teaching skills was what was at the root of your troubles.

I do believe though that everyone in America should speak English, and should be educated from primary school to learn a second language of their choosing as well, and encouraged to take on a third by high school.

EDIT to add: Or to take English as a second language if it is not their native tonge, but to also continue lessons in the proper use of their native language as well.

English wasn't forced upon you. No one locked you in a room and didn't let you out til you could speak English. You were still allowed to go to school despite poor English abilities. Why are you complaining?
You think it's a good thing that some people still can't speak English in America? That's not a good thing. It separates us.
We aren't all going to be cookie-cutter copies if we are all capable of speaking English. That's just absurd to think that. There will still always be people who learn two or more languages. I suppose your logic also implies that all Chinese people are the same because they all speak Chinese(bad example, I know). You won't admit that but that's exactly where that logic leads.
I know three other languages besides English. You shouldn't complain that you have the opportunity to live in America and all you had to do was learn another language. Learning another language was reserved just for the rich if you had lived anytime earlier than a hundred years ago.

hm... sure you can be right.

Still... in rome, be a roman.

reply to post by DaddyBare


Many thanks for the 2 book tips and the link.

I will see if I can buy these books online somewhere.

I will also google and look for any books by the author: Gerald Vizenor.

Thank you so much DaddyBare for providing these tips and information.

reply to post by DaddyBare


I recall in the 1950s & 1960's left handed white caucasian kids had their knuckles whipped by rulers if they did'nt write using their right hand. A close friend of mine who was not only left handed but could only write backwards got hell and regarded as evil by teachers in his hay day.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
reply to post by SG-17

 

Obviously I never avoided learning it... but it was forced upon me...
given a choice and better teachers I would have been more eager to learn it... as it were it was the language of authority... to me and as a child.... not using their language was my own small rebellion...

You might look at it this way...having a second language is a gift. It opens doors to a general appreciation of other cultures and helps to remove the ...shall we call it Chauvinism?...of thinking in one language only. Plus...it is easier to learn more languages after you have conquered a second.

You are better off knowing English, but you are privileged to be fluent in the language of your forebears.

My brother...I am part Cherokee..perhaps we should have let you keep your language...and just "borrow" ours. For those wrongs to you, I apologize .But the heart speaks the true language silently anyway.
Blessings

I wonder if there would be a positive value that makes you feel good after facing this difficult historical test.
And how you will feel when finally being able to name that positive value. -After all, you communicate perfectly in written English.
I grew up with Hungarian, which is similar to NA languges in a lot. But I loved English as it was always a message of freedom and intelligence attached to me unconsciously, I still do, despite the consumer culture I could never fit in.

I wonder if there would be a positive value that makes you feel good after facing this difficult historical test.
And how you will feel when finally being able to name that positive value. -After all, you communicate perfectly in written English.
I grew up with Hungarian, which is similar to NA languges in a lot. But I loved English as it was always a message of freedom and intelligence attached to me unconsciously, I still do, despite the consumer culture I could never fit in.

Originally posted by DaddyBare
No my parents were not Immigrants... the simple fact is I am Jicarilla Apache a Native American...
the word jicarilla comes from Mexican Spanish meaning "little basket." my people are noted for our basket making skills...At home we speak a broken mix of English Apache and Spanish with a little Zuni and Dine thrown in... the result of where we live in the world and how our close neighbours are....

I remember being in grade school, not that very long ago, the early 60's... I remember in second grade I sat between my two friends another Red Skin and a Mexican girl... we three only spoke broken English so when a concept or idea was lost due to this language gap we would whisper to each other, usually in Spanish and between the three of us might figure out 80% of each lesson... that is unless the the teacher caught us speaking anything other than proper English... I too remember the three of us having to hold the top edge of the desk to have our knuckles soundly rapped with her wooden yard stick... this happened quite often in my case... I remember once she asked me a direct question... I knew the answer just not how to say it in English... So I spoke up loud and proud in my own Native tongue... My teacher thought I called her a bad name... I was ushered off to the principal's office where despite my objections and innocence... was soundly paddled on my backside.... that single lesson taught me one single thing... never to open my mouth in class again....

On paper my grades were good, not great but okay....Many of my future teachers thought I might be a bit slow because I never did a class presentation or spoke up... never volunteered... but there were other's like me who gathered and whispered away from everyone else...It wasn't until; I reached High School that I was allowed a little expression... I took Spanish classes... of course I excelled ... but it wasn't until college I was allowed to speak my own tongue..... that only because a few grad students were recording various tribal languages to preserve them....

I a Native born American, never knew more than a few words of English until I went to school... My own Language was beaten out of me, punished because I did not inherently understand English words...

thank god times have changed because there are still places in the States where hardly a word of true English is spoken... Not just the Natives but you hear German up in the far north of this country Cajun down south and out west they still speak a dialect of Castillo brought here by the early Spanish explores... No not everyone in the states speaks English and I'm glad... otherwise we'll all be cookie cutter copies of each other, then where would be the fun in learning something truly new and wonderful about each other

edit on 18-6-2011 by DaddyBare because: (no reason given)

While I will agree what they did to you was horrible... I dislike the fact that not all people living in America speak English.

Why? Because English has become the native language here, like it or not. If there were a plethora of languages spoken by the mass of people, there would be so much confusion and misscommunication, that I believe it's crucial we should all speak the same language.

A different language does not some how make you more unique, for there are other who know the language as well, so I don't buy that bridge at all. A different language allows you to covertly talk about things in front of others, as well as simply not understanding the native language completely.

I actually had this occur which actually stipulated a violent scene. I was about to give a stage performance with my band which we were booked and told we'd be paid after the show. They put us off and off and off. So I said to the owner of the club, "Either you put us on now, or we'll burn this place from our venue list."

The owner's native language was spanish. All he heard was "Burn" and "Venue" and assumed I meant burn his club to the ground. This couldn't have been further from the truth. He then sicked security on us with violence, in which case I defended myself, then explained to the security what had happened.

The security's response was "You should have chosen different words, he doesn't speak good english, so you are wrong."

This is a CLEAR cut example of misscommunication that stemmed from a man who comes from a spanish speaking country, who lived here for years and stands by his right to NOT learn english.

In case you are wondering who this guy is... It's Dwayne Williams A.K.A. "Suga" from Suga 104.5 in Ft. Myers FL. He owns the radio station.

So... yeah, having everyone not capable of speaking the same language is a disservice to cummunity, all it does is breed segregation. ******I am not saying you should be force to forget any other languages, I am saying if you choose to live in a place with a Majority language, or you happen to live there not by choice... it should be your responsibility to learn that majority language.

Period.

Well, I guess America could bring "Freedom" and Democracy" to the reservations
like we have to so many countries lately...

And being a Marine you can help out !!

That's a win-win right there.

Seriously, don't speak English if you don't want to.

We've all been forced to learn things we do not wish to learn and no one is forcing
you to speak it now.

I'm sorry if you feel victimized but try and remember that over 900 MILLION people
(more than all the Native Americans that ever existed) will go to sleep tonight
wondering if they will eat or drink water tomorrow.

In the end, are you really so bad off ?

That was the sixties. We are now in the 2000's.

What was your point here, because when I re-read it it does not stand clear. Are you still living in the past and letting that dictate to you or are you celebrating that things have changed?

baak eon ai
daata iije dabaago
yi
interglacial.com...

I am English but currently live in France so to help with my job, I needed to learn French, I learnt German at school, I was forced to learn Italian when I worked there too, now I am learning Russian because I have a hot Ukrainian Girlfiend.

Even though English is my native tongue, I sympathize with you, I understand how difficult it is to learn a language that is not the one you were initially taught.

The British Empire replaced French as the International language to English so therefore I am at an advantage when I travel. The Globalists have also forced English to be used as the default language for international trade. At work the French people who speak English have an advantage over others,

After learning about the barbaric treatment imposed on former colonies of the British Empire, i can see why you are annoyed by the situation.

Unfortunatly we have to accept the reality that English has become the global language for the moment, ideally everyone living on this planet should speak the same language - I'm sure that we would get on a lot better if that was the case, maybe it will happen eventually.
Ideally, it would be made up of every existing language and be easy to learn.

I am anti-New World Order, where the few control the masses, however I am for the masses uniting with a common language against tyranny. A common language would surely help, whatever it may be.

So I hope that you can use your knowledge of English to benefit humanity in some small way, such as teaching the world the ways of your ancestors, it would be difficult if you only spoke your native language.

reply to post by DaddyBare


Sounds fair enough. If us American folks go to other countries, we are forced to learn their language or suffer the consequences of not being able to communicate. No one caters to us. Why should a "primarily" english speaking nation cater to others?

Granted, what you say is true. Many languages are spoken in America. But, it really angers me when I go to drive thru's or see elementary schools with the bill boards in the front in Spanish instead of english. Or when I make an order in English (my native language) and get attitude because I don't speak the language of the minorities in this country.

Some may call me racist and some may say I am intolerant but I don't care. In my country, English is the national Language. Yet, I am expected to learn spanish. In Mexico, spanish is the national language, and STILL I am expected to learn Spanish. If I go to Russia, I'd be expected to communicate in Russian etc etc etc.

I don't feel bad for the ESL students that spend 10 years in ESL and still use the tired excuse of "no hablo"

From what I've been told (please correct me if I'm wrong) but after the War OF Independence Americans voted for what language they would adopt as their own and English only won by a few votes from German! Just consider for a moment- would German speaking Americans have joined their English speaking allies in the WW2 or would they have backed Nazi Germany who they shared a common language with!?
It could also be argued that what American people speak is not, in the true sense of the word, truly English! They've taken the English language and changed it to suit their circumstances, almost like an English accent such as scouse, Geordie, cockney, brummie, etc.

You a fellow jar head? I see a Gunny insignia on your avatar.

If so, Semper Fi brother.

Cpl, USMC
1994-1998

reply to post by DaddyBare


Be proud of your heritage and what you are as a person. There are only two kinds of people in this world....assholes and non assholes. Don't ever let the assholes determine which path you take in life.