Learn to Speak English

[Merika]

I don't know if this is funny or sad....but in the area where Stoneheather lives....it's a MAJOR problem. I thought I'd post it.

The Tower of Babel

Recently, a Wendy’s manager and his cashier attacked a customer with a rake and a pair of hedge trimmers. They are now facing felony assault charges.

What provoked this eruption of wild rage? The customer said in effect, “Why don’t you learn to speak Spanish so you can understand and communicate with your customers?”

The manager and cashier were Pakistani, and in Pakistan they speak Urdu.

You see the problem. As soon as you start making concessions to the language of foreigners in the name of multiculturalism, you end up with a nation of people who can’t even order a hamburger.

In an earlier, more sensible time, the children of immigrant parents spoke perfect English, because they were forced to learn the language in school. Today the U.S. Department of Education has an Office of Bilingual Education, and children are taking math courses in Spanish.

U.S. English, Inc. – an organization that is attempting to fix this problem – has for years been promoting a bill establishing English as the nation’s “official language.” If passed, this bill would tear down the Tower of Babel which for years we have been building, brick by brick.

[Ayla]

Have mercy! Lord Bless em I hope they get it passed! I work for a cell phone company and I take calls for the New York city area and you have no idea how much half english and half whatever languages I have to decifer every day!

[Stone]

Sorry to sound like an old Redneck but I refuse to learn Spanish, flat out refuse and sooner or later I will not be able to seek employment in Florida so I will move. I run in to this problem about 6-10 times a day receptionist now at large corporations are awansering there phones in such broken english It's hard to make a doctors appointment, get a manager to return your call process an insurance claim ect. it's disturbing.
If people work with the public in customer service they need to speak english.

I have hired several spanish speaking men on our construction sites and it has never been a problem but they never spoke to our customers and they are AWASOME workers BUT tell one of them there paycheck is late and they all the sudden know perfect english... I believe 100% that the spanish speaking folks in MY area know english, but still they will look at me like I am an idot because I don't speak spanish.

I am not rasist against the spanish community at all but If I moved to Mexico I would HAVE TO LEARN the language, I woulnd't expect the whole dammed country to cater to me. They move here and want employment then they should learn the F**ing language!!!

( Sorry for the rant this drives me nuts daily!)

[Merika]

I agree with the 'When in Rome....' train of thought. When you go to another country....you learn THEIR language....not them accomodating yours down to letting you VOTE in your own language. I find that preposterous!

[matthewmurcia]

This is an interesting thread. I am a British linguist who lives in Spain. In England, for a few years now I seem to rember, there have been schools where the first language is not English but Hindu or Urdu or something, due to the number of immigrants from countries that speak those languages. Now the government is worried about radical islamic clerics that give their sermons in other languages and there have been similar concerns here in Spain with Arabic.

As far as Spanish in the US goes, I remember studying the phenomenon at university a few years ago. I think your politicians are too vote hungry to pass the speak English Bill you have mentioned. I've heard that many of them are even learning Spanish to be able to garner more votes from the hispanic community. I've also read about the increase in Spanish speaking media.

Here where I live in the south of Spain, we have road signs in arabic (this part of the country being oart of the motroway that leads from northern europe down to the north of Africa), and last year the biggest local newspaper even started bringing out a version in German due to the large number of German tourists that come and visit all year round.

[Merika]

I don't think people have a problem when it comes to tourist being helped along with signs in various languages. All of our tourist areas and airports do everything possible to be helpful.

The problem comes in when people migrate here and then refuse to learn the language. I woudn't move to China and expect them to cater to me. I would expect to learn Chinese.

In some areas of Florida, south Florida specifically, there are places you can't get gas, go out to eat or ask for directions because no one in the area speaks English. They have their own radio and television stations. They can come to America if they chose to....but they need to learn the language. We aren't a mini-Cuba or Brazil or Mexico. We have a language and people need to learn it or go back to where they started out.

My Mom is German. She moved here in her early 20's. She went to college and became a teacher. She did it all in ENLGISH. Spanish speaking people are the only ones who seem to think they don't have to.

[matthewmurcia]

I agree. whenever i have gone to another country to live or visit I've learned the language.

It's interesting what you say about Spanish speakers in Florida. In spain there are hundreds of thousands of people who are really enthusiastic about learning English !! I admire your grandmother. I once went to work in Sweden and, in the first two weeks, they took us all to a week long conference (in Swedish) about conflict psychology. Grrrr, it could have been really interesting.

Here in Spain I think the biggest problem like that is going to come with north african muslim speakers of Arabic, although there are plenty of English and German people here who make no effort at all to learn Spanish. Thinking about it, the exact same set-up you describe for Spanish speakers in Florida (own radio, tv, restaurants, chools etc..) we have here in Spain but with English people!!!)

We also have a lot of South American immigrants but they don't need to learn another language here which also meand they are tolerated more by the 'natives'

[Paul]

We have the same issues here, Toronto being voted the most multicultural city in the world. It annoys me to no end how much of a language barrier we have. not to mention the dialects and slang (link)

What we need is a realtime Universal Translator. From what I remember, they have the technology but the computing power doesn't yet exsist to translate the words in real time. Not to long from now though.

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com...translator.htm

Work on ViA's universal translator began about two years ago as a way to ensure that people of different languages can communicate with each other in life-and-death situations. Robert Palmquist, ViA's vice president of innovative technology, described the tragedy that sparked the development of the ViA translator. A few years ago, several people died in a fire in St. Paul, MN, because firefighters were unable to communicate effectively with the victims. Non-English speaking residents of the building were trying to flee, but misunderstood where the firefighters were telling them to go and walked directly into the fire. It's possible that if the firefighters would have had a translating device, the fatalities could have been avoided.

Language barrier or not, no firefighter is going to convince me to run INTO a fire. :roll:

[hezekiah]

I'm a language student,I wait on Latinos at my job,also people from around the world-i get to use French and German sometimes,sometimes people need help-there ARE a lot of Latinos who take it for granted that some one'll speak spanish but there are a lot too who are merely stuck with making the most of a bad situation.
People seem to expect Americans to be accepting of other cultures but I don't see a universal multiculturalism among the Latinos,some have it and I respect them but a lot of them are arrogant and chauvinstic-just a different kind of redneck...

[Merika]

I think it's normal as cultures combine that some people feel the need to fiercely hold on to what is unique about them. Whether it be music, words, clothes style or any other number of things. I don't think it's a bad sign or unhealthy for the merging of cultures.....it just takes awhile for the edge to wear off.

Refusing to learn to speak the language is a little silly though. I don't think all of our welfare system or getting a drivers license should be a multi-lingual process.

[hezekiah]

It's a question of commitment-these people aren't willing to commit to making a life for themselves because they've left something behind them-I think they should be given some time-America needs to grow up as Europe has-there are tremendous advantages to the universal language thing but you can't expect to carry on commerce and relations with the rest of the world without being willing to communicate,
Yes,the immigrants need to adjust their perspective but so do the Americans.

[Merika]

It all depends on where you are as to how much American's are willing to adjust to those who don't speak English. It's acceptable in NYC....but Atlanta would frown upon it. HAHA!

If you landed in the airport in NYC or Miami to migrate and can't speak English..okay fine. But before you get elsewhere....get you a tape or a book and brush up.

[hezekiah]

Ok,Merika-they need to be realistic,you are right but there are verities the rest of us need to attend to as well-there's a lot of money coming across the border,with a little patience and tolerance we can have a win-win proposition.

[Merika]

HAHA Hezikiah....there's ALOT of stuff coming across the border! For that though...I'm not sure that speaking English is needed.

[hezekiah]

Any trade can go smoothly for a while but there will always be disputes-I spend a lot of my time at work ironing out misunderstandings.

[Merika]

Originally Posted by hezekiah

Any trade can go smoothly for a while

I was talking about drugs and hookers.....
I think that's more of a problem from Mexico than from Canada.

[hezekiah]

I had a feeling you intended some thing shall we say less than "Angelic"-Mexico is a