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Why not speak English instead if you know it? The more you use it the more fluent you become in it.
That statement is true of any language.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldglory
I get the impression that they resent having to speak English.
I imagine they resent being told they must speak English.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldglory
However, when you have to listen to Spanish everywhere you go it does pour salt in the wound as to how many illegals are here from mostly Spanish speaking countries.
There are probably 50 million people in this country who either speak Spanish or identify as Latino. There are 10-11 million illegal aliens in this country. It seems as if one should differentiate between the language and the socio-economic problem.
I imagine they resent being told they must speak English.
There are probably 50 million people in this country who either speak Spanish or identify as Latino. There are 10-11 million illegal aliens in this country. It seems as if one should differentiate between the language and the socio-economic problem.
In addition to the quote you cited while Teddy Roosevelt was POTUS, he expressed the same sentiment several times in his post-Presidency.
He clearly felt that it was also in the interests of the immigrant that he learn English, as well as the interests of the USA. He even went so far as to say that immigrants should go back to their country if they don't learn English.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teddy Roosevelt
We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...." 1907
"Let us say to the immigrant not that we hope he will learn English, but that he has got to learn it. Let the immigrant who does not learn it go back. He has got to consider the interest of the United States or he should not stay here. He must be made to see that his opportunities in this country depend upon his knowing English and observing American standards. The employer cannot be permitted to regard him only as an industrial asset. 1 February 1916
We must have in this country but one flag, and for the speech of the people but one language, the English language.
4th, July 1917.
We have room for but one language here and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, and American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding house; 27 May 1918
President Roosevelt's sentiment is just as valid today as it was a century ago. A common language makes it much easier to function as a nation.
But while it is a good idea that everyone should learn English, it doesn't mean that they should be required to speak it all the time, or that you should be upset in hearing the language, or that no government official should ever speak in Spanish.
Maybe in Europe or even in Canada: not the US since MOST "Hispanic" people who've been here for 3 generation or more DON'T even speak Spanish and; a LOT of that kind of Latino looks DOWN on even illegal aliens from LatAm.
Well since the natural process of assimilation means that immigrant populations will acquire English naturally and in time, why do you then advocate for suppressing use of LOTE (languages other than English) and get all huffy about people using Spanish or other languages in public, in private conversations As I've said, it creates more problems in society.
If you've forgotten, Quebec's French language policy is a backlash and direct result of Francophones being suppressed and marginalized in their own province for hundreds of years.
In addition to the quote you cited while Teddy Roosevelt was POTUS, he expressed the same sentiment several times in his post-Presidency.
He clearly felt that it was also in the interests of the immigrant that he learn English, as well as the interests of the USA. He even went so far as to say that immigrants should go back to their country if they don't learn English.
President Roosevelt's sentiment is just as valid today as it was a century ago. A common language makes it much easier to function as a nation.
But while it is a good idea that everyone should learn English, it doesn't mean that they should be required to speak it all the time, or that you should be upset in hearing the language, or that no government official should ever speak in Spanish.
That's a matter of opinion that I don't have the right to be irritated hearing Spanish being spoken all over the place everywhere I go, doesn't it? It's not just occasionally and it reeks of non-assimilation. I feel like I am living in Mexico but I don't have the option of moving right now and it's all over the southwest.
IMO, since only citizens can vote and they have to know English to become a citizen it makes no sense for a political "candidate" to address an audience in anything other than English.
California and Texas by virtue of their huge size contain 1 out of 5 Americans. But because they are more diverse, they contain 1 out of 3 minority members.
But once you leave California and the major urban centers of Texas, the country still feels - and probably always will - mostly white (sans Hawaii, of course).
But once you leave California and the major urban centers of Texas, the country still feels - and probably always will - mostly white (sans Hawaii, of course).
It's not about whiteness to me it's about our identifying culture and language.
It's not just occasionally and it reeks of non-assimilation. I feel like I am living in Mexico but I don't have the option of moving right now and it's all over the southwest.
Non-assimilation. You mean in territory that once belonged to Mexico.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848 and ratified by both nations, ending the Mexican American war , stated that Mexicans in the former Mexican lands, which were now occupied, were to be protected under the laws of the United States and the Treaty. They retained the right to their language, religion, and culture. Their property and land was protected by the law. For the first time in U.S. history that citizenship was extended to a population that was not formally recognized as “white” by the federal government.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Oldglory
That's a matter of opinion that I don't have the right to be irritated hearing Spanish being spoken all over the place everywhere I go, doesn't it?
You have a right to be irritable. There is no law against it.
That's a matter of opinion that I don't have the right to be irritated hearing Spanish being spoken all over the place everywhere I go, doesn't it? It's not just occasionally and it reeks of non-assimilation. I feel like I am living in Mexico but I don't have the option of moving right now and it's all over the southwest.
IMO, since only citizens can vote and they have to know English to become a citizen it makes no sense for a political "candidate" to address an audience in anything other than English.
Well, you can keep being irritated if you want. It's a free country and anyone can speak what they want.
Well, if they want to be closer to the constituents, they will use whatever language that is expedient. Again, it's a free country and there's no law prohibiting that. You'll find politicians here using Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese depending on the political constituency, here in the SF Bay Area.
Non-assimilation. You mean in territory that once belonged to Mexico.
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848 and ratified by both nations, ending the Mexican American war , stated that Mexicans in the former Mexican lands, which were now occupied, were to be protected under the laws of the United States and the Treaty. They retained the right to their language, religion, and culture. Their property and land was protected by the law. For the first time in U.S. history that citizenship was extended to a population that was not formally recognized as “white” by the federal government.
You have a right to be irritable. There is no law against it.
Your clue is "once". It no longer belongs to Mexico. Most of the descendants of those earlier Mexicans are fully assimilated into our society. The ones that aren't are those here illegally. There is no protection of them, their culture or language as they are here illegally.
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