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Actually, yes. Happens all the time. But, you wouldn't know it if you've never been out of the country, or to Puerto Rico so, right there, you just discredited yourself because Americans are made fun of and notorious the world over for demanding they be coddled in English whenever we go to another country
So very true. Americans love to live in their little self-created bubbles.
I'm always perplexed by the "demanding Spanish be spoken" card. I know many, many illegals, work with them, as friends, etc., and I've never heard anyone demand Spanish be spoken. Ridiculous argument! And false!
We are laughed at all over the world for wanting everything in English. We are probably the only country in the world that insists on monolingualism. So many Americans have the notion that English is our official language. It never has been. It was the default language. Nothing guarantees you may only hear English spoken. Such a shallow idea!
And what are people so frightened of with the Spanish language? Why does it offend to hear it spoken? I find it funny how people get so irate when they hear it. Most Europeans and Asians speak multiple languages. Why do we remain so unlearned?
Geez, just more examples of a tribal mentality. When will certain groups of citizens start putting their country and their fellow citizens first rather than foreigners of the same nationality and/or ethnic group?
How many Cubans come to the USA under wet foot/dry foot a year???
So very true. Americans love to live in their little self-created bubbles.
I'm always perplexed by the "demanding Spanish be spoken" card. I know many, many illegals, work with them, as friends, etc., and I've never heard anyone demand Spanish be spoken. Ridiculous argument! And false!
We are laughed at all over the world for wanting everything in English. We are probably the only country in the world that insists on monolingualism. So many Americans have the notion that English is our official language. It never has been. It was the default language. Nothing guarantees you may only hear English spoken. Such a shallow idea!
And what are people so frightened of with the Spanish language? Why does it offend to hear it spoken? I find it funny how people get so irate when they hear it. Most Europeans and Asians speak multiple languages. Why do we remain so unlearned?
Heck, it's not all that different from English.
Oh, puhleeze. Stop with the parochialism/bubble baloney. That hasn't anything to do with anything, and you know it.
It's friggin insulting to enter the United States, especially illegally, want to be a citizen/occupant/resident/worker in the US, send your illegal kids to our schools, accept any and all social welfare benefits from this country - and NOT want to learn the language as quickly as possible and demand pc correctness on top of it.
These people are NOT doing us any FAVORS by being here. On the contrary, the illegals are creating enormous financial and social problems.
In Europe, countries are the size of individual states. Borders/languages/cultures intersect. When I was in Greece decades ago - description of museum artifacts were in Greek, German, French - and maybe/far less often English. German/French - at that time - were more universally spoken in Europe, than English, by far. If you couldn't communicate in Greek maybe you could in French or German.
Now, as stated above - the world has changed - ENGLISH IS THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS.
If these people have ANY hope of succeeding, they had better learn English.
In the United States - which has more than TWICE the land mass of Western Europe - only ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN in our 50/51 states and has been since this country was founded.
People in Europe can travel as easily to another country as a NY'er can travel to NJ, CT, ME. People in the UK can be in France via Eurostar rail in a matter of hours.
We are NOT a unity of 50/51 DIFFERENT countries with 50/51 languages/cultures abutting each other, never have been - and we do have oceans separating us from any of the other languages/cultures.
Your argument is ridiculously specious.
Last edited by Ariadne22; 08-11-2014 at 10:29 PM..
Btw I mentioned this before but the caseworkers for Illinois speak Spanish. The reason? most on welfare now are illegals. They are refusing to learn English and we are catering to them. Can't speak English? you don't get a dime of our welfare.
So very true. Americans love to live in their little self-created bubbles.
I'm always perplexed by the "demanding Spanish be spoken" card. I know many, many illegals, work with them, as friends, etc., and I've never heard anyone demand Spanish be spoken. Ridiculous argument! And false!
We are laughed at all over the world for wanting everything in English. We are probably the only country in the world that insists on monolingualism. So many Americans have the notion that English is our official language. It never has been. It was the default language. Nothing guarantees you may only hear English spoken. Such a shallow idea!
And what are people so frightened of with the Spanish language? Why does it offend to hear it spoken? I find it funny how people get so irate when they hear it. Most Europeans and Asians speak multiple languages. Why do we remain so unlearned?
Heck, it's not all that different from English.
Oh puleez!
If illegals aren't demanding everything be given to them in Spanish, then why is signage in Spanish and English? Why when you call a company do you hear "para Espanol oprime dos"? All this certainly isn't being done for American citizens.
When Puerto Ricans started coming to the Mainland, they weren't given anything in Spanish---and they are American citizens. They knew that if they were to make it on the Mainland that they needed to learn English.
Then you claim that people are "frightened of..the Spanish language". That's pure garbage---and you know it.
I know that you support giving everything in Spanish to Hispanic illegals. However, think of this --- by doing so, it hampers them from learning English. The best way to learn a language is total immersion. By your pushing bilingual signage, you are encouraging illegals to not learn English.
And why don't we put up signage in, for example, Arabic, Urdu, or Swahili? Why are legal immigrants expected to learn English but Hispanic illegals are not?
Who is insisting on "monolingualism"? No one that I know of. If we were so insistent on "monolingualism", then why are foreign languages taught in our schools? What people resent is the feeling that Spanish is being forced on to us---and that is wrong. Maybe someone would prefer to learn French or Polish---and there's nothing wrong with that.
Fwiw, I always wanted to learn other languages - but where would I speak them? Mentioned this to a super-smart and very highly paid attorney a few years ago - and he asked, in all seriousness, "why?" He knew Russian and said it got so damn confusing to have to switch gears in his head because he actually needed to think in Russian in order to speak it.
Conversation came up because I mentioned I had seen a CNBC program with a Japanese commentator speaking German to a guest on a program televised from the UK. So, I guess the commentator was fluent in Japanese, English, German - and probably a few more languages, besides.
It's a crazy, multi-cultural/language world outside the US, that's for sure. But, the rest of the world is NOT the U.S.
Which proves the point - when in Rome do as the Romans. Worldly people learn other languages and accommodate themselves to other cultures in order to do business or fit into the culture.
Anyone coming here looking for opportunity needs to do the same - to make literacy and fluency in our language a first priority - and assimilate into our culture. We are absolutely NOT REQUIRED to inconvenience ourselves at great cost in order to accommodate theirs - especially when they are takers, not contributors.
Last edited by Ariadne22; 08-11-2014 at 10:08 PM..
Oh, puhleeze. Stop with the parochialism/bubble baloney. That hasn't anything to do with anything, and you know it.
It's friggin insulting to enter the United States, especially illegally, want to be a citizen/occupant/resident/worker in the US, send your illegal kids to our schools, accept any and all social welfare benefits from this country - and NOT want to learn the language as quickly as possible and demand pc correctness on top of it.
These people are NOT doing us any FAVORS by being here. On the contrary, the illegals are creating enormous financial and social problems.
In Europe, countries are the size of individual states. Borders/languages/cultures intersect. When I was in Greece decades ago - description of museum artifacts were in Greek, German, French - and maybe/far less often English. German/French - at that time - were more universally spoken in Europe, than English, by far. If you couldn't communicate in Greek maybe you could in French or German.
Now, as stated above - the world has changed - ENGLISH IS THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS.
If these people have ANY hope of succeeding, they had better learn English.
In the United States - which has more than TWICE the land mass of Western Europe - only ONE UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN in our 50/51 states and has been since this country was founded.
People in Europe can travel as easily to another country as a NY'er can travel to NJ, CT, ME. People in the UK can be in France via Eurostar rail in a matter of hours.
We are NOT a unity of 50/51 DIFFERENT countries with 50/51 languages/cultures abutting each other, never have been - and we do have oceans separating us from any of the other languages/cultures.
Your argument is ridiculously specious.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BOS2IAD
Oh puleez!
If illegals aren't demanding everything be given to them in Spanish, then why is signage in Spanish and English? Why when you call a company do you hear "para Espanol oprime dos"? All this certainly isn't being done for American citizens.
When Puerto Ricans started coming to the Mainland, they weren't given anything in Spanish---and they are American citizens. They knew that if they were to make it on the Mainland that they needed to learn English.
Then you claim that people are "frightened of..the Spanish language". That's pure garbage---and you know it.
I know that you support giving everything in Spanish to Hispanic illegals. However, think of this --- by doing so, it hampers them from learning English. The best way to learn a language is total immersion. By your pushing bilingual signage, you are encouraging illegals to not learn English.
And why don't we put up signage in, for example, Arabic, Urdu, or Swahili? Why are legal immigrants expected to learn English but Hispanic illegals are not?
Who is insisting on "monolingualism"? No one that I know of. If we were so insistent on "monolingualism", then why are foreign languages taught in our schools? What people resent is the feeling that Spanish is being forced on to us---and that is wrong. Maybe someone would prefer to learn French or Polish---and there's nothing wrong with that.
Agreed.
The language of money, flying, diplomats and so on in 2014 is English; even in LatAm.
Americans have always needed someone to blame their problems on: Native Americans, Blacks, Irish, Jews, Chinese, and now Mexicans. Put the blame where it really belongs. On ourselves. Business owners hire illegal immigrants. Blame McDonald's. LOL!
Really? Where are you getting that? Our problems are real in this country. Since when have we blamed races/ethnic groups for our problems? The only Mexicans I see being blamed for anything are those here illegally and illegal immigration is "one" of the real problems in this country. There are three parties to blame illegal immigration on and that is our government, the employers and the illegals themselves. Most Americans aren't to blame so the "ourselves" remark in regards to blame does not fall on "us".
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so, right there, you just discredited yourself because Americans are made fun of and notorious the world over for demanding they be coddled in English whenever we go to another country
