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I was watching CNN's "Situation Room" this afternoon and saw a clip of Obama addressing a public group and making this quote:
"Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn english - they'll learn english - you need to make sure YOUR child can speak Spanish, you should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual."
I replayed his clip three times to ensure I had the wording correct, but this is exactly what he said. I don't know who his audience was, but I found this comment rather startling.
why is learning another language odious to americans? in strasburg (border town)everybody speaks german and french. whats the deal. none of the white or black kids here speak spanish. i live 12 miles from the border. whats up with that
While I dont think everyone should have to learn Spanish, immigrants will learn English.
But theres lots of really smart people going for business majors in colleges that are learning Spanish. In business being bilingual or trilingual or quadrilingual is an invaluable tool.
Probably not a bad idea at all, just as a personal choice (I learned it decades ago). Yet as a politician's 'blurb', I must say it's pretty 'dumb'. It could EASILY be twisted around to sound like maybe "we" should learn Spanish, because we can't depend on "them" to learn English...(if they DID, why would we 'need' Spanish?) Not a very 'bright' comment to make when you're trying to bring the voters together. Sounds like something Bush would say.
why is learning another language odious to americans? in strasburg (border town)everybody speaks german and french. whats the deal. none of the white or black kids here speak spanish. i live 12 miles from the border. whats up with that
NONE of them? Not even a FEW? Must be a pretty unusual border town.
Probably not a bad idea at all, just as a personal choice (I learned it decades ago). Yet as a politician's 'blurb', I must say it's pretty 'dumb'. It could EASILY be twisted around to sound like maybe "we" should learn Spanish, because we can't depend on "them" to learn English...(if they DID, why would we 'need' Spanish?) Not a very 'bright' comment to make when you're trying to bring the voters together. Sounds like something Bush would say.
It seems to me that this comment, linked with his earlier NAFTA "doubletalk" comments, is a bit of a concern:
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NewToCA
I was watching CNN's "Situation Room" this afternoon and saw a clip of Obama addressing a public group and making this quote:
"Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn english - they'll learn english - you need to make sure YOUR child can speak Spanish, you should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual."
I replayed his clip three times to ensure I had the wording correct, but this is exactly what he said. I don't know who his audience was, but I found this comment rather startling.
Why should i have to learn spanish if immigrants are going to learn english? My child should become bi-lingual, but why does that 2nd language have to be spanish? The second language i'm planning to learn is french. I did that as MY personal choice. The language you should learn if you want to make some $$$ is arabic. A lot of high-paying govt jobs can be had for arabic-speaking americans.
I heard that at my bank today and one thing i find sad is the lack of reaction from anyone who watched. I was shocked when i first heard it. Obama's comments today are one of the main reasons i'll be in the minority of african-americans who wont vote for him.
My child should become bi-lingual, but why does that 2nd language have to be spanish?
Because Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world.
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