Spanish required for a job? (find a job, schools, colleges)

[CESpeed]

Learning to speak a language because you want to is one thing, but being forced to is another. People who live in a country and speak the native language of that country should not HAVE to learn a second language to work. As stated by another poster, if I were moving to another country, I would learn the language and customs of that country. The people who live here and refuse to speak English aren't doing that and I don't understand why our Government is bending over backwards to accommodate them.

I guess cheap labor is more important than the citizenry.

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

Learning to speak a language because you want to is one thing, but being forced to is another. People who live in a country and speak the native language of that country should not HAVE to learn a second language to work. As stated by another poster, if I were moving to another country, I would learn the language and customs of that country. The people who live here and refuse to speak English aren't doing that and I don't understand why our Government is bending over backwards to accommodate them.

I guess cheap labor is more important than the citizenry.

You make it seem that America is the only country where this happens. There are plenty of ethnic enclaves and Canada and all over Europe where large communities of immigrants still keep their native culture and language. Also, if you go to any border city (or near border city in the case of LA) in the world, a good portion of the population will speak the languages of the bordering countries. I saw this all over Europe as well as in South American on the Brazilian/Argentine border.

[bhcompy]

Requiring a language sucks, but it's the nature of the US. Some just give up after a while. I had an optomitrist friend who did business for many years and ended up getting rid of his practice because he couldn't afford the hassle of paying for translators in the 3 or 4 languages you can readily experience in OC(English and Spanish are the easy ones, but there are also high concetrations of first gen Cambodians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, etc in the LA and OC areas). It makes it difficult to do business in that environment and it would be nice if, with all the public money spent on social programs, one low cost program could be teaching immigrants operational english.

[CESpeed]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

You make it seem that America is the only country where this happens. There are plenty of ethnic enclaves and Canada and all over Europe where large communities of immigrants still keep their native culture and language. Also, if you go to any border city (or near border city in the case of LA) in the world, a good portion of the population will speak the languages of the bordering countries. I saw this all over Europe as well as in South American on the Brazilian/Argentine border.

At no point have I ever said or insinuated that America is the only place this happens or even that the immigrant problem is exclusive to California. I took that into account when selecting my new home state.

It's a sin that a person has to leave their native home because their home is overrun by people who aren't suppose to be there, refuse to assimilate, and lower the quality of life in general.

[Cubancoffee]

Originally Posted by CESpeed

It's a sin that a person has to leave their native home because their home is overrun by people who aren't suppose to be there, refuse to assimilate, and lower the quality of life in general.

Right On!

You ARE talking about what happened to the American Indians, right?

[edwardius]

As a white guy, I am completely opposed to mandating an official language. Once you set up a national language then you need to set up an official body to preserve the purity of the native language. France has that and they get caught up in all of this nonsense about trying to replace blue jeans with a more french sounding word for blue jeans. Language police are not American, its a totally crappy lame european idea. In America we are always bastardizing the langugage. Its what makes the culture innovative.

The other problem is the problem that Canada has. Once you define a national language, local regions where minority dialects demand that there languages get recognized by local and larger governments. This is how you end up with French and English both being official languages in Canada, even though the population of Canada isn't bilingual. In the French areas they speak French and the English areas they speak English, but the government all of Canada have to publish documents in both French and English.

There was a time when the majority of people in Pennsylvania spoke German. But the utility of English was so great, the German speaking parents of Pennsylvania made sure their kids learned English. In time English became the defacto language of Pennsylvania again.

Yes a bunch of people in LA don't speak English as a first language. Some speak Chinese, some speak Spanish, some speak Armenia and a whole bunch of other languages. But the parents of all of those kids want their kids to learn English at school. As long as that is the case, I see no need for any type of mandatory programs to mandate a specific language. It just convinces the minority members that majority is out to discriminate against them.

Lastly, I sort of like going into neighborhoods where people are still speaking a foreign tongue. Generally its a good sign that the ethnic food doesn't suck and makes neighborhoods seem less generic. Any burrito shop where they list the ingredients as grilled steak and not carne asada is burrito shop I don't want to eat at. Part of the reason people go to Chinatowns is to have an experience that is a little different than the rest of the country.

Yes immigrants create ethnic neighborhoods and bring over some of the traditions of there old country. Its also why they bring over foods from their old regions. I don't want to live in a society that is too homogenized.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by edwardius

As a white guy, I am completely opposed to mandating an official language. Once you set up a national language then you need to set up an official body to preserve the purity of the native language. France has that and they get caught up in all of this nonsense about trying to replace blue jeans with a more french sounding word for blue jeans. Language police are not American, its a totally crappy lame european idea. In America we are always bastardizing the langugage. Its what makes the culture innovative.

The government could very easy declare that English is the language of government. Government forms will be published in English only. The government will stop hiring people because they speak foreign languages and then paying them more. Tell people that government business will be conducted in English and they are welcome to bring a translator.

[edwardius]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

The government could very easy declare that English is the language of government. Government forms will be published in English only. The government will stop hiring people because they speak foreign languages and then paying them more. Tell people that government business will be conducted in English and they are welcome to bring a translator.

Do favor renaming San Francisco, Franks place because San Francisco is spanish name and in official documents well we need to speak English. What about Des Moines, perhaps we should just rename it Smallville because in official documents we can't have pesky French names.

The idea is absurd and frankly un-American.

Secretly you wish you were French.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by edwardius

Do favor renaming San Francisco, Franks place because San Francisco is spanish name and in official documents well we need to speak English. What about Des Moines, perhaps we should just rename it Smallville because in official documents we can't have pesky French names.

The idea is absurd and frankly un-American.

Secretly you wish you were French.

If you can't tell the difference between retaining place names that pre-date the US and having the government print voter forms in 25 languages and hiring welfare clerks because they speak Spanish or Tagalog, you're not worth talking to.

[edwardius]

I am glad you acknowledge that my point is correct.