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Does it make sense to ignore them if one day they or their children can and/or will?
[political investments today for political dividends tomorrow, methinks]
Lots of things can change in 10 or 20 years. Many times the kids of legal aliens WON'T vote how their parents did so, pandering to in any language other than English is stupid and a waste of time.
Does it make sense to ignore them if one day they or their children can and/or will?
[political investments today for political dividends tomorrow, methinks]
You didn't read my post, or understand it ..... but, what's new about that?
Some people can't help but view everything through an Ideological lens of Partisanship.
It is what it is.
Location: SF Bay Area (recent MN transplant...go gophers)
148 posts, read 149,362 times
Reputation: 368
There's a town in southeastern Minnesota called Spring Grove. It's an adorable little place nestled in the hills about 10 miles away from the Mississippi River, population just above a thousand. I'd recommend checking it out...unless you have a severe distaste towards the Norwegian language. They still mix English and Norwegian there, 150 years after the town was founded. Their welcome sign on the way into town even says "Vilkommen til Spring Grove." They're certainly proud of it...many of their events revolve around Norwegian heritage. And they aren't alone...approximately 25,000 Norwegian Minnesotans admit that they speak "a language other than English" at home.
Now, if you go to Wisconsin, you probably won't hear that kind of thing...instead, it'll be in German. Cute quiet towns like Hustisford and Cedarburg kept up their English/German speaking ways well into the 20th century, sometimes after World War II. Funny story: specifically in Hustisford, after a generation or two it was learned that people were not just assimilating their language, but they were doing the exact opposite: in 1910, 25% of the population only spoke German.
But let's stray out of the Midwest...Louisiana is really nice and warm this time of year. How about St. Martin's Parish in south-central Louisiana...they probably have good jambalaya and gumbo. Just make sure you've got a few French words down. About 70% of the population speaks English at home, while everyone else prefers French creole or just plain ol' French.
Point it, if bilingualism signifies the death of America, then honey, we've been sitting in a grave for a long time now.
There's a town in southeastern Minnesota called Spring Grove. It's an adorable little place nestled in the hills about 10 miles away from the Mississippi River, population just above a thousand. I'd recommend checking it out...unless you have a severe distaste towards the Norwegian language. They still mix English and Norwegian there, 150 years after the town was founded. Their welcome sign on the way into town even says "Vilkommen til Spring Grove." They're certainly proud of it...many of their events revolve around Norwegian heritage. And they aren't alone...approximately 25,000 Norwegian Minnesotans admit that they speak "a language other than English" at home.
Now, if you go to Wisconsin, you probably won't hear that kind of thing...instead, it'll be in German. Cute quiet towns like Hustisford and Cedarburg kept up their English/German speaking ways well into the 20th century, sometimes after World War II. Funny story: specifically in Hustisford, after a generation or two it was learned that people were not just assimilating their language, but they were doing the exact opposite: in 1910, 25% of the population only spoke German.
But let's stray out of the Midwest...Louisiana is really nice and warm this time of year. How about St. Martin's Parish in south-central Louisiana...they probably have good jambalaya and gumbo. Just make sure you've got a few French words down. About 70% of the population speaks English at home, while everyone else prefers French creole or just plain ol' French.
Point it, if bilingualism signifies the death of America, then honey, we've been sitting in a grave for a long time now.
I can safely say that pretty much ALL the people in those places speak English so pols above the local level speak just English. Too; few if any of those foreign language users are any kind of alien, hell almost all are US citizens.
American names like Fiorello LaGuardia and Mario Cuomo?
Also, what's considered an American name?
Don't be obtuse as you know many ethnic names from the countries I mentioned are rare in America. For instance how many Gunther's, Yitzhak's, Padraig's, Goran's, Helmut's, etc., etc., are running around America today.
Instead popular names like John, James, William, George, Thomas, etc. are the norm.
I never said nor even implied the transition was immediate. The first non English speaking immigrants needed to stick together just as a survival tactic. Most every immigrant community has had it's own version of Little Italy, but instead of naming their kid Giuseppe, many named them Joseph.
Of course there are exceptions, but the majority of immigrants did assimilate to a much greater degree than they do today.
The Indians didn't. Look what happened to them...D'OH!! Besides, when is knowing two languages a bad thing?
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Again stop with the obtuse comments. There is nothing wrong with knowing a multitude of languages if you choose to.
However to force Americans to learn Spanish to be able to work, just to appease the growing group(many here illegally)is wrong.
For example, what Carter did to South Florida is unconscionable.
Again stop with the obtuse comments. There is nothing wrong with knowing a multitude of languages if you choose to.
However to force Americans to learn Spanish to be able to work, just to appease the growing group(many here illegally)is wrong.
For example, what Carter did to South Florida is unconscionable.
Lots of things can change in 10 or 20 years. Many times the kids of legal aliens WON'T vote how their parents did so, pandering to in any language other than English is stupid and a waste of time.
Maybe.
[maybe not]
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