Quote:
Originally Posted by Frostnip
That's patently untrue. Either you haven't spent time there or you managed to never, like, set foot in an HEB or whatever. Local TV and radio are largely in English, English is the language of instruction in the schools, English is used in any chain business, public service, government office, medical provider, etc., many churches have services in English, and almost everyone speaks English even if they also speak Spanish. And the Spanish spoken in the region is really heavily influenced by English. Moreover, assimilation is more than just language. The RGV has more in common with the rest of Texas in several aspects of society than it does with Mexico.
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Yup. The alleged "Spanish only" nature of people's lives in the RGV (or Miami or East LA for that matter) is often greatly overplayed.
There are certainly people who speak little to no English in those areas but they live fairly isolated, simple existences and either awkwardly muddle through or rely on others who speak English when they bump into organized society (both government and non-government) which is generally in English only in every part of every state.
The idea that people living in any US state would go an entire year without overhearing English or even "bumping into it" (I mean, it's on every single consumer product in your house - and often the only language on labels) is absurd.
The only US citizens who live their daily lives with extremely limited exposure to English live in Puerto Rico.
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