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Anyone who lives among people speaking a language foreign to their native tongue will most assuredly pick up that language. Especially if that person has the energy, intelligence and motivation to be a business owner.... and is do it illegally in a country whose language and written word he doesn't understand.
Looks like someone is having a little trouble speaking English themselves.
Maybe he was selling those "sugar free" muffins from the Butterfly Bakery in nearby Clifton in his store. I read people really liked them!
Just heard on the news by the way that he owed almost $30k in child support.
Really!!! $30,000 in child support??? and your point? there are lots of dead beat dads out there,at least these kids will get there money plus more. he cant hide anymore..
Really!!! $30,000 in child support??? and your point? there are lots of dead beat dads out there,at least these kids will get there money plus more. he cant hide anymore..
i guess his point is that the guy is a dirtbag. which is probably true if he has children and didnt pay to support them. but i dont think anyone is singing him praises for being a great person anyway. i wish there were significant penalties for low lifes like him that dont pay child support.
1) The government does not force anyone to learn English unless they are going to public school (and even then its scetchy)
2) The government is more than happy to provide many official documents in a variety of languages and/or provide a translation service.
3) We are the worlds melting pot. The American Indians are the only true natives. We are all immigrants. Get off your high horses.
4) Very Very few people who come here as adults are completely, 100% fluent in English. My father came here in his late 20s and worked in a chem lab for the 30+ years he was here and unless he spoke slowly, it was very difficult to understand him because of his very heavy accent. He read and understood perfectly fine but rarely spoke English unless he HAD to. He did not have to speak English at work since 90% of the employees all spoke Spanish.
5) It is VERY true that non fluent people, especially of Hispanic origin for some dumb reason, are VERY introverted when it comes to speaking English in public.
my only problem with him is that after 26 yrs in America ,he doesnt know the english language
other then that ,im glad a regular guy won that lottery and not some wealthy person ,who doesnt need the lottery
its always a regular guy, usually old people. i always wish rich people would win the lottery to stick it to people with your attitude. its kind of like when i watch the ufc reality show and they give you the guys life stories. i always root against the guys with the real sad stories and i always hope the guys who just do it on the side for fun win. i guess its cause im a jerk.
1) The government does not force anyone to learn English unless they are going to public school (and even then its scetchy)
2) The government is more than happy to provide many official documents in a variety of languages and/or provide a translation service.
3) We are the worlds melting pot. The American Indians are the only true natives. We are all immigrants. Get off your high horses.
4) Very Very few people who come here as adults are completely, 100% fluent in English. My father came here in his late 20s and worked in a chem lab for the 30+ years he was here and unless he spoke slowly, it was very difficult to understand him because of his very heavy accent. He read and understood perfectly fine but rarely spoke English unless he HAD to. He did not have to speak English at work since 90% of the employees all spoke Spanish.
5) It is VERY true that non fluent people, especially of Hispanic origin for some dumb reason, are VERY introverted when it comes to speaking English in public.
I agree with all you said, except calling their reason for not English speaking in public dumb. If people weren't such insensitive, arrogant, and yes, bigoted jerks towards people with accents, the people who have those accents would not feel so self conscious about speaking. For that reason, my father still has us making his doctor's appointments, despite knowing the language, and being in the country almost 30 years. My mother on the other hand, is the type of person who doesn't give a crap about what idiots say. She would put them in their place, and kept talking with her heavy European accent. She still has an accent, like many people who learn a foreign language as adults, but its not as heavy, and her English is far better than my dad's. Not everyone has the guts to say, "F' those bigoted jerks".
I wonder how many people here who are wondering why this man couldn't learn English, would be able to learn a foreign language if they had to live in a foreign land? As others said, its incredibly hard as an adult. How many would even be willing to learn? Many "proud Americans" who want people to respect English, would just say "F' it", and not even bother learning another language. I mean, the invaders, errmmm founding fathers, didn't bother learning & preserving Native Americans' languages(or the people for that matter). Why start now, right? Heck, the history of English speaking people lacking respect for other languages goes back to before they came to the new land. The fact that there are so few who speak Welsh, Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx (I won't even go into the completely dead languages of Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man), is proof.
My family members who live in different countries in Europe & Asia say of all the expats, Americans are the least respectful of foreign languages and least willing to learn it(mainly American men, American women are far more respectful of the cultures & language). Compared to many countries in Europe & Asia, very few Americans are bi/mutli-lingual, even if they took foreign language in college. Google it, the information is there. We could all stand to learn REAL history & about other cultures, which was NOT taught in schools. It may make us more understanding and less prejudiced, of our fellow man, regardless of his native tongue.
Oh, and you don't have to go south to hear Americans destroy the language. Just hit 80 W. and head about 2 1/2 hrs to north east Pa to see the grave need for grammar instruction.
Does anyone else find this whole scenario to be a little bizarre?
In all likelihood he probably does speak English, just poorly.
I know people who speak English and understand it just not well, and who will still use an interpreter when it is important. He probably did not want to look bad on TV, now I am sure many of you will jump on me and say it looks worse to appear to not speak English at all, but for many immigrants they do not feel that way.
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