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I don't get this "refusing to learn English" thing, as if some immigrant working two jobs to feed his family ought to find the time and money to learn a language he might never have to use. Get real. The "assimilation" subject is bogus too, for every child in American schools is instructed in English and learns American history. If that's not enough for you and you think more Americanism needs to be forced on people, I'd suggest you consider how conservative it is to dictate how other people should live.
I watched a documentary* on Henry Ford last night and learned about his mandatory English School Melting Pot for non-fluent immigrant employees. Ford was a brilliant, if generally uneducated man, and many of his ideas were controversial to say the least. That said, his English education program was instrumental to his car company's early success.
What struck me was the responsibility Ford took for providing English education for his employees. While there was much to criticize -- his anti-Semitic publications were disgusting -- he did recognize the value his employees brought to the job and was willing to invest in them. Today, we'd be hard-pressed to find a company that does the same, particularly for poor immigrants.
* The documentary I watched was originally broadcast on PBS as "The American Experience: Henry Ford." It is currently available on Netflix. Well worth the time to watch.
Last edited by randomparent; 07-03-2014 at 01:37 PM..
I don't get this "refusing to learn English" thing, as if some immigrant working two jobs to feed his family ought to find the time and money to learn a language he might never have to use. Get real. The "assimilation" subject is bogus too, for every child in American schools is instructed in English and learns American history. If that's not enough for you and you think more Americanism needs to be forced on people, I'd suggest you consider how conservative it is to dictate how other people should live.
The good thing is, most Americans know this already. The majority of Americans don't have a problem with another language being spoken in public. Most Americans that have a problem with this are country bumpkins or just about any place that has a very low level of immigration. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule, but it is a well-known fact that the more isolated a place is, the more fearful they are of "outsiders". A lot of the English Nativist posters on here seem to hail from the border region as well. Need I remind them that, in every single country in the world, the border region is distinct from the rest of the country. You are, naturally, going to have more of a foreign language and culture being spoken and exposed to in the border regions in the world than anywhere else. That would probably explain the "lack of integration" that HappyTexan, malamute, and Oldglory always talk about; because the Hispanic immigrants in New York City tell a very different story, thousands of miles away from the border. But, hey, go to Chinatown in New York and you hear Chinese being spoken and used there more often than Spanish in Washington Heights, Manhattan. But, who cares? It's those damn brown Mexicans and their genetic predisposition for criminality
The good thing is, most Americans know this already. The majority of Americans don't have a problem with another language being spoken in public. Most Americans that have a problem with this are country bumpkins or just about any place that has a very low level of immigration. Of course, there are exceptions to that rule, but it is a well-known fact that the more isolated a place is, the more fearful they are of "outsiders". A lot of the English Nativist posters on here seem to hail from the border region as well. Need I remind them that, in every single country in the world, the border region is distinct from the rest of the country. You are, naturally, going to have more of a foreign language and culture being spoken and exposed to in the border regions in the world than anywhere else. That would probably explain the "lack of integration" that HappyTexan, malamute, and Oldglory always talk about; because the Hispanic immigrants in New York City tell a very different story, thousands of miles away from the border. But, hey, go to Chinatown in New York and you hear Chinese being spoken and used there more often than Spanish in Washington Heights, Manhattan. But, who cares? It's those damn brown Mexicans and their genetic predisposition for criminality
I wholeheartedly agree. It's unfortunate to see that some posters feel threatened by lingual diversity in an ethnically diverse country.
I have been to several places this evening (Whole Foods, mall, and Target) and it seemed like few people there were speaking English - people were speaking in languages other than English. Does going into a public place and hearing a lack of English, especially in a nonethnic neighborhood, bother you?
Yes! I've lived in three other countries and always made it a point to become conversant in their languages and familiar with their social customs. I consider not doing so to be rude, arrogant, ignorant and inconsiderate.
Last edited by Curmudgeon; 07-03-2014 at 03:14 PM..
I wholeheartedly agree. It's unfortunate to see that some posters feel threatened by lingual diversity in an ethnically diverse country.
I agree to a point, speaking 2 other languages fluently besides English myself.
I just do't want folks to confuse that "diversity" with the language needed for global trade/globalizaton.
Which whether our ethnically diverse country likes it or not, is/will be English.
The EU has pretty much accepted that, as well as the Middle East and Asia.
"It is the common language in almost every endeavor"
It has consolidated its dominance as the language of the Internet, where 80 percent of the world's electronically stored information is in English, according to David Graddol, a linguist and researcher."
The largest English-speaking nation in the world, the United States, has only about 20 percent of the world's English speakers. In Asia alone, an estimated 350 million people speak English, about the same as the combined English-speaking populations of Britain, the United States and Canada."
I have been to several places this evening (Whole Foods, mall, and Target) and it seemed like few people there were speaking English - people were speaking in languages other than English. Does going into a public place and hearing a lack of English, especially in a nonethnic neighborhood, bother you?
The only thing about that that bothers me is that they can not speak English and expect everyone else to learn their language.
I agree to a point, speaking 2 other languages fluently besides English myself.
I just do't want folks to confuse that "diversity" with the language needed for global trade/globalizaton.
Which whether our ethnically diverse country likes it or not, is/will be English.
The EU has pretty much accepted that, as well as the Middle East and Asia.
"It is the common language in almost every endeavor"
It has consolidated its dominance as the language of the Internet, where 80 percent of the world's electronically stored information is in English, according to David Graddol, a linguist and researcher."
The largest English-speaking nation in the world, the United States, has only about 20 percent of the world's English speakers. In Asia alone, an estimated 350 million people speak English, about the same as the combined English-speaking populations of Britain, the United States and Canada."
Agreed. English is the de facto international language. However, it is important that we don't disparage others via ethnocentrism for simply speaking another language in public.
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and their genetic predisposition for criminality 