Help...no luck with jobs because I don't speak Spanish in McAllen (Houston: new house, move to)

[damba]

Originally Posted by hitpausebutton2

Why not? When i go to a job site and see their JSA in spanish, its a mess. Not even a spanish person can read another spanish language. So our job sites that we do business with have zero tolerance on anything written in spanish period. If the contractor doesnt like it, than so be it. We require english and readable writing for all JSA reports for legal reasons. But the test needs to be taken seriously than it is. If you fail a drivers test, you dont past.. 80 or better, so why isnt our citizen test treated like a real test?

You are clueless, aren't you?

[hitpausebutton2]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

I believe the other person is talking about Castilian Spanish versus Tex Mex Spanish. I work with about 96% Spanish speaking clients in a social work role. I text them on a regular basis in Castilian Spanish and get a response in tex mex Spanish. I can read it after sounding it out because it's just a matter of spelling it phonetically. In Castilian Spanish "I want" is "you quiero..." in tex max Spanish it's "yo kiero."

To get to the OP, I am a white female who began learning Spanish in 7th grade and continued on with the language up through college. I now use it on a daily basis. What is your employment background? There have been some good options for you given in regard to the call centers and work at home jobs. Maybe if we have that we might be able to point you in a better direction as opposed to just complaining.

That is why i refuse to learn it, nor care for it. If i go to another country, then i will study the language that is require to get around. If its a business deal, than I will learn it and bring a translator to make sure were all on the "same page". I took Spanish( see its cap.. really who gives a f) in school, didnt care for it then, nor now. Didnt pass it.. My current job is access security. We travel all over texas to do the installs. We mainly work in new construction to get our cables and other things in place before the building is close in. Our relationship with the GC ( general contractors) is the best, and deal with them on a daily basic. One GC hires only sub contractors that speak English only, to make sure they understand what is going on and other business needs. Those job sites are very easy and we get things done alot quicker, due to no language barrier. The few GC that we have to deal with that just hires anybody from Home Depot parking lot, those sites attend to be slow, past deadline and language barrier is present. If you cant understand english, How can i tell you that you need to make a pathway at this location? This is our issue, and will continue to be a issue for along time.

kidicarus89
Because Japan is one of the most homogeneous and xenophobic cultures in the world. And the French are very protective about their supposed heritage.

The U.S. has been a melting pot of different cultures and languages since before its founding. Do you know that a lot of towns had German-only speakers well into the early 20th century? Go to SF, and you'll find a decent amount of older Chinese folks that speak very little or poor English. Both of my grandmothers were Spanish only, because they didn't need to know English where they lived.

What purpose would "getting a national language" serve? All signs, forms, proceedings of the US Government are already in English, the vast majority of the population speaks it. So what's the point?

Point is, we are nation that speaks English. Yes i know about other cultures and the communities they grew up in. The countries i gave examples was just that, we can go on to Russia, china, etc. Still have to know the language of that country to get around in, so whats so hard to learn English here? You need to know it, or able to read it without a coloring board. ( the red stop sign). If somebody gets hurt on the road, and they dont speak English, that barrier can hold up a medic real quick. Just a example from experience. I get it that we are a nation of many cultures, but we need to have least one common ground in the language dept.

[CAjerseychick]

Originally Posted by stressedandfrustrated

Hi. My last job I worked for a life insurance company. I trained and mentored new and permanent employees, etc. I also have experience in retail, administrative support, customer service, etc. for various companies.

Hmmmm
I actually think that any customer service related job (like training folks who will be doing a lot of customer service- like insurance agents) where 84% of the customers speak spanish- well its a no brainer- its not surprising that given equal credentials, the employer (and this is capitalism, so its purely market driven, not politically correct AT ALL- the business is trying to make money) would choose the candidate that also spoke good or better Spanish.

[CAjerseychick]

Originally Posted by hitpausebutton2

That is why i refuse to learn it, nor care for it. If i go to another country, then i will study the language that is require to get around. If its a business deal, than I will learn it and bring a translator to make sure were all on the "same page". I took Spanish( see its cap.. really who gives a f) in school, didnt care for it then, nor now. Didnt pass it.. My current job is access security. We travel all over texas to do the installs. We mainly work in new construction to get our cables and other things in place before the building is close in. Our relationship with the GC ( general contractors) is the best, and deal with them on a daily basic. One GC hires only sub contractors that speak English only, to make sure they understand what is going on and other business needs. Those job sites are very easy and we get things done alot quicker, due to no language barrier. The few GC that we have to deal with that just hires anybody from Home Depot parking lot, those sites attend to be slow, past deadline and language barrier is present. If you cant understand english, How can i tell you that you need to make a pathway at this location? This is our issue, and will continue to be a issue for along time.



Point is, we are nation that speaks English. Yes i know about other cultures and the communities they grew up in. The countries i gave examples was just that, we can go on to Russia, china, etc. Still have to know the language of that country to get around in, so whats so hard to learn English here? You need to know it, or able to read it without a coloring board. ( the red stop sign). If somebody gets hurt on the road, and they dont speak English, that barrier can hold up a medic real quick. Just a example from experience. I get it that we are a nation of many cultures, but we need to have least one common ground in the language dept.

Basic business- if 84% of your customers speak spanish and the company next to you has workers and service providers who speak spanish- and your business doesnt-

who do you think the customers are gonna pick?


(and who do you think the business is gonna start hiring?! you can complain all you want, but thats business.)

[hitpausebutton2]

Originally Posted by CAjerseychick

Basic business- if 84% of your customers speak spanish and the company next to you has workers and service providers who speak spanish- and your business doesnt-

who do you think the customers are gonna pick?


(and who do you think the business is gonna start hiring?! you can complain all you want, but thats business.)

O i get it.. its up to the GC to pick the subs. We dont have control over that part. They pick the people who pulls our cables or make path ways for us and we got to deal with that. However, when things change in the plans, we have to tell them the new path or get the GC to pass on that info. But if you ever been in construction business, communication sucks. Sucks very very badly. Our easy way around this is speaking to the sub directly, and if they don't speak english, its another ball game we have to play. Eating up more time, putting things behind. Lucky we are working with a few GC as a exclusive provider for them, and they only hire people that can speak both fluently. That I don't have a problem with. Just as long as they understand were we need things, thats a plus.

[TXNGL]

Originally Posted by ashbeeigh

I believe the other person is talking about Castilian Spanish versus Tex Mex Spanish. I work with about 96% Spanish speaking clients in a social work role. I text them on a regular basis in Castilian Spanish and get a response in tex mex Spanish. I can read it after sounding it out because it's just a matter of spelling it phonetically. In Castilian Spanish "I want" is "you quiero..." in tex max Spanish it's "yo kiero."

To get to the OP, I am a white female who began learning Spanish in 7th grade and continued on with the language up through college. I now use it on a daily basis. What is your employment background? There have been some good options for you given in regard to the call centers and work at home jobs. Maybe if we have that we might be able to point you in a better direction as opposed to just complaining.

I get it. And that was sort of my point, ashbeeigh! I would not expect a worker on a construction site to speak Castilian Spanish.

[centralaustinite]

Originally Posted by TXNGL

"Not even a Spanish (I capitalized for you) person can read another Spanish language." Think about that for a minute. Hopefully you've caught up now. Spanish, like other languages, has different dialects throughout the world.

Actually Spanish is one of the most globally accessible languages in the world, grammar and pronunciation are highly regular and intelligible across dialects in a way that other global languages like Chinese, English, and Arabic are not.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/23/u...ates.html?_r=0

[Listener2307]

... I hope it works out for our OP. It's a real problem, not just something she imagined. I've been to McAllen many times and always like the area, so BOL! to her.

On the other hand there is always real danger in moving to an area without a job in your hand. Being married is one thing, but accompanying a fiance is another; there's a whole different level of commitment and expectations.

Miami, FL area has the same problem.

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by hitpausebutton2

Yea, but we as a nation need to get a national language like the rest of the world does. If you go to japan, your expected to learn Japaneses, or France and know french. So since our native language is English, so why is it so hard to speak it or learn it?

BBC - Languages - France

French, the official language, is the first language of 88% of the population. Most of those who speak minority languages also speak French, as the minority languages are given no legal recognition. 3% of the population speak German dialects, predominantly in the eastern provinces of Alsace-Lorraine and Moselle. Flemish is spoken by around 90,000 people in the north-east, which is 0.2% of the French population. Around 1m people near the Italian border, roughly 1.7% of the population, speaks Italian.

The Languages spoken in Japan

Ethnically, culturally and linguistically, Japan is a very homogenous nation, a place where nearly 99 percent of the population speaks Japanese as their first language. According to the latest statistics compiled by the website Ethnologue, Japanese is by far the most popular language on the island. Other languages spoken on the island include Korean, a “dispersed” language spoken by approximately 900,000 residents; Japanese Sign Language, a “vigorous” language used by approximately 317,000 people; and the “shifting” languages known as Miyako, Yaeyema and Amami, which together account for less than one half of one percent of the population.

[damba]

Originally Posted by hitpausebutton2

i refuse to learn it, nor care for it.

Didnt pass it..

My current job is access security.

Point is, we are nation that speaks English.

Not English alone, you just choose to bury your head in the sand.

I get it that we are a nation of many cultures, but we need to have least one common ground in the language dept.

You're still an idiot. It is already the de facto language. There's no need for it to be 'official'.
Now run along and string some wires or something....