| Author | Message | ||
     Phelan |
Si pueden leer las señales de tráfico no me importa si saben el resto de la lengua. (Message edited by phelan on April 29, 2010) | ||
| Reindog |
No me gusta trabajar. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
I am going to go down town next week and only speak in Russian and broken english and make every business, and government entity cater to me, and scream discrimination when they refuse to communicate with me in 'my' language. .... | ||
| Phelan |
Did you know that in the rest of the world, most people speak 2, 3, or more languages? Like I said in my above statement, as long as they can read or the road signs (or at least recognize the characters, which is easy), I could care less if they can ready the rest of the language. Some things are pretty universal, like arrows and numbers. Most people that don't speak English primarily also know a language or part of one to understand numbers and most road signs. I personally just think that the American culture is lazy, and has lead us to all sorts of problems because of it. | ||
| Phelan |
I could go on and on about this type of thing, but it's not really worth IMHO at this time. Some things are within reason, and some aren't. Even though most things in USA are ran in English, it doesn't mean we shouldn't try to be accomodating to a certain extent to other languages, since we do NOT have an official language. At the same time, the system we have now works for the most part and we can't accomodate everywhere. I really think the issue mentioned by the OP is best handled at the State level. Here in Texas, that would never fly. We have a huge part of the community que solo habla Español. It would be political suicide to suggest requiring the population to learn English. Too many bilinguals would use it to light their torches and march into election. | ||
| Nevrenuf |
if you want to do bilingual, you have my permission to move yourself to hialeah fl, outside of miami. lived there for a few years and as far as i'm concerned they can put a fence around the place. if you don't speak spanish people want to know why you don't. i spent a year overseas while in the navy back in 77/78 and even then, most of those countries that i visited accommodated the english language to get your business. most of the people that i worked around overseas tried to speak english if for no other reason to try and impress you and talk you into getting them american cigarettes or dungarees. i've also seen on construction sites those who made you believe that they didn't speak english to try and get away with stuff but as soon as you mentioned being a ••••••• for not doing something right, they knew exactly what your were talking about. most of them know, but use it as an excuse. | ||
| Babired |
yo bro or dog, my favorite is a double deuce with a lemon squeeze Can anyone guess what that is? Baltimore City Ebonics, I could go on and on. And a school exec. actually wanted Ebonics taught in school some years ago | ||
| B00stzx3 |
lol @ Babired. Watch out for them hoppers, they'll gank ya up! I learned quite a bit of Bmore language going to school at B-c-c-c in Liberty Heights  Or in DC what they call an Arnold Palmer is called a half-n-half in Bmore, or a hack (unregistered taxi cab), or a chicken box. Also packaged goods...that might be in DC to but every other Bmore place sells packaged goods (booze to go!) They speak a whole different language in Dundalk and Essex though. (Message edited by b00stzx3 on April 29, 2010) | ||
| Babired |
GOBLESSS | ||
| Hootowl |
"Seems he anticipated that question in his remarks." Oh I'm all for having a unified language, as it unites a people like nothing else can. However, English is one of the hardest languages to learn, and you can't expect people to not drive a car in this country until they learn to speak it. That just doesn't make any sense at all. A driver's license is not a test for citizenship, it is to see of you can operate a vehicle. Road signs are shaped the way they are (all different) so that you can recognize their meaning even if you can't read them. This is the case all over the world. Learning English is good. Not giving drivers license exams in anything other than English is bad. | ||
| Xb12xmike |
Did you know that in the rest of the world, most people speak 2, 3, or more languages? I think alot of that has to do with their location and out of necessity. A group of small countries all bunched together. But I am probably wrong. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I am multi lingual...I speak english, and the 5 major redneck dialects...Alabama, Mississippi, Delta, Cajon, and Central Florida....And I know just enough spanish to get myself knifed!!! | ||
| Babired |
When I teach MC safety I get a lot of spanish people come into class. The MSF has a down loadable Rider school work book for the students who speak and read spanish but the state of MD will not translate the Knowledge test into spanish and sometimes its real hard giving the english version to a spanish person who is just learning english. My goal is to get people licensed (legal) with good safety knowledge in their head. I'm not a liberal lilly either. I think its great what Arizona did | ||
| Piotr12 |
My family and I immigrated to the US in 1980. None of us spoke one word of English. We were sponsored by a Lutheran church to help us find housing, jobs, BUT we did not expect anyone to conform to our way of life or to change the language to suit us. We picked up a phone book and began to search for last names that ended with "-ski". Finally we found someone who spoke Polish and they were nice enough to help us out with translation until we were able to communicate on our own. The first couple of months of school were very tough for me. I had to learn on the fly but you know what? I managed. I find it extremely offensive that the US insists on trying to please everyone. They didn't try to please me when I jumped off the boat  When I visited my family in Europe last year I was pleasantly surprised by how many people spoke English. In Poland-from checkout clerks to strangers on the street, everyone knew English and could understand me when I spoke to them. All of my cousins and their children speak English on some level. In Sweden-same thing. Since I don't speak fluent Swedish, I was surprised that at a grocery store, I was helped by a clerk who fired off in English to help me. Same thing at a 1 hour photo in Goteborg. Everyone spoke English. They may not speak it "perfectly" but they are able to communicate. France on the other hand was a different story. You were spoken to in French and when you replied with anything other than that you were frowned upon. I didn't have a problem with that since I was in a French country I simply let my cousins do the talking for me  So in short, if foreigners want to come to America and remain here legally, I don't have a problem with that. After all, I was an immigrant myself. But I do have a problem with immigrants coming here expecting special treatment just because they are immigrants and shame on the US for catering to them. Adapt and overcome. I did. | ||
| Fast1075 |
 Pete | ||
| Hootowl |
How long did it take you to learn English? Were you very young when you moved to the US? Can you imagine not being able to drive until you could read English well enough to take a driving exam? This topic is not about whether people should learn to speak English if they want to live in this country, it is about having to know it before you can legally drive a car. Big difference. | ||
| Babired |
Yeah Pete! You go man! | ||
| Piotr12 |
Hootowl: I was young when I moved to the states. 11 years old to be exact. You would be correct by implying that younger kids learn languages faster. That is a fact. What I would have to disagree with is your transportation comment. My father being a machinist by trade landed a job fairly quickly. Since we didn't own a vehicle he relied on public transportation to get him to and from. The only thing he needed to know was which bus he would need to board at what time in order to make it to work on time. The time spent on the bus was perfect for going over the DMV drivers test booklet | ||
| Ulyranger |
Well stated piotr12. We should, and do for the most part, accommodate our foreign visitors. We should also work to assimilate legal immigrants into our society, including providing them the opportunity to learn English and how to be successful citizens. Losing your cultural heritage not necessary, in fact that blending of old & new is part of what makes our country great & interesting. If someone plans to stay here for any lengthy stay, they should attempt to speak the language of the land. Just as we should do if we plan to visit someone else's land. English may not be the "official" language, but it certainly is useful.... Specifically to driver's license tests, that gets a little tougher to pin down as we have many temporary visitors on Visas that acquire a license (a good thing) that may not have enough workable knowledge of English to get through a State-written exam. We do need to accommodate these temporary residents to some fashion. Where I get a little "crazy" is all the bending over backwards for permanent/semi-permanent residents acquiring all sorts of public social benefits but cannot be bothered to learn the language of the land. Millions of $ are spent to provide for non-English speaking residents to give away more millions of $. Wouldn't it just be cheaper/easier to learn English?? What's wrong with that? Should Americans learn other languages? Yes, in fact it's a H.S. diploma requirement in my State. Simple, you're going to stay here, learn the language and take part in the American experiment just like my relatives did, with pride. By all means, retain your original dialect and culture as well adding to the stew....... | ||
| Hootowl |
Not everyone has access to public transportation. Outside of the big cities, it is nearly nonexistent. Your father was fortunate. In most parts of the country, if you can't drive, you don't go anywhere. | ||
| Hootowl |
Don't confuse my position as that of one defending the folks who have lived here for years, and haven't bothered to learn English. I adamantly oppose their decision to not integrate. | ||
| Fast1075 |
I had a Polish aunt...she was a war bride that one of my uncles married while in europe after ww-2...she was no nice....and made the most awesome pastries!!!! | ||
| Dwardo |
Language is inseparable from culture. Do you value your culture or not? If you are content to be merely a Productivity Unit in the North American Cooperation Sphere, fine. I'm not. | ||
| Blake |
Driver's License Exam in non English... Guys, the exams still includes the requisite test of road sign interpretation with the road signs in English. It's only the instructions for taking the test and the questions themselves that are in non-English. Sheesh. | ||
| Blake |
Meaning the test for knowing what a "Yield" sign means shows the actual "Yield" sign, in English, not "Rendimiento." The question for testing the meaning of a yellow light would be "Qué indica una luz amarilla?" | ||
| Blake |
I fully agree with the requirement to learn English to become an American citizen. | ||
| Cityxslicker |
I am teaching my nephew Russian, since the age of 5, ( 9 now )for every day events, is damn near proficient. He thinks its fun, and its a code to say the stuff he really wants and not get in trouble because it is not PC. Basic Foreign language should be taught in elementary school. By the time you hit high school you already 'know' everything..... remember those days ? | ||
| Tiltcylinder |
Imagine how many languages we'd speak if every state spoke it's own language. Group all the european countries together (include greece, turkey and the 'stans) are they even as large as the U.S. and the portions of Canada that speak english? The American melting pot is sadly becoming like a spice rack.... 'foreigners' group together in 'ghettos' where the signs are in their language and others speak it also. I've met 'citizens' who've been here 50 years and still can't communicate reasonably in english. It needs to be formally made 'THE' official language. Divided we fall... Were falling into a system which caters to the lowest common denominator... government pamphlets printed in 50+ languages... we pay for that, it's your tax dollars at work. Children of illegal imigrants go to school in NYC, it's against the rules to ask if they or their parents are citizens. "Off the books" jobs and no history of ever paying taxes, medical care that we'll never be reimbursed for... etc. etc. You know damn well that the hospital will track you to the ends of the earth to get paid if you use their services. Some of my best employees are imigrants. They came to WORK and make a better life for themselves and their families. I'm glad they're here. I hold them in high regard. Imagine moving somewhere.. without the language or friends/family support we take for granted. Others believed the streets were paved with gold and it should all be handed to them... you can guess the regard I have for them. | ||
| Sifo |
Some of you are quite the Hypocrites. You rant about the constitution until it doesn't suit you than poof its ignored. WE HAVE NO NATIONAL LANGUAGE SO THEREFORE YOU/THEY HAVE NO RIGHT TO FORCE OTHERS TO SPEAK ENGLISH. Drkside79, I would love to hear how this would be unconstitutional as you imply. | ||
| Paw |
Quote..... " I personally just think that the American culture is lazy, and has lead us to all sorts of problems because of it." I disagree with this statement 100%...It is not us English speaking Americans who's culture is lazy. At one time immigrant who came to "our country" were happy to learn the English language...Now with in the last 10's of years it is the "lazy culture" of the immigrants who do not want to learn our language. |
