Ok, the main problem is that we do not have a national language. This debate has been going on for years. Personally, I am all for it. A national language would save this country millions of dollars annually. Just look at the money spent printing gov't documents, signs, etc. in both english and spanish. The politically correct police have been vigorously fighting against this issue, because "It strips immigrants of their heritage." I'm sorry, but I don't see how that is. I am 4th generation American. I know exactly where I came from. I can trace my family all the way back to the 1500's. If you look back at those who immigrated in the 1800's, they made sure they learned the language. They were proud to be Americans. Now there are so many people in this country who actually hate it. The only reason they are here is because thy can not survive in the squalor that their own country provides. I am a firm believer of the Love it or Leave it motto. I have seen interviews with Pakistani immigrants who state that America represents all that is evil in the world. Yet tghey drive off in their nice car to their nice home. America is the only reason they have those nice things. As far as immigrants supposedly having to learn english before getting citizenship, while this may be the rule on the books, I have seen many naturalized citizens who can't speak a word of english. They understand a bit of it but can't speak it **PHEW** I didn't mean to go off like that, but I guess this is just something I am passionate about. In short, probably to late for that, I think we need a national language. -- Just one man's opinion --
I learned english at about age 8, just over night, I suddenly understood it, and was able to speak it (must have been all that tv!). I was born in the USA, but my parents immigrated. Dad was drafted 6 months after he got here, so he learned it in 2 years, Mom never spoke it, but understood it, read it and wrote it. I think English is Americas language, and all immigrants must learn it as soon as possible. I also beleive that Americas children should learn a second language if they want to, and as early as possible.
(Edited by 2shy at 6:41 pm on Mar. 6, 2002)
(Edited by 2shy at 6:41 pm on Mar. 6, 2002)
Christy
b*tch rocket
I personally think it is the responsibility of everyone to learn the language of the country in which they reside. I couldn't imagine moving to Germany, Spain, Egypt, or wherever without attempting to learn their language. It's friggin common sense for heavens sake!
And hey I learned pigeon while living in Hawaii! I'm quite cultured!
And hey I learned pigeon while living in Hawaii! I'm quite cultured!
S
ShellyCW
Guest
This is a venting post--
One of my pet peeves is when a non-native English speaker holds a job in which he or she needs to be able to communicate accurate information effectively but is not able to. I know not many people can learn a language overnight, and I don't fault them for that as long as they are making an effort to learn. However, it is totally frustrating and counter productive for a manager or owner to post a struggling non-native speaker to key communication positions like customer service, tech support, emergency dispatcher or even just the drive through. This has been an issue for me lately because I have a professor who can't speak English very clearly.
One of my pet peeves is when a non-native English speaker holds a job in which he or she needs to be able to communicate accurate information effectively but is not able to. I know not many people can learn a language overnight, and I don't fault them for that as long as they are making an effort to learn. However, it is totally frustrating and counter productive for a manager or owner to post a struggling non-native speaker to key communication positions like customer service, tech support, emergency dispatcher or even just the drive through. This has been an issue for me lately because I have a professor who can't speak English very clearly.
Y
yornoc
Guest
I don't think it should be mandatory to learn the language if one is just visiting another country. If one's intention is to reside (and work), however, that's a different ball game. Learning the language of the host country SHOULD be a requirement. While I was in the US Navy, I visited many countries and did not speak any of the languages... Note that the key word is "visited" so I only learned key phrases (such as beer, bathroom, etc).
I have a friend who migrated to the US from Italy (along with his family) who was not allowed to speak Italian at home until he learned "conversational" English. If more immigrant families adopt a similar policy, I think them learning the language after migrating will be less stressful.
I have a friend who migrated to the US from Italy (along with his family) who was not allowed to speak Italian at home until he learned "conversational" English. If more immigrant families adopt a similar policy, I think them learning the language after migrating will be less stressful.
shellly, I know what you are feeling. Last semester I had a professor who didnt speak english very well. It made it very heard to learning anything and everytime i left class i felt like i hadnt learned anything. The worst thing is the money i spent and wasted. 
The worst thing is the money i spent and wasted. a70stingray
Member
Required..I'd say it's totally up to the person looking to be accepted, understood and cognisent of what's going on around him.
I speak German fluently after living there for twelve years. I learned some Macedonian and Hungarian while staying in their countries for some time. It made a big difference to me and the people I dealt with...period.
I don't care for shops, restaurants or any other organization who give lousy service and then can't understand your complaints...here in the U.S.
As is the case with many, they should learn English to better their interaction. If some guy wins the German lottery and decides to retire in Florida, I could care less what he knows. I really doubt that he does either.
By the way...When my wife became a permanent resident she didn't have to take an English or a history test. Maybe it was because I was in the military at the time....in Europe. She's a German and that was years ago
I speak German fluently after living there for twelve years. I learned some Macedonian and Hungarian while staying in their countries for some time. It made a big difference to me and the people I dealt with...period.
I don't care for shops, restaurants or any other organization who give lousy service and then can't understand your complaints...here in the U.S.
As is the case with many, they should learn English to better their interaction. If some guy wins the German lottery and decides to retire in Florida, I could care less what he knows. I really doubt that he does either.
By the way...When my wife became a permanent resident she didn't have to take an English or a history test. Maybe it was because I was in the military at the time....in Europe. She's a German and that was years ago
Triggerfish
New Member
SxyPrincess said:
A bit old for me to put my input but....this statement is wrong....to get US citizenship you have to past a U.S. history and English test in most cases but not all. To get a permanent residency all you have to do is have a skill that the U.S. needs or have a family member in the U.S or get married to a U.S. citizen.
Triggerfish
New Member
yikes I thought this was from last month but I didn't pay attention to the year.
Triggerfish
New Member
Triggerfish said:
That's okay - it was fun seeing some of our old friends like BBC, Penguin and Vicki again.
Toxick
Splat
Is it even official?
Does anyone know if the US of America even has an officially gub'mint endorsed & sponsored tongue?
I know that English is the standard lingua franca around here, but is English really the Official Language? If not, then it might not be a bad idea to consider it. We could stop broadcasting announcments in the airport in 47 different languages. Products could have a single set of instructions. When you go into a KFC you can have some sort of reasonable expectation of what language will be in use.
It doesn't really bother me if someone doesn't speak english when they come here. I plan to travel extensively when I get old, and I don't plan on learning the language of every place I visit (except for: Where is the bathroom? Where's the police? Where's the airport?).
So, I can hardly fault travellers from abroad for not knowing English when I'm not willing to learn the language of all the places I'm going to visit.
Around here (Tucson), you hear Spanish almost as much as you hear English - so much so, that I'm actually learning Spanish through osmosis - almost against my will... (Although, shortly I going to actually studying Spanish properly - I wanna know when these people are talking about me!) But I don't really have a problem with people not speaking - or even knowing - English.
However, I do want to know if I should feel justified in not accomodating someone who doesn't speak the Official Language.
If there is no official language then maybe I'll pick up the "Español para los Estúpidos" on my way back to the hacienda tonight.
El queso es viejo y petrido. ¿Donde esta el sanitario?
Does anyone know if the US of America even has an officially gub'mint endorsed & sponsored tongue?
I know that English is the standard lingua franca around here, but is English really the Official Language? If not, then it might not be a bad idea to consider it. We could stop broadcasting announcments in the airport in 47 different languages. Products could have a single set of instructions. When you go into a KFC you can have some sort of reasonable expectation of what language will be in use.
It doesn't really bother me if someone doesn't speak english when they come here. I plan to travel extensively when I get old, and I don't plan on learning the language of every place I visit (except for: Where is the bathroom? Where's the police? Where's the airport?).
So, I can hardly fault travellers from abroad for not knowing English when I'm not willing to learn the language of all the places I'm going to visit.
Around here (Tucson), you hear Spanish almost as much as you hear English - so much so, that I'm actually learning Spanish through osmosis - almost against my will... (Although, shortly I going to actually studying Spanish properly - I wanna know when these people are talking about me!) But I don't really have a problem with people not speaking - or even knowing - English.
However, I do want to know if I should feel justified in not accomodating someone who doesn't speak the Official Language.
If there is no official language then maybe I'll pick up the "Español para los Estúpidos" on my way back to the hacienda tonight.
El queso es viejo y petrido. ¿Donde esta el sanitario?
Triggerfish
New Member
Toxick said:
No the U.S. has no official language(s). Also no matter what country you're in if it's an INTERNAMTIONAL airport you'll hear announcements in several languages. Even in domestic airports around the world you'll hear several languages. The reason for this is that if you want to do business with people from other countries you need to speak their languages. How many billions of $$$ do you think the states of Hawaii, California, Florida and the territory of Guam does with Japanese tourists. English is very difficult language for Japanese to learn. Seriously, wold you want to learn a language just to go relax? same goes with NYC and Florida with the Europeans. As for groceries, if you were a 80 yr old immigrant who moved to the U.S. because the rest of your family moved there the chances of learning English would be low. Would you buy a product that has multiple languages including your own or just the English one? So whether English is the official language or not we still need to use multiple languages if you want to make money.
Triggerfish
New Member
Toxick said:
Even if there is no official language why would you not want to accomodate someone whether they're visitors , recent immigrants aor old people? Even if they try, it takes years for someone to be able to hold a conversation fluently.
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Triggerfish
New Member
One more thought...even if they do happen to learn some English, it may not be the right dialect........Some countries teach British English or may have had a South African or Australian teachers.
Triggerfish
New Member
Toxick said:
I remembered one more thing. If someone hasn't gone through immigration, they're not even officially in the country yet. Some people may fly into the U.S. then catch a connecting flight to Canada, the Carribean or Mexico. They should make announcements, signs and attendents who speak different languages to make their tranfer less stressfull.
