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“Why Aren’t You Speaking English?”

Again, his "point" is irrelevant to my criticism of the senator's problem with him speaking Spanish. Regardless of the "point", being insulted is dumb and nonsensical since we have no official language in the country...and also since it isn't insulting except to those who choose to be insulted.

Nonetheless: 1) The man states in the video that he felt more comfortable speaking Spanish since it's his first language and he could communicate better with it. 2) He also likely was using it as a symbol of the idea that Spanish speaking immigrants are a part of the country as well and have the same right to speak in their first language as English speaking Americans. It's not that hard to piece together.

5 years is my limit before I ask why you aren't speaking English in an English-Speaking country.

As to his English being weak, that goes back to my first statement. But even then, if you are going up before an English-speaking government, you should bring an interpreter in the least. He would have made a better impression trying to speak English and showing that immigrants have a desire in learning the ways and customs of our country.
 
I gotta disagree, playdrive.

I won't even go to foreign countries as a TOURIST if I don't speak at least a little of their language. It's rude. I don't go to other people's countries and tell them to speak my language. And if I did, the people of that country would be justified in calling me rude - in their native tongue, at that.

Belgium has 3 official languages, and I learned a bit of all of them before I went just to be safe. I didn't learn a ton, but enough that I could get around, ask for food, help, directions, etc, and at least show them I was trying. And I wasn't even living there - I was just passing through. It's courtesy.

And just to be clear, I am not a language guru. I'm actually terrible at learning new languages, and I've forgotten everything I learned except a bit of German, since it's the most similar to English. But I made the effort, because I try to be polite.

To me, it's even the same of different versions of English. When I was working in New Zealand, I wrote my CV using THEIR spellings and replacement words ("flat" instead of "apartment" and the like). Because I'm in THEIR country. And while it may be spelled "color" where I'm from, it's "colour" in New Zealand and the American spelling is wrong. If I'm going to live in their country and ask their employers to hire me, I am not going to expect them to make exceptions for me. They were nice enough to let me live in their country.

And while it may be true we don't legally have an "official" language, everyone knows we speak English. Japan doesn't have an "official" language either, but don't try to tell me you'd go to Japan and expect them to speak English, or Spanish for that matter. My grandmother moved to this country as an adult, and while her English may not be great, she did learn it, because she is living in an English-speaking country.

Speak whatever language you want to your friends and family. But if you want to function in our society, yeah, you have to speak English. What's so terrible about that? :shrug:
 
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BRAVO Senator, bravo.

"Excuse me, did I hear that right, he's been here for 23 years?"

Just, beautiful.


http://www.strictlyspanish.com/whitepaper2.htm


The Official Language of the United States and its Impact on the Translation Industry
Do you know what is the official language of the United States? If you answered English, guess again. But don’t feel bad, the vast majority of people would answer that English is the official language of the United States of America. English is the de facto language since, at this point, it is the most widely spoken language in the nation. But Spanish is catching up with over forty million Hispanics speaking their native language at home, at work, and on their daily lives. This brings another point: Why is the U.S., an English-speaking country (or so you think), catering not only to the Spanish language, but to many others that you don’t even know about? Because the U.S. as a nation has never declared an official language. Many people have tried it with no success. In 1780, John Adams proposed to the Continental Congress that English should be declared the official language of the United States. His proposal was deemed "undemocratic and a threat to individual liberty.” This type of debate has been going on for years, with people on both sides of the fence. And yet, the issue isn't any closer to a resolution than it was 200 years ago. This doesn’t mean that the individual states have not declared an official language because many already have. Twenty-seven states, to be exact, have officially declared English as their language.

Since the US has no Nationally accepted language why should people have to speak English? The English language is the official language in 27 states and that's all.Spanish is actually catching up.
 
Again, his "point" is irrelevant to my criticism of the senator's problem with him speaking Spanish. Regardless of the "point", being insulted is dumb and nonsensical since we have no official language in the country...and also since it isn't insulting except to those who choose to be insulted.

Nonetheless: 1) The man states in the video that he felt more comfortable speaking Spanish since it's his first language and he could communicate better with it. 2) He also likely was using it as a symbol of the idea that Spanish speaking immigrants are a part of the country as well and have the same right to speak in their first language as English speaking Americans. It's not that hard to piece together.

if you've been in a country where the prevalent language is english for 23 years and you are still more comfortable speaking something else....you are a dumbass.
 
I have always worked in some sort of service/retail business..
I have found that those who choose to speak spanish are beinbg rude..

Rudeness (also called impudence or effrontery ) is a display of disrespectfulness by not complying with the social "laws" or etiquette of a group or culture.

When I was working It does seem rude whern a patron will speak to you in English, then turn to their partner & speak in Spanish. It's like wisperinb. If you feekl the need to whisper ya probably should not be saying it.
although I believe in social justice, I do NOT believe in special treatment/catoring to those who refuse to learn.
 
I have always worked in some sort of service/retail business..
I have found that those who choose to speak spanish are beinbg rude..

Rudeness (also called impudence or effrontery ) is a display of disrespectfulness by not complying with the social "laws" or etiquette of a group or culture.

When I was working It does seem rude whern a patron will speak to you in English, then turn to their partner & speak in Spanish. It's like wisperinb. If you feekl the need to whisper ya probably should not be saying it.
although I believe in social justice, I do NOT believe in special treatment/catoring to those who refuse to learn.

If they're speaking to YOU in English, how is it special treatment? They aren't requiring anything special in order to interact with society at large. If they want to speak Spanish to their partner, why not?

I only care that they know the language and are able to speak it to interact with society. What they want to speak with their friends and family is up to them.
 
if you've been in a country where the prevalent language is english for 23 years and you are still more comfortable speaking something else....you are a dumbass.
Great - this still has no effect on my criticism of the senator.
 
What a load of BS.

This was a formal hearing, and the language of this country and the people in that room is English. How are these state senators supposed to address his issues if he won't communicate in their language?

Do we need to have 150 translators in the room in case someone comes in speaking some 4th dialect of a Tanzanian tribe?

We know how this works. I'm assuming that when he spoke, he was placed under oath. I think I'd want to speak in my first language in a legal setting where misspeaking can land you in trouble.
 
If they're speaking to YOU in English, how is it special treatment? They aren't requiring anything special in order to interact with society at large. If they want to speak Spanish to their partner, why not?

I only care that they know the language and are able to speak it to interact with society. What they want to speak with their friends and family is up to them.

Sorry did not articulate properly on "the special treatment issue" I have found that when they cannot articulate in English they seem to feel that is is up to us to figure out what they are saying. Also when you tell someone that the price of servfice/item is say $10, & they hand you $5 & turn away! lol
Also whern ity comes to what is said to friends & such if ya need to use a differing lang. maybe hold the thought to later. Does it bother you if folks whisper in front of you?
 
We know how this works. I'm assuming that when he spoke, he was placed under oath. I think I'd want to speak in my first language in a legal setting where misspeaking can land you in trouble.

His English sounded perfectly fine for the couple sentences he spoke.

Furthermore, having a translator destroys a lot of the original meaning as well. As was pointed out earlier, translations from one language to another and back again almost always wind up being significantly different. He's not avoiding that problem by using a translator. He might be making it worse.

...And his English was fine.
 
Sorry did not articulate properly on "the special treatment issue" I have found that when they cannot articulate in English they seem to feel that is is up to us to figure out what they are saying. Also when you tell someone that the price of servfice/item is say $10, & they hand you $5 & turn away! lol
Also whern ity comes to what is said to friends & such if ya need to use a differing lang. maybe hold the thought to later. Does it bother you if folks whisper in front of you?

Ah. Well, that's a bit of a different matter. Being so poor with the language that you can't deal with buying something is pretty bad. Like I said, I won't even go somewhere as a tourist knowing that little.

Does it bother me? No. It's petty. Other people acting petty is their problem, not mine.

But more than likely, they were saying something perfectly mundane.
 
I gotta disagree, playdrive.

I won't even go to foreign countries as a TOURIST if I don't speak at least a little of their language. It's rude. I don't go to other people's countries and tell them to speak my language. And if I did, the people of that country would be justified in calling me rude - in their native tongue, at that.

Belgium has 3 official languages, and I learned a bit of all of them before I went just to be safe. I didn't learn a ton, but enough that I could get around, ask for food, help, directions, etc, and at least show them I was trying. And I wasn't even living there - I was just passing through. It's courtesy.

And just to be clear, I am not a language guru. I'm actually terrible at learning new languages, and I've forgotten everything I learned except a bit of German, since it's the most similar to English. But I made the effort, because I try to be polite.

To me, it's even the same of different versions of English. When I was working in New Zealand, I wrote my CV using THEIR spellings and replacement words ("flat" instead of "apartment" and the like). Because I'm in THEIR country. And while it may be spelled "color" where I'm from, it's "colour" in New Zealand and the American spelling is wrong. If I'm going to live in their country and ask their employers to hire me, I am not going to expect them to make exceptions for me. They were nice enough to let me live in their country.

And while it may be true we don't legally have an "official" language, everyone knows we speak English. Japan doesn't have an "official" language either, but don't try to tell me you'd go to Japan and expect them to speak English, or Spanish for that matter. My grandmother moved to this country as an adult, and while her English may not be great, she did learn it, because she is living in an English-speaking country.

Speak whatever language you want to your friends and family. But if you want to function in our society, yeah, you have to speak English. What's so terrible about that? :shrug:
When I go to other countries, I speak their language as well. However, in the United States, every citizen is a citizen regardless of the language they speak. The problem is that people are talking about this guy like he's some newcomer who's being disrespectful in OUR country. Unfortunately, this is as much his country as it is our country - he's lived here for 23 years, he's contributed to it and I assume he's a citizen at this point. Him speaking Spanish would be disrespectful if he wasn't talking to HIS government. However, it is, in fact, HIS government. The government he pays taxes to and the government who hasn't made English an official language. As far as I'm concerned, Spanish is as American as English. In France, English is clearly not as French as...French. That's the difference and for a senator to be insulted by someone using an American language (particularly with a translator) is still ridiculous to me.

Learning English is practical, but speaking Spanish isn't disrespectful. It's only disrespectful to English speaking citizens who think the United States is their territory and that the government should only cater to English speaking citizens.
 
Also I find we (as a nation) have soo many things that devide us, having one lang. would trruly help in communications. For example the Germans have a word "Schadenfreude" which the English lang. has no translation word for.
 
When I go to other countries, I speak their language as well. However, in the United States, every citizen is a citizen regardless of the language they speak. The problem is that people are talking about this guy like he's some newcomer who's being disrespectful in OUR country. Unfortunately, this is as much his country as it is our country - he's lived here for 23 years, he's contributed to it and I assume he's a citizen at this point. Him speaking Spanish would be disrespectful if he wasn't talking to HIS government. However, it is, in fact, HIS government. The government he pays taxes to and the government who hasn't made English an official language. As far as I'm concerned, Spanish is as American as English. In France, English is clearly not as French as...French. That's the difference and for a senator to be insulted by someone using an American language (particularly with a translator) is still ridiculous to me.

Learning English is practical, but speaking Spanish isn't disrespectful. It's only disrespectful to English speaking citizens who think the United States is their territory and that the government should only cater to English speaking citizens.

Like I said, would you go to Japan not knowing a word of Japanese and expect them to accomodate you without thinking you're at least a little rude? Japanese is not their "official" language - they don't have one.

His government speaks English, so does almost everyone in this country, and he damn well knows it. What he did was incredibly rude. I would crawl under a rock and die before I'd do something like that.

Spanish is not as American as English. It is spoken by a minority. It's not a tiny minority, I'll grant you, but if Spanish is so "American," then why do immigrants learn English instead of Spanish? Why do most people in this country who speak Spanish... also speak English?

It's very simple. If you don't know English, you can't function in our society. Why? Because everyone speaks English.

The fact that it isn't a matter of law doesn't make it any less ludicrous. It's like saying that because no one has bothered to ban riding camels down the highway that someone from Saudi Arabia should be allowed to hold up traffic by riding their camel down 494.
 
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Like I said, would you go to Japan not knowing a word of Japanese and expect them to accomodate you without thinking you're at least a little rude? Japanese is not their "official" language - they don't have one.

His government speaks English, so does almost everyone in this country, and he damn well knows it. What he did was incredibly rude. I would crawl under a rock and die before I'd do something like that.

Spanish is not as American as English. It is spoken by a minority. It's not a tiny minority, I'll grant you, but if Spanish is so "American," then why do immigrants learn English instead of Spanish?

It's very simple. If you don't know English, you can't function in our society. Why? Because everyone speaks English.

The fact that it isn't a matter of law doesn't make it any less ludicrous. It's like saying that because no one has bothered to ban riding camels down the highway that someone from Sudan should be allowed to hold up traffic by riding their camel down 494.

Right. The problem with all of this is that people refuse to let go of the notion that English is not the only American language. I have ZERO problem with thinking of the United States as a multilingual nation and that people can talk to THEIR government in whatever language (provided they bring a translator). The only thing this shows me is hardheadedness and xenophobia. English is not the official language and never will be and this isn't an accident - we don't exclude religions, cultures or languages - this is how we operate.

You comparing the US to other countries or camels doing whatever are poor analogies because our country is based on a meshing of cultures. We have CHOSEN not to make the United States the place of an official culture, language, religion or whatever because it's part of our fabric that everyone who is an American is an American and whatever they are is American. It's unfortunate that we have to wait for so many people to catch up to this fact.
 


BRAVO Senator, bravo.

"Excuse me, did I hear that right, he's been here for 23 years?"

Just, beautiful.



Kind of hard to draw any sympathy for his cause when he has been here 23 years and doesn't speak English. Many people consider someone like that to be a lazy **** who does not want to be an American. I know where I live you can find free English classes and I am pretty sure that you can find free English classes in Texas. No one is asking that he speak like a English teacher or a grammar fag, no one is expecting foreigners to get a college degree in English or to have complete mastery over it. I think all most people ask is that you learn enough to be proficient in it.
 
Right. The problem with all of this is that people refuse to let go of the notion that English is not the only American language. I have ZERO problem with thinking of the United States as a multilingual nation and that people can talk to THEIR government in whatever language (provided they bring a translator). The only thing this shows me is hardheadedness and xenophobia. English is not the official language and never will be and this isn't an accident - we don't exclude religions, cultures or languages - this is how we operate.

You comparing the US to other countries or camels doing whatever are poor analogies because our country is based on a meshing of cultures. We have CHOSEN not to make the United States the place of an official culture, language, religion or whatever because it's part of our fabric that everyone who is an American is an American and whatever they are is American. It's unfortunate that we have to wait for so many people to catch up to this fact.

It has nothing to do with xenophobia. I'm not "afraid" of anything. It has to do with the fact that almost everyone speaks English. Even the people who speak Spanish speak English. We are not multi-lingual in any true sense. If we were, Spanish-speakers wouldn't bother learning English. We are clearly, and by an enormous margin, an English-speaking country. If there was a large population of solely Spanish-speaking people you might have a point, but there really isn't. Even in Tucson most of the Mexicans speak English.

And I notice you're not countering a single one of my points - just accusing me of this and that.

We are multicultural, multiethnic, multitheistic, and multi-lotsa-other-things. And that's great. So much for me being a xenophobe. But we are an English-speaking country.

96% of our population speaks English well or very well. Case closed.
Languages of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
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Kind of hard to draw any sympathy for his cause when he has been here 23 years and doesn't speak English. Many people consider someone like that to be a lazy **** who does not want to be an American. I know where I live you can find free English classes and I am pretty sure that you can find free English classes in Texas. No one is asking that he speak like a English teacher or a grammar fag, no one is expecting foreigners to get a college degree in English or to have complete mastery over it. I think all most people ask is that you learn enough to be proficient in it.
He does speak English. Also, the way things are going, it's more likely that the rest of us will have to learn Spanish before Spanish-speakers have to learn English...
 
He does speak English. Also, the way things are going, it's more likely that the rest of us will have to learn Spanish before Spanish-speakers have to learn English...


In Texas,California and other places that toss the salad of illegals and lazy ****s who do not want to learn our language yes, but not Oklahoma.
 
It has nothing to do with xenophobia. I'm not "afraid" of anything. It has to do with the fact that almost everyone speaks English. Even the people who speak Spanish speak English. We are not multi-lingual in any true sense. If we were, Spanish-speakers wouldn't bother learning English. We are clearly, and by an enormous margin, an English-speaking country.
It definitely has to do with xenophobia because you aren't willing to accept Spanish as an American language. You called it not "as American as English" because of numbers. By that logic, Mexican Americans aren't as American as European Americans because they come in smaller numbers. It's nonsencial. American is American - it doesn't have a religion, a culture, a race or a language - and that is on purpose.

We are an English speaking country - which is why he had a translator... Nonetheless, as an American, he can speak whatever language he wants since his language is American.

If there was a large population of solely Spanish-speaking people you might have a point, but there really isn't. Even in Tucson most of the Mexicans speak English.
Miami and a crap ton of other places in the United States disagree. Spanish first, English second. Moreover, the fact that businesses all have a press #2 for Spanish and that students are being encouraged to learn Spanish before all other languages shows you where Spanish is in our country.

And I notice you're not countering a single one of my points - just accusing me of this and that.

We are multicultural, multiethnical, multitheistic, and multi-lotsa-other-things. And that's great. So much for me being a xenophobe. But we are an English-speaking country.

96% of our population speaks English well or very well. Case closed.
Languages of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I countered your points, but like in any discussion we have, you just don't see my counters as counters for some reason beyond my willingness to give it thought. In any case, we are multi-everything and everybody is welcome and when you're American, you're American.

The funny part of this that you fail to realize is that not all Americans find speaking Spanish insulting or rude which means that it's YOUR issue. It's not an inherent issue, particularly in the setting of the video. It's an issue that some, but not all, Americans have that will likely fade away in a few generations. Like I said, I don't have a problem with it - speak whatever. The "problem" depends on the American you're talking to.
 
Ones ethnicity or religion has nothing to do with their ability to function in society. Language does. That's a completely false comparison.

Yeah well, guess what? Florida's official language is ENGLISH. They are one of the 27 states that has an official language. By the way, every single one of them chose English, with a couple having a dual language.

You didn't counter any of my points or answer any of my questions. Just railed on about how I'm a xenophobe. You also didn't counter me pointing out that nearly everyone in this country speaks English, regardless of whatever other language they may also speak. Almost EVERYONE can speak English, because English is what we speak in this country. It also proves your weird idea that Spanish is somehow competing with English is completely false.

If you want to speak whatever with your family or in your community great, but to get up in front of representatives of the government and speak a language you know they don't understand is very rude, and really detracts from his point. He is making immigrants look bad.

Actually, nearly 90% of Americans think the official language should be English. I'm in the overwhelming majority (for once :D).
 
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Ones ethnicity or religion has nothing to do with their ability to function in society. Language does. That's a completely false comparison.
What does functioning in society have to do with being at a hearing with a translator? Nothing. Communication clearly occurred. Moreover, what does functioning have to do with being rude or offended by someone speaking Spanish?

I've already said that it's more practical to speak English - you have yet to explain why it's rude or insulting to speak Spanish, an American language, in your OWN country to your OWN government with a translator.

Yeah well, guess what? Florida's official language is ENGLISH. They are one of the 27 states that has an official language. By the way, every single one of them chose English, with a couple having a dual language.
And this has nothing to do with the fact that there are places around the country,including Florida, where Spanish comes before English.

You didn't counter any of my points or answer any of my questions. Just railed on about how I'm a xenophobe. You also didn't counter me pointing out that nearly everyone in this country speaks English, regardless of whatever other language they may also speak.
I didn't "rail" - you don't get me that excited. My xenophobe comments are counters to your concerns. You can disagree, but it's wrongheaded to claim they are out of place.

Almost EVERYONE can speak English, because English is what we speak in this country. It also proves your weird idea that Spanish is somehow competing with English is completely false.
I don't think Spanish is competing with English. I think it's starting to coexist. Thanks for the misinterpretation though. Nonetheless, none of this has anything to do with why speaking Spanish with a translator as an American is rude or insulting.

This is really the only part that matters since it's the only time you address my argument:

If you want to speak whatever with your family or in your community great, but to get up in front of representatives of the government and speak a language you know they don't understand is very rude, and really detracts from his point. He is making immigrants looks bad.
Okay, so speaking a language to a government that you pay as an American is rude. Why is it rude? I imagine you think it's rude because the United States belongs to English speaking people. This is OUR territory. Well, this is where I disagree. The United States belongs to Americans and if some Americans speaks Spanish, then Spanish is an appropriate language to use in a government hearing. OUR government should respect all of its citizens and their languages. Private citizens can respect or not respect whatever, but the role of government is different.

Actually, nearly 90% of Americans think the official language should be English. I'm in the overwhelming majority.
Never said you weren't. Now how does this explain that speaking Spanish is rude and insulting?
 
Now how does this explain that speaking Spanish is rude and insulting?

if you are speaking to people who do not speak spanish and you speak whatever the **** they speak, it is rude and stupid to use a translator if you do not have to.
 
I am strongly against the two or three language concept.
This has been successfully "creeping in " for the past 20-30 years, and IMO it is wrong.
One nation, one people (humans) and one language...this is unifying, IMO.
Many "nations", many ethnicities, many languages, this is dis-unifing..
India for example; Europe for another...
 
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