Do You Think This Is Right??

For a while, one of our theaters showed Indian movies. It was not presented any other way and that was fine with me. There are lots of stores that rent Spanish language films, as well as Chinese, Vietnamese & whatever oriental languages films too - GREAT. I've even seen Indian video rentals from the Indian stores. But even here in Austin, Texas, I haven't seen any Spanish subtitles - that would probably get me pretty unhappy too. I guess I might call around to area theaters & see if they use the subtitles & not patronize them if they did. Of course, I have no problem getting out & going places if I want to.

Personally I think those subtitles are annoying. I have always shut them off when they automatically start on my DVD player. I think I would just about scream if I had to deal with them also at the movie theater. With the way some people act when coming to America, it really doesn't surprise me that so many from America, when traveling, don't take the time themselves to learn the language of a different country. In my opinion America is maybe just a tad over accommodating. In other countries, unless you are lucky to have a translator with you, you are pretty much s.o.l. during your stay, unless one takes the time to learn the language. Granted I know English may be one of the hardest languages to learn, but dang it people at least make an effort at it. Yes I know "the land of the free..etc etc" but English is the language that is spoken here, and those that were born and raised here, shouldn't be forced, in a sense, to learn a different language just to go out and have a good time in their own country.

Dont go to the movie house any more. But i do find that in the rent movie place you have to make sure you are not picking a movie with sub titles and this mad me mad when I found out that a movie I wanted was nothing but subtitles and I cant see them on tv as good as I would like so I didnt get it . Was (Letters from Iwo Jima )produced by Cllint Eastwood. I reall think they need to do another one in English without subtitles

I agree with you. Spanish subtitles are distracting. I know that things have to be made accessible for all people, but I think english movies without subtitles should be available to those that wish to see the movie without the distraction of subtitles. That's what I would want anyway. This is America, and not every other country makes it easy to watch movies with english subtitles, so why should we focus on spanish subtitles? I don't think we should.

I agree. I think if you are going to live in the United States you need to speak english. I get tired of having to press 1 for english and have all of the things in the stores with both english and spanish all over the item. I have been in a spanish grocery store before...there is no english. Everything is in spanish...the items, the music, the cashiers, everything. Yet if you go to regular grocery store most items have everything in english and spanish. AT PEACE WITHIN ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

Griping... Not everybody is born American, and people like their old cultures. Also, immigrants have a hard time adjusting to English, and it's nice for them to have the subtitles. Bottom line: Not everybody was as lucky as you to have been born American :(

I eel the same wway as we get alot of French , and I know of no french speaking people in my area , and some spanish .... It doesn`t bother me alot but when your trying to watch a movie it makes it hard to enjoy , so I just change the channel , maybe if noone watches and they don`t get the credit they need to stay on top they`ll stop playing it and spanish will have to subscribe same as we do ... Or thats what I hope

Frankly speaking here in India I am yet to come across any such incident where language of some expatriate community gets precedence over the official language of the nation. I found it strange too and was somewhat in agreement with your sentiments when on second thoughts I thought well this is America…the land of free trade and capitalism, where good business sense probably rules over everything else. and then again, few nations in this world gives so much chance to expatriate communities to settle down and feel at home and in the process you probably have ghettos in every American city where a particular community tries to build its own nation in proxy, with special food courts, shops selling ethnic stuff and cinema halls promoting their own movies. I don’t think you can afford to grudge them this luxury. All these years they have been indulged by your country and they in return have contributed immensely to the diversity and strength of your nation. If you don’t grudge them their cuisine, their dress, their presence, you cant probably grudge them their entertainment either.

Oh I am with you on this!!! I have felt this way about a lot of things! I am just glad that our theater here doesn't do these things. There are classes you can take to help you learn English and I'm sure some are free. I just don't get it.

I think it is wrong- Sure they are trying to accommodate the people that live in the area- but like you said we are in America. And things should be in English- They should be learning out language—but not at the movie theater- I would not go to that one if that was the case. It would drive me crazy--- watching a movie and having words in Spanish on the bottom- Odd- And no of course you would not see this anywhere else!

Hi Pyewacket! Well the answer to your question from me here in England is - yes - absolutely! In fact, from reading posts here from US users, I don't think you go anywhere hear as far as us! I guess it is just normal for us. We are part of the EEC (European Economic Community), so we are very much an international country, - we think it is right and normal - no one gives a second thought to it. In Europe you can cross 3 or 4 country boundaries in a days' drive - each country has a different language/government/often religion as well, so certainly all "international" trains and stations in London have announcements and signs in various languages. Also, all our official government documents are provided, not just in other European languages, but in the languages of our former "Commonwealth" people who now live here as well, - such as Urdu, Punjabi, and Arabic. Our local newspapers are translated and printed into Polish, we have road signs in Polish and Punjabi here! And - no - it doesn't bother me - I love it! I think it's great to be multi-cultural! I think it's great that kids at school here can hear so many different languages at school, - it can only lead to a warmer and greater understanding between races and cultures.

I've always found subtitles distracting, and usually go by too fast for me to finish reading one before the next one comes up. Except for closed captioning for the deaf, which often lags behind the conversation, and often is rife with misspellings... (a friend of mine has a deaf son). The late, great Victor Borge said he learned to speak English by watching american movies. (His first performances in America were written out phonetically for him.)

They can have movies with subtitles as long as it is not a requirement for every movie theater. You should just go to a different movie theater. But yes I do agree with you that there should be only english in the United States of America. Its not like everyone is going to understand more than one language.

I think in each country in a written form, the writting should be in the countries own language and then a few other languages below that to occommodate the travelers that come to visit their country. However I don't agree with in one movie starting out with one language and then changing to another. That's wrong. It should be completely in the language it was spoken to be not one and then the other.

Sweet this sort of thing is starting to get annoying in a few Countries and no it is not fair as such I mean the things they are trying to do here in the UK is unbelievable to accommodate even Christmas was going to be changed here but I do not believe they can ever do that Like you say we have to go by their Country so why not the same or why not open 2 Different places one with the Countries Language and one for the other Languages

I guess it's up to the guy who owns the theatre and how much you want to see the movie. I think, given the Spanish demographic, it's quite ok. My ex used to watch a lot of TV on the international channel. They show all kinds of movies there in their native language with English subtitles. You get used toit after a while. I can't answer for the movie scene because I don't go to the movies...there's nothing available close to where I live. (I fall asleep too)

No, i agree with you completely. This is America and the language we are expected to gorw up with is an Americanized English. You know what? i expect that people who come into this counrty to live learn the language. Movies and whatnot should NOT cater to those who choose not to learn to communicate with the citizens of this country. i'm not saying our country is any better than any other one, because i simply DO NOT feel that way, but i AM saying that if you are going to live here, learn the freaking language just as if an American were to move to a non-Enslish speaking country, they would have to learn a new language. i have been to France and gone to the movies. No, they do not have English subtitles. Luckily i speak French, so that didn't matter...but someone who did not speak the language would have had a very hard time. You know what? So effing what! It was a movie in a cinema in FRANCE! Not America, not England...not any other English-dominated nation. The movie was how it should be.

Well, I can't say I've ever seen subtitles at the movies, just the dozen choices on my DVD's. But I can agree that it would be annoying to have to put up with them. I actually went to a movie in Germany, in an area with hardly any English speakers, and saw a movie... in English!! It was German subtitles! I thought that was cool. I don't know why they didn't dub the movie, but it was nice being the only person in the theater who could watch the movie instead of read it. I have a problem with things like this as well because so many people aren't interested in learning the language. I get so frustrated when customers come in that don't speak a word og English. Sorry, I'm not in Mexico, so I'm not gonna beat myself up for not being able to talk to you!! But if I were, life would be much easier to learn the language!!

I live in an area that is highly Spanish speaking as well. So far the movie theaters haven't started that yet, but everything else has. Letters from school are in english/spanish, to get a drivers license, they have a spanish study guide. A lot of things are now in both languages. I have no problem understanding the spanish, I am fluent in spanish. BUT I do not think I should be FORCED to sit through a teacher/parent meeting at school that is being given in english and translated into spanish at the same time making the meeting even longer. In some school sthey have separate meetings, which I understand so that the spanish speaking parents can know what's going on at school as well. I used to live in S Florida, and there is a high Cuban population down there. My hubby is Cuban as well. They have gotten to a point where people who don't speak spanish won't even drive through the areas as no one there speaks english. If you get lost, good luck with directions. Once at a gas station, my hubby and I helped a lost little old man, the gas station attendant didn't speak english. When it is made easy to work, shop, drive, etc in your own native language, why bother to learn english? I have gotten many jobs being bi-lingual, but I don't think it should be a necessary qualification and yet sometimes it is.

Ok.. now the whole Spanish in America thing is one of my pet peeves, not the language but the intollerance of it (no I'm not saying you're intollerant). Not too long ago the government was thinking about instating Spanish as the second offical language of the US. Many countries have more than one offical language. When I was going to move to Switzerland (long story that of course involves a broken engagement, lol) I was going start learning German (which was a language I already didn't like because it sounds so harsh) and French which would add to to the 3 languages I already speak and create a whole mess in my head, lol. Those are the two big offical languages there as well as Dutch and I forgot wich else. Canada has English and French (which again I was going to have to learn to move there... same broken engagement). Hati has Spanish and French. I think it doesn't hurt to have more than one language, besides it's proven to be good for the IQ and brain. Now a lot of people that move here don't have the time to learn English nor the rescources to do so, most are very poor and can't afford to send their children to school (it's not free in a lot of Spanish speaking countries) to learn it either. They come here (and yes often time illegal because honestly there is no US awreness in terms of education there and they don't know that there are legal opptions available to them) seeking that education for their children or escaping something. My grandmother came here with her 10 children from Puerto Rico to seek a better life and escape a nearly dealy abusive marriage, she spoke no english as they had escaped when they could. Every single person that I've met that has learned English as a second language has done it by watching tv and movies and that's how my grandmother leared it. It helps for them to hear it in order to learn it because some have never attended school and so they cannot read or write to learn it any other way. Now... as far as should they have the Spanish subtitles in movies here? No. Subtiles are annoying as p*ss! Often times English Movies will have Spanish scenes and use English subtitles and even though I'm fluent in both, I can't help but read the subtitles (which by the way, are never ever translated correctly so what you're reading isn't what they're saying). So subtiles are not only annoying and incorrect but the distraction really isn't going to help someone learn the language either. Subtitles should be banned period. I think if you're going to watch a foreign flick then pick one in a language you speak or fake it like everyone else does when they watch the Chinese soap operas on the International channel. I've tried to watch movies in other languages that have subtitles and either you watch the scene or your read the subtitles, either way you loose out on half the movie... really they're pointless. Ok... one last point. So I do think that if you are going to live here then you need to learn the language either before you get here or as soon as you do. Even if Spanish becomes a second language, English will still not only be the first but it is one of the only languages that's understood virtually everywhere so it's an important one to know. That was my 25 cents worth, lol. Good topic though, gets one thinking!