People living in the United States NEED TO LEARN ENGLISH!!!
By flpoolbum
@flpoolbum (2978)
United States
July 31, 2008 2:48am CST
I don't believe that United States citizens should be forced to learn Spanish or any other language other than English. Even though, I am voting for Barack Obama, I will take it personally, and fight him tooth and nail if he tries to require any U. S. CITIZEN to learn ANY other language than English, our national language.
I am not being bigoted either. If I moved to Mexico or Spain, I would learn Spanish. If I moved to Italy, I would learn Italian. Like the centuries old saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Roman's do".
I firmly believe that anyone who lives in a country should learn the language of that country. It is not only the right thing to do, but it is for the benefit of each person to learn the native language of the country they are in. I live in Florida and work with the public as a municiple bus driver. I see a lot of Spanish people not being able to do what they need to do because they don't speak English. For example, I was trying to tell a guy to stop putting money in the farebox because he paid to much already but he didn't understand me so he kept putting more money in until I put my hand over the coin slot and said "no more". I have also seen other people purposely give non-English speaking people wrong information or directions as a joke.
I even had a young pregnant women on my bus almost get stranded late at night because she gave me the wrong street name. It was my last trip of the night, I was tired and like anyone else just wanted to get done and go home. I had a hard time trying to help this girl because of the language barrier. She got upset because she was afraid of being lost and started crying. A women who knew a little Spanish got on the bus and was able to determine that her husband worked at a restuarant that was on was on my route and only a mile away! This young lady would have saved herself alot of frustation if she knew English or atleast had a Spanish/English dictionary!
1 person likes this
3 responses
@flpoolbum (2978)
• United States
2 Aug 08
Well, people who don't learn the native or official language of the country they are living in are going to get used and abused. Take the examples that I pointed out! Spanish speaking people have it good in this country because our government and private businesses are bending over backward to cater to them. The Spanish speaking population in the United States is growing really fast. I would advise them as I would advise anyone: For your own benefit,LEARN THE NATIVE LANGUAGE OF THE COUNTRY YOU LIVE IN.
@KrauseHome (36445)
• United States
31 Aug 08
I totally agree with you on this one. People here in the United States if they are wanting to come here, and Earn here, etc. and share in the many Freedoms we offer should be required to learn English, and use it as much as possible. I find it a shame really that so many are never made too, and then they can congregate in their own groups of people making those of us from the US feel left out, and most of them know maybe only 100 words of English at most anyways.
I wonder how come English is not required here, and would they want us coming to their country not being able to speak theirs? In reality, you do make a lot of sense here, and wish it was more of a requirement for most places as well.
@gbolly54 (661)
• Nigeria
27 Aug 08
I quite agree with you that people living in other lands should learn the local languages obtained there so as to be able to communicate and have an easy stay. However, while this requirement or advice is valid for those living permanently in a foreign place, those on short visits may not have to, especially if they can always have escorts to accompany them around.
There are a number of other reasons why we will always have people who cannot communicate in local or national language at any point in time:
i)People coming in newly to join their families, to study, to work, etc - such people will need some time to learn the language.
ii)When adults are involved, it takes longer time to learn new languages.
iii)Understanding the language is different from understanding the intonations or accents. For instance, some foreign residents in the US or elsewhere can read and write well in English but find it difficult to follow when the natives are speaking. This is because they were not taught the language by the native speakers but by non-natives with perverted accents and intonations.
All said, there is no argument over whether the immigrants in the US should learn English. They ought to in their own interest, particularly if they have come to stay for a long period. However, one should show an understanding with those among them who don't understand English at any point in time, for they may fall within the categories mentioned above.
