Spanish

I wanted to know what everyone thought about English being the national language. I know a lot of the board members speak spanish so I was interested in getting another perspective and see the other side.

I mean maybe it's just because I live in an area that there aren't any spanish speaking people but I can't help but feel completely offended when people expect me to speak Spanish. Two weeks ago I was at Universal Studios and an employee came up to me and started trying to sell me something in Spanish. Is it too much to ask for to speak English in this country? Why should I be expected to speak Spanish when only 10.7% of the population speak it?

I'm not trying to say that I am against being bilingual if anything I think the U.S. is far behind on this compared to the rest of the world. I just don't think it's fair to expect America's citizens to learn a new language to accomodate such a small percentage of people who speak it.

So I just wanted to get everyone's view and opinions. How do you feel about it??

Even if youre spanish speaking if you come to this country to permanently live and work you should learn the language.

I feel that we all should pick up a foreign language. Most of the rest of the world has picked up English as a second language because we have culturally pressed our language and ideas and customs etc on the rest of the world. We are very behind in picking up and learning a second language. As far as the United States goes the people that come here should learn English (as it is the main language spoken here) If I was to move to Japan I would be expected to learn English even though it is taught in schools and so many Japanese speak it. The rest of the world has bent over backwards to accommodate us and we are just lazy and stubborn and think we are the king of the world.
When you come to the United States you can still speak your language but you have to make an effort to learn Engish, and we as Americans have to make an effort to learn another language. After all its a small world and we should do what we can to get along with people

I completely agree that more Americans need to learn a second language. However I think it's harder to pick a second language if English is the primary language. I mean like your example Japan- Most citizens speak Japanese because that's they're native language (duh!) and English because it is the most common language to communicate in. I'm not saying it's the most spoken I'm just saying that say you have a French person and a Japanese person who want to communicate- if they already know English as a second language it makes it easier instead of having to learn their language (if that makes any sense.) So with English being the best commonground for communication - how do Americans pick their second language? I think it mainly depends on what would be of most use to you. Maybe in some states it would be beneficial to learn Spanish if there is a greater population of people who speak it.

And Maybe more Americans do know a second language but not many use it because there is no need for it. I'll be the first to admit that I took 8 years of French and 1 year of Russian but I don't remember a damn thing from any of them because I was never in a situation where I had to use a second language. I always forget information that I don't use on a repeated basis. I have to tell you that I rarely run into people speaking in foreign languages in Pittsburgh, PA lol.

I can give you my point of view as a permanent resident. When I found out that Manny had to go back to the US I knew that I will have to speak English over there (here). It was no problem for me because thats the language we communicate in. But I would never move to another country without learning the main language. If I wouldn't be able to speak it already I would do whatever it takes to learn the language. I can not expect people over here to speak German.
In Germany English is the second language that you learn in school, followed by either French or Latin and if you want you can also learn Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanes, Chinese,....
Right now we live close to the Mexican Border and it happens quite a lot that I go somewhere, were people don't speak any English or just a very bad English. It even goes so far that most jobs are just offered to people that speak both of them.
It is weird that for example my parents-in-law expected me to learn Spanish, but no one in my family expects my husband to learn German. Of course it would be great if we both could speak each others language, but I guess as long as we can communicate in English it is all good! :pumyraveryhappy:

Take care!

Nadja

Oh, I just remembered a situation when it really pissed me of that someone spoke Spanish 8) When we took our newborn daughter to the Pediatrician the first time the doctor assumed that just because I have a spanish last name I speak Spanish. So he started to talk in Spanish and I told him that just my husband speaks it and that I neither speak nor understand it.....well, you would think that he would switch to English, but no, he kept on going in Spanish. I was very offended by that and didn't even know what to say. That was not the only time when people just assumed that because of my last name I speak Spanish :cheetaramad:

So, you can imagine that I totally agree that people should speak English even though it wouldn't hurt "the Americans" to learn a second language 8)

thunderkittensmom said:

I would never move to another country without learning the main language. If I wouldn't be able to speak it already I would do whatever it takes to learn the language. I can not expect people over here to speak German.

I agree with Nadja.. Even if I go on holiday to a country I make sure I learn the basics of the language so I can get by. When I went to Italy last year a big group of Americans were getting angry at this receptionist at the hotel because she did not understand them.

Therefore I believe that it is important to learn other languages and not be ignorant, expecting everyone around the world to learn your language..

In school we learnt French and then some people who grasped the French also got the chance to learn Spanish once a week too. I have to say once you have learned French, Spanish isn't too hard as it's not too far away from French.

lol in fact glad I learnt basic French in school since it helped snag some of those MOC figures off Ebay.fr such as Driller and Cheetara for around £15 each back in the day ;)

Now German I'd never try to learn! We once had a brief lesson in school just to see what it was like and I have to admit that it isn't an easy language to learn! I found French and Spanish so much easier.

Very interesting theme.

I'm happy with the fact that you, Americans, recognize that it wouldn't harm to learn a second language. I also agree with the fact that, if you are in your country, you don't have to understand what other foreign is trying to say. In fact, if he came to your country, he should learn the language. Period.

This leads to other interesting point, that Kyle said:

When I went to Italy last year a big group of Americans were getting angry at this receptionist at the hotel because she did not understand them.

Does this group have any reason? I know that in a hotel the receptionist must know several languages, but is it wrong to "not know what those guys are saying" when you're in your own country? Isn't this what made amalthea84 mad in the first place?

I live in Portugal and by this time of the year, we get a LOT of tourists. English, German, French, Dutch, Spanish (a lot), some Italians too. Sometimes they come for me for directions. I can speak English, Spanish and of course, my language, Portuguese. I always try to help them as much as I can, but some of them just don't make any effort even to learn how to say "I'm sorry, could you help me out, I don't speak Portuguese" or "Thank you". I think this is a lack of respect...

I have found it extremely fortunate to be able to speak a second lauguage. When I was living in Washington, DC I liked to go to the Smithsonian, Arlington Cemetery etc. on my days off. I got to help a lot of different people from various countries because I could communicate with them in French if they didn't speak much/any English.

I couldn't use much Russian because I would have gotten beat up.

Also if you go into a store and a sales associate looks a little mean all you have to do is break out the fake accent, speak slowly and toss in a few foreign words with flamboyant hand gestures and people can't help you enough! :mischievous:

And its fun!