Absolutely....as I am the ONLY one in my household that does not speak Spanish..... Sometimes for fun when my father in law starts something in Spanish, I let him get finished and then tell him, "I didn't understand a thing you said!" Then he just laughs and shakes his head. He sometimes forgets things like that. ALZ is a b****.

 

I dated a girl from the time I was 18 til I was 21, we were engaged for about six months, actually. 100% Hispanic mother, 100% Irish father. Her grandparents (who lived in NYC) understood and could speak English well, but refused to out of "pride". When they'd come upstate for a visit, they would talk to my girlfriend or her mom in a restaurant and have them relay to me, the waiter, etc. Even in their home, they would listen to me, but then talk to someone in Spanish and have them translate to me.

REALLY pissed me off!!!

 

 

That wasn't pride. It was arrogance and lack of respect. I used to work for a Swedish company, and many times the Swedish engineers would start speaking Swedish during one of our meetings, here, in our country, at the plant. Finally, the Sedish plant manager busted their b***s in front of all of us and told them not to do it again or they would be on a plane home that afternoon.

If there is a common language, the proper thing to do is use it. To exclude someone from the conversation and impose on someone else to interpret when you understand and can speak, is arrogance.

 

I hope you don't truly believe that nonsense, because the so-called 'Mericans who scream that the loudest have no knowledge of this country's history -- you know, where entire neighborhoods were divided by ethnicity (eg, German, Italian, Swedish, Polish, etc) and the immigrants spoke in their native tongue plus all signs were the same. Germantown, Missouri was founded by German immigrants and German was the predominant language for decades on the local radio shows, the local businesses, and the local newspaper.

 

People forget that the English language is a foreign import. Maybe it should be press one to speak some Cheyenne or Chippewa or something like that?

 

Lol, yes I know American history My mom's side of the fam immigrated from Prussia, and my great grandparents had to learn English. If people wanna talk to each other in their own language, not a problem at all. However, by learning a common language in this country just makes it easier for EVERYONE to communicate with each other. If ya'lls want it to be Cheyenne instead of English, I'm down

 

Sure they do, but it's the fantasy version of history that's taught in primary education, the kind that is used for indoctrination rather than education and in which the truth is an obstacle to be overcome in reaching the primary objective. And it's frighteningly effective.

 

Well, if you look at it from a practical viewpoint, having a single common language would certainly make life a lot easier. Instead of "Press 1 for English, Press 2 for Spanish..... Press 65 for Estonian......." You could get right to the point. Not to mention that signs, and government forms, wouldn't have to be printed in 43 languages. Consider the amount of paper that would save. The tree-huggers would be ecstatic.

 

Many other countries have an official language for all government work but signage and public announcements will usually consist of the most prevalent languages (usually no more than four). So, it's a bit ridiculous for TRUE BLUE BACKWOODS 'MERICANS TO SCREAM: Por qué tengo que presionar "1 "para Inglés ?


Tree huggers should be pushing for electronic forms