Speaking other languages in public in the U.S.

[disneychrista]

I have no issue with people speaking another language to each other. Ido have a problem with people who expect that "we" should speak it too.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

And let me add some interesting census bureau projections.

By 2060 there will be no "majority". The non hispanic white population will be the largest minority grouo, making up about 43% of the population. About 1/3 of the population will be hispanic.

"Press 2 for Spanish" isn't going away any time soon.

 

[ckay87]

I didn't say it would be easy. But many think Americans are arrogant for traveling the world and not bothering to learn enough passable language for the country they are visiting. And that's just on vacation. But people want to move here, live here, work here and function here and not learn the language or expect everything to be offered in their language and we're the ones with the problem?

My opinion, unpopular as it is.

I think your opinion is extremely popular, I hear this kind of thing all the time, actually.

The exact point is that it IS difficult and until adult Spanish speakers get around to learning the advanced level of English required to understand complex, very important instructions, I'd rather provide them with a translation. It makes life easier and more convenient for ME. Nobody wants to have to deal with a bunch of confused people!

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I won't flame you but its not as simple as that. There are pockets of populations here, like in South Florida, where Spanish is extremely prevalent. When you have grandmothers coming over, at 70, it is difficult to learn a new language. I have no issue if they don't learn English. Their life has been tough enough.

But those people aren't really the norm. Most young people coming over do try. They get here with nothing and they try to find places where they can learn. I have people who work around here and come by my office to help them. Eventually, they have kids and families grow. These kids DO know the language. They aren't keeping their kids from learning it, they are however, making sure their kids learn Spanish. Its a blessing to be bilingual and know more than one language.

There is also a lot of creole spoken down here due to the the proximity of Haiti.

And yes, while there are some who just don't care and are obnoxious about it, its really the minority and not the majority. You might hear them talking to each other but that is what is easiest for them and it doesn't mean they aren't trying or don't know ANY english, its just they are just speaking what is easiest.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have issues with people coming up to me, in a business environment, and just start speaking Spanish. I do believe the polite way is to ask. If I see someone struggling , I will usually offer to help translate or just let them now I speak Spanish, but I do find it rude to just walk up to someone and start yapping. It isn't difficult to learn "Do you speak Spanish" or as some would say.. Do Ju speak espanich?

I completely agree and understand what you're saying. But if you don't try to use the language you won't ever learn it. If we print everything in multiple languages where is the incentive to learn English? I have had interaction with a few people who I know speak English (deal with them on a daily basis) and then they speak to me in Spanish. When I explain I don't speak Spanish, I get "oh? Why not? You should." And then continue to try to give me certain words in Spanish and English. Excuse me? If you speak English and I tell you I don't speak Spanish and didn't ask for a Spanish lesson, let it go.

I understand our country is diverse and that's what makes us great but I feel like we our losing our national identity. Someone once explained it as "we used to be a melting pot, where all of the new flavors were combined to make a great soup. Now we're more like a salad - everything when combined goes together but there are definite, distinct flavors that remain separate from the whole."

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I think your opinion is extremely popular, I hear this kind of thing all the time, actually.

The exact point is that it IS difficult and until adult Spanish speakers get around to learning the advanced level of English required to understand complex, very important instructions, I'd rather provide them with a translation. It makes life easier and more convenient for ME. Nobody wants to have to deal with a bunch of confused people!

BTW, just so we're clear, I'm not specifically pointing out Spanish speakers only. That's just where I have the greatest interaction.

 

[Planogirl]

You really only see this refusal to mainstream among some Hispanic groups also. At least that's how it appears to me. Other cultures seem to be way more eager to assimilate for some reason.

I'm one who doesn't mind if people speak only Spanish or whatever but I also won't be able to communicate. I feel bad when people call our company and want someone who speaks Spanish but no one is available and I am.

 

[Jestocost]

It is against the rules at most casinos to speak in a language other than English at a poker table. But other than that and a few other similarly obvious kinds of exceptions I have no problem with people speaking languages other than English in public, I guess I wouldn't be allowed to travel anywhere outside the English-speaking world if conversing in a language other than the dominant language was forbidden.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

I completely agree and understand what you're saying. But if you don't try to use the language you won't ever learn it. If we print everything in multiple languages where is the incentive to learn English? I have had interaction with a few people who I know speak English (deal with them on a daily basis) and then they speak to me in Spanish. When I explain I don't speak Spanish, I get "oh? Why not? You should." And then continue to try to give me certain words in Spanish and English. Excuse me? If you speak English and I tell you I don't speak Spanish and didn't ask for a Spanish lesson, let it go.

I understand our country is diverse and that's what makes us great but I feel like we our losing our national identity. Someone once explained it as "we used to be a melting pot, where all of the new flavors were combined to make a great soup. Now we're more like a salad - everything when combined goes together but there are definite, distinct flavors that remain separate from the whole."

I understand this perspective, but that romanticized version of history is not accurate. Poor immigrants to this country have existed in ghettos (which despite the current use of the term are defined as "a usually poor section of a city inhabited primarily by people of the same race, religion, or social background, often because of discrimination") since its inception. The poor immigrants of history (by which I mean to exclude those who emigrated with great wealth) did not hop off the boats and immediately assimilate; they weren't allowed to, and even if they'd been allowed to, they didn't have the resources to do so. And they did not immediately and unilaterally learn the English language, either, as any trip to a "Chinatown," "Little Italy" or "Little Bavaria" will make quite plain.

Furthermore, this "America is going to heck in a handbasket" theory, including complaints about the refusal of immigrants to assimilate is also not new. There was an entire movement called "jingoism" that originated in Great Britain in the 1870s and took root in America in the 1890s that expressed these same concerns, as well as the concept of American exceptionalism that plays upon these themes as well.

You really only see this refusal to mainstream among some Hispanic groups also. At least that's how it appears to me. Other cultures seem to be way more eager to assimilate for some reason.

When I lived in Boston, it was common amongst the Russian emigre population, and in Des Moines now it is common amongst the large Serbian and Bosnian populations, so I disagree with your assessment. I think the Hispanic population is larger and therefore frequently more noticeable, but learning a language as an adult is incredibly hard and I don't think it's automatically done by other cultures any more easily than with the Hispanic population.

 

[POPCITY]

And let me add some interesting census bureau projections.

By 2060 there will be no "majority". The non hispanic white population will be the largest minority grouo, making up about 43% of the population. About 1/3 of the population will be hispanic.

"Press 2 for Spanish" isn't going away any time soon.

I agree. A huge section of our customer base is Spanish-speaking, and we do have "Press 1 for English, Press 2 for Spanish" in our call center script. I get calls a couple times a year demanding we remove the Press 1, because this is America, we're unpatriotic, etc. I don't understand getting so worked up about such an insignificant thing.

There is reason for the options. Here, not everyone in the call center can speak Spanish. Having the options directs the callers to the right queue, which shortens the wait for everyone. We had English as the default for awhile, with an option to press 2 for Spanish. The problem is that a lot of people immediately press 0 as soon as the phone picks up, and if they only speak Spanish, they end up waiting, only to get to someone who can't help them. Since we added Press 1 for English, wait times have gone done 57%.

 

[DopeyDame]

I think there are really three different scenarios here.
1. A group is out in public, speaking among themselves in a different language. I can't begin to imagine how anyone would think that's rude! I don't care one lick what the group next to me is speaking or if I undertsand them or not. I stopped assuming people were talking about me when i was 14 or so. If you really think that the strangers near you don't have better things to do than to talk about you... well... being that self-centered is far more rude than speaking a different language.

2. People within your group speaking in a language that some members of the group don't understand. Yeah, I think that - by and large - that's rude. Even if they aren't doing it to purposely exclude people, it's still rude to not include the entire group in a conversation as much as possible. I get that it might be easier sometimes, but even in those situations it would be nice to make an effort to follow up and explain what was said in the foreign language. No one likes to be left out.

3. Business or organizations publishing or communicating in multiple languages. This is the USA. Which does NOT have an official language. True, in most parts of the country most people speak English, but that is not and NEVER has been universally true across the country. If communicating in multiple languages (with the other languages varying by region based on population) helps a business or organization interact better with some of their customers, of course they are going to, and SHOULD, do that. That doesn't seem like a problem to me.

 

[PlainJane]

I don't think it's rude to speak a language other than English when out and about in the US. The woman was rude, not you. If I ever moved to another country that did not predominantly speak English, I assume I would learn the language, but would also continue to speak to my family in English in situations where it was appropriate.

I don't think speaking another language in front of someone who doesn't understand is always rude. It's situational to me. In my grad school there are a large number of Korean students, many of which who are still struggling to learn English. I don't think it's rude if they speak in Korean to one another in front of me. It often happens because one student won't understand a concept that was explained by our English speaking professor. They'll discuss in Korean and once everyone is on the same page, generally they'll start talking to me in English.

My friend's parents sometimes speak in Spanish while I am present. I'll be in the same room, but not in that instance speaking with them. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. I can pretty well tell that they're not speaking about me. It seems they do that a lot of the time as a form of affection toward the other. I think it's sweet.

Now what does bother me is when people speaking in a foreign language don't seem to see the need to speak at a normal decimal level. I assume it's because they think people can't understand what they are saying and feel more free with what they are saying, while others might speak more quietly for privacy. This is of course not the norm, but it drives me crazy when it happens.

I'm pretty good at reading body language, so it's possible that's why it doesn't bother me as much when people speak other languages in front of me. Often I can get a pretty good understanding of what people are saying even when they are speaking another language.

 

[Shmily1]

Nope, there is no official language for the United States. The most common language is English, of course. But we don't have an official language.

A business that wants to cater to those who don't speak English is a smart company.

And considering what I heard on NBC News last week, i. e. , that the largest ethnic group in this country, the group with the largest population growth, is hispanics, I'm thinking we will eventually become officially bilingual. Just as Canadians who don't speak both French and English nay find themselves at a disadvantage, Americans who don't speak both English and Spanish will be at a disadvantage.

I didn't say it was the official language. It is the language peope that came here for years have been using. Until the last couple decades, the ones moving to this country have been learning that language. They embraced the culture they were moving in to. Now that we are suppose to be politically correct, English speaking citizens are expected to now learn other languages to make others feel more at home.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

What "culture?" Really, not being rude-I just want to know what the perception of an American culture is. Is it the Judeo-Christian view of what America should be?

I realize that my views are clouded by the fact that I grew up in a large city of great diversity, and never noticed a "culture" as such. Yes, our melting pot is in fact a salad and I think we are richer for it.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

I didn't say it was the official language. It is the language peope that came here for years have been using. Until the last couple decades, the ones moving to this country have been learning that language. They embraced the culture they were moving in to. Now that we are suppose to be politically correct, English speaking citizens are expected to now learn other languages to make others feel more at home.

I'm sorry, but that is factually inaccurate. Other cultures have always taken multiple generations to assimilate into this nation, and even then frequently held dearly to their cultures and traditions. During the years they were assimilating, they were ghettoized and frequently assailed by their adopted country's population for refusing to "become Americans." You simply weren't there to experience it and are only experiencing the assimilated end-product. It was less than 70 years ago that this country actually put many of its Japanese citizens into concentration camps out of a fear that they were not "American enough."

 

[TLSnell1981]

It is against the rules at most casinos to speak in a language other than English at a poker table.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

i'm sorry, but that is factually inaccurate. Other cultures have always taken multiple generations to assimilate into this nation, and even then frequently held dearly to their cultures and traditions. During the years they were assimilating, they were ghettoized and frequently assailed by their adopted country's population for refusing to "become americans." you simply weren't there to experience it and are only experiencing the assimilated end-product. It was less than 70 years ago that this country actually put many of its japanese citizens into concentration camps out of a fear that they were not "american enough."

How dare you interrupt with facts!!!!!

 

[kate_wdw]

I don't think it's rude at all.

 

[NMAmy]

I've lived in a foreign country which I believe makes me much more sympathetic to those who are unable to speak the language. I lived in Germany for a year as a military wife and only learned the most basic terms. I'd taken Spanish and French in school and never dreamed I'd end up in a German speaking country. It's isolating and scary.

I've also lived in an area of New Mexico where it's very common to hear Spanish and also Navajo. Businesses in the area where I used to live often had signs stating that they spoke Navajo. How do we feel about elderly Navajo who don't speak English?

In some states, the historical language was Spanish. New Mexico has signs at the state border which say "Bienvenidos A Nuevo Mexico." Place names and street names are often Spanish or Native American. From preschool on, dd learned Navajo phrases and Spanish phrases.

There seems to be much less of this drama that everyone needs to speak English all the time that I've seen in some other areas. The state flag features the Zia Pueblo symbol and when dd was a little girl in school they recited the salute to the flag, "I salute the flag of the state of New Mexico, the Zia symbol of perfect friendship among united cultures." I've always thought that was a lovely sentiment.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

I'm sorry, but that is factually inaccurate. Other cultures have always taken multiple generations to assimilate into this nation, and even then frequently held dearly to their cultures and traditions. During the years they were assimilating, they were ghettoized and frequently assailed by their adopted country's population for refusing to "become Americans." You simply weren't there to experience it and are only experiencing the assimilated end-product. It was less than 70 years ago that this country actually put many of its Japanese citizens into concentration camps out of a fear that they were not "American enough."

But that just goes to prove how very important it is to assimilate at least to some degree lest one become an outcast.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

What "culture?" Really, not being rude-I just want to know what the perception of an American culture is. Is it the Judeo-Christian view of what America should be?

I realize that my views are clouded by the fact that I grew up in a large city of great diversity, and never noticed a "culture" as such. Yes, our melting pot is in fact a salad and I think we are richer for it.

Exactly. It's never been a melting pot, it's always been a salad.