A quick comparision on illegal immigration!

[Miss Jasmine]

Let's turn things around a bit...

If you were going to visit a non-English speaking country for any significant length of time, wouldn't want to learn at least some basics of the language spoken there? I don't care what they speak to each other here, but refusing to learn even basic English while enjoying citizen benefits is downright arrogance. I'm beginning to think the fast-food places use numbered combos to make it easier for the employees to know what you want. It's only a matter of time until they expect us to order uno, dos, tres...

Okay but all of this is not about hispanics (Mexicans in particular). Why not un, duex, trois..

 

[LadyShiva]

Okay but all of this is not about hispanics (Mexicans in particular). Why not une, duex, trois..

un, deux, trois...

Brandie

 

[Miss Jasmine]

un, deux, trois...

Brandie

Dang. I had that first and it didn't look right. I know that I should always go with my first instinct.

 

[LadyShiva]

Dang. I had that first and it didn't look right. I know that I should always go with my first instinct.

The sad part is I did the same thing... said, hey, that's not right, started typing, then got freaked out that this would be another of those Oooooops posts where you correct someone else's spelling and have a spelling error in your correction... so I went to babelfish and checked my spelling before posting.

'Cause, ya know, I had time with the board running so slow.

I think you guys just resort to Spanish (as above) because you took it in high school, Madam "I am descended from legal immigrants"... Yeah, that was a joke.

I resort to French and American Sign Language when I think other languages. But signing doesn't work well on a message board.

Brandie

 

[Mrs.Toad]

I am sorry, I should have clarified that I don't think YOU are hypocritical. I did not mean that and I am sorry that I did not make that more clear.

I meant the people with that midset are hypocritial.

Kristine

I agree that is hypocritical, though it's similarly hypocritical to get bent out of shape about the use of non-English languages in the U.S., while at the same time going overseas without a phrase book and expecting others to speak English to you. (Note, I mean without previously being told by your native hosts that they'd prefer to speak English.) I seem to run into many more people of the latter mindset, than the former.

If you take the citizenship test in English, which language should you know as a legal citizen of the US? You can talk all you want about people speaking other languages, etc, but if you are a legal citizen, you definitely speak English (at the very least).

What about all the legal residents who are not citizens, but also not illegals? Maybe multilingualism is directed at them.

I don't agree with your logic here, because of the Supreme Court ruling allowing employers to require their employees to speak English.

That's interesting. So, it's the employers that are choosing not to require their employees to speak English, even though they legally can. Should they be required to hire only English speaking employees? That's too much government interference for my taste.

Like I said, I do think that people who live or visit the U.S. ought to learn enough English to get by while they're here, whether it's just enough to hit a few tourist spots on a week long vacation, or enough to communicate effectively in the jobs they seek. But I do think private businesses should be able to choose their own language requirements. If I have too hard a time communicating with employees at a certain business, I just stop using them. Ironically, I have only had that problem with businesses owned and run by legal immigrants.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

'Cause, ya know, I had time with the board running so slow.

yea, what is up with that?

 

[Tigger Woods]

yea, what is up with that?

It must be server issues. Very SLOOOW the last week or so. Perhaps a lot of DISers here for holiday planning?

 

[connorlevismom]

I agree that is hypocritical, though it's similarly hypocritical to get bent out of shape about the use of non-English languages in the U.S., while at the same time going overseas without a phrase book and expecting others to speak English to you. (Note, I mean without previously being told by your native hosts that they'd prefer to speak English.) I seem to run into many more people of the latter mindset, than the former.
.

I see your point and yes, on both sides it would be hypocritical.

My problem is that I think about it from my point of view. If I were to travel to another country I would make sure to bring a book and attempt their language. I expect the same then when people come here, it is only the respectful thing to do. If i were someone who got their undies in a bunch about it here and then went there and did the same thing, then I would be a hypocrite. No doubt about it.

Kristine

 

[EMom]

Deporting illegals isn't so easy as it seems; especially considering the fact that children born in the US are US citizens. You can't send the parents back without the children (well, in theory, you can, but I'd be shocked if they ever do that), however, since the children are American, you can't really send them back from where the parents came from. What if that country doesn't want them?

Building a wall is not a solution, they did that in Berlin

The argument about not being able to send back children born to illegal aliens in the US because those children are US citizens always seems to ignore the point that they are ALSO citizens of whatever country their parents are from. They are not being banished to a country where they have no rights. The country of their parents' birth is a country that bestows citizenship on the child as well. They are 100% a citizen of that country. Their parents made a choice to give birth to these anchor babies and use them for all they are worth. That tactic is old and tiresome.

I think the law should be changed and a child born in the US should only be given citizenship status if at least one parent is here legally. Merely getting your uterus across the border ought not be sufficient. Other countries have amended their laws in recognition of the fact that circumstances have changed and they no longer need to encourage immigration and don't need to seek population growth. We need to catch up with the times as well.

As for the Berlin Wall, no matter how one feels about it, it actually worked VERY well. It kept people in and it kept people out. The reasons were different, of course, but the wall did its job.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I am sorry, I should have clarified that I don't think YOU are hypocritical. I did not mean that and I am sorry that I did not make that more clear.

I meant the people with that midset are hypocritial.

Kristine

I'm not sure if it's hypocritical, as that would suggest that those tavelling to the U.S. are purposely not speaking English (which I don't think is the case). I think it has more to do with the political correctness crowd than it does foreign travelers, but that's just my opinion. I use to work in retail, The Disney Store actually , and my store was in a very touristy area of Boston, Faneuil Hall. Out of all the tourists that came to visit my store in the 3 years I was there, I had only only 3 tourists that either wouldn't or couldn't speak English. I did my best to help them in the friendly Disney way, but it was very difficult. The majority of the tourists spoke at least some English.

 

[EMom]

Any time we visit another country, I learn the basic phrases needed to get by, especially emergency phrases and those needed to order food and to purchase items politely. We do take small phrase books, but find electronic translators help as well. It is true that in "touristy" areas many people will speak English, but we never expect that or depend on it. If we find it to be true, it's just a convenient bonus. But we're in their country, and we do not expect them to accomodate us.

We often travel outside the tourist areas, so we have found that NOT everyone speaks English. Far from it. We have ordered from a menu with far from 100% certainty regarding what we would be getting. But that is part of the adventure.

When we visited Russia, I learned the alphabet. The language is more or less phonetic, so you need to be able to sound out the letters. If you don't know the alphabet, you are pretty helpless. And the percentage of people who spoke English was low compared to the rest of Europe. In the years since we have been to Russia, most of what I learned has been flushed from my brain, but I'd have been a fool to have gone for the month we were there without learning the basics. Just mastering the subway system would have been a nightmare without knowing the alphabet.

I never cease to be amazed at the number of people in Texas who have been here for 5, 10, 15 years yet still cannot speak English. I would think you'd catch on from just watching TV. No, the percentage isn't high, but the number is still astonishing. I think it is because they are able to live in very insular communities with Spanish language TV, newspapers, churches, grocery stores, etc. If they come as adults and never enter the school system, it is entirely possible to never become fluent in English because you can get by fairly well without having to learn it. There are countless stories where people are interviewed (for various reasons) and they will answer the questions through an interpreter, yet the article or TV interview will mention they have been in America for 15-20 years. It simply amazes (and dismays) me. It seems as if they would learn English by osmosis, if nothing else. I'd have to have my fingers in my ears to fail to learn the language of the country I was in to that extent.