Business says "Speak English"....

[debster812]

I've mentioned this point on page 2 and page 5, yet I guess it was overlooked? I'll ask again though, what was his motivation? Was it simply to incite?

I'm guessing his motivation was along the lines of "There's no such thing as bad publicity"

Look how many people here are talking about it, and if it's been on the news as well.......

 

[N.Bailey]

I'm guessing his motivation was along the lines of "There's no such thing as bad publicity"

Look how many people here are talking about it, and if it's been on the news as well.......

You have a point. I've read here that he's been on some sort of news (radio/tv? - I can't remember), but I doubt he thought at the time that he'd get that type of coverage. So, while any publicity is a "Good" thing (normally), I don't really believe that was his motivation initially.

 

[kaw1218]

Are you serious? Papa is in PA and I'm in MD and I've NEVER heard of it and we've been to PA a bazillion times with travel baseball. How the heck did it get known in the UK?

It has been shown on various TV shows the last and most popular being Extreme Home Makeover with Ty Pennington. They bought steaks from Geno's and Pat's for the crew. And it was on Good Morning America recently due to this controversy.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I fell into the "Whatever floats his boat" category. It's called "free enterprise". However, I'd be very interested to see in a few months whether his business has increased, decreased, or as it would here, he's gone out of business. At a McDonald's near me, some of the counter staff doesn't speak English. If you go there, unless you speak Spanish (the language they do speak), who knows what you'll get. However, they stay in business because Spanish is the predominant language here. At the corner convenience store, I had to learn how to order my krispy kreme flavors in Spanish-they don't speak English either. But here they stay in business-free enterprise.

 

[kaw1218]

I fell into the "Whatever floats his boat" category. It's called "free enterprise". However, I'd be very interested to see in a few months whether his business has increased, decreased, or as it would here, he's gone out of business. At a McDonald's near me, some of the counter staff doesn't speak English. If you go there, unless you speak Spanish (the language they do speak), who knows what you'll get. However, they stay in business because Spanish is the predominant language here. At the corner convenience store, I had to learn how to order my krispy kreme flavors in Spanish-they don't speak English either. But here they stay in business-free enterprise.

I don't see this closing down his business. Geno's (and Pat's!-gotta be fair )is an Instituion here in Philly. That just won't happen.

 

[VSL]

I kind of laugh a little at "This is AMERICA speak ENGLISH" as it's a bit of a misnomer.

 

[Miss Inga Depointe]

I was just wondering about somthing slightly off-topic. Does anyone here know about the schools on the US sides of border towns that have alot if Mexican students. I saw a news story about one such school and a principal who spoke of his school having a very high percentage of illegals.

I don't have a problem with educating them, but what language are they taught in? I think I would have a problem with a school like that being all Spanish. What if I lived there? I'd want my kids school to be English speaking -- as an American I'd like them to be educated that way.

 

[disney4us2002]

You are officially banned from South Philly.

For those not in the know, in order for it to be a "Philly" Cheesesteak, there are certain rules...

(1) Amoroso roll. No exceptions.

(2) Fresh, finely chopped sliced meat. Not frozen. No chunks. No slices. Approximately 2 pounds. (You're gonna get something the size of your forearm.)

(3) Acceptable orders: "Whiz", "Whiz Wit" ("Wit" connotes "Wit(h) fried onions")

(4) Alternative toppings still acceptable: raw onions

(5) Borderline acceptable toppings: mushrooms, American cheese, peppers (but you're gonna get stares)

(6) Unacceptable toppings (threats of bodily harm): mayonnaise, provolone, lettuce, tomatoes

(7) Don't order or else all bets are off: Swiss Cheese, a "small", Diet soda, a fork/knife, anything to blot the grease.

(8) Roll up your sleeves, because no matter how hard you try, stuff (meaning a Whiz, grease, onion combo of sludge) is going to run down your arms.

PapaDeuce, you must be REALLY west of Philly if you don't like Whiz on your steaks! West, like, Pittsburgh. You're killing me!

And, NO, NO, NO - Steak 'ums are NOT acceptable - so don't think the stuff you made at home is anything resembling a Philly Cheesesteak. And, for you people out in the mid-west... A steak sandwich is NOT a steak on a roll. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff I've seen around the country being called a "Philly" cheesesteak.

If you have never had a Cheesesteak IN Philadelphia, believe me, you have NOT had a Philly Cheesesteak. I've never had one outside of Philly that comes close.

Thanks for the very vivid description. I know for certain now to NEVER order a cheesesteak when visiting Philly. Boy, that sounds like a greasy mess. I guess I've only ever had steak 'n cheese subs and I'll stick to that. I hate Cheese Whiz and the steak 'n cheese subs I eat are made with provolone. I don't even know what kind of sub roll is used, lol.

 

[paigevz]

Oh and by the way according to the poll at the top seems like alot of people share his sentiment.

Yes, it does seem so.

Many of our students' parents are newly arrived (illegal or legal, I don't know). Most of them try to communicate. They appreciate when someone tries to help them, and accept when we just can't communicate, and will usually then call someone or come back with someone, always with a "Thank you.........one moment, I.............come back/get friend."

I have seen one or two upset when there is not a translator. That's a couple out of hundreds. We have a few parents that get upset whenever anything doesn't go their way. We've got one dad mad because his son was sent vocabulary homework in English, though he was in a bilingual class. We had to explain to him what "bilingual" means, and that his child is learning English. Apparently, there are areas of the country (I gather from other posts) where they are seeing the opposite ratio of attitudes from what I'm seeing here.

In answer to the bordertown question, I don't live in a bordertown, but in our school we have a bilingual program. The emphasis is in continuing/teaching their skills in Spanish, while we teach them English. The research had shown that the skills are more easily transferred then, and the children not as behind as when they were taught the skills in English. Our children were transitioning into total English at 5th grade, and no further bilingual classes were available after that, even for students new to the country. We also had a class available for students who spoke languages other than Spanish, and were new to the country, though their teacher only taught in English.

California has already changed their bilingual education, and Texas will likely soon follow. We no longer recuse students from the state tests, and in most cases they must take them in English (some do take them in Spanish, but I know this is being phased out, and only about 15 percent did that this year).

All students not in bilingual education are and always have been taught in English. To be in the bilingual program, the student may not have been in an English only class before, and must test lower in English understanding/speaking than in Spanish. If the child has no dominant language (tests the same in both, even if they test non-English speaking and non-Spanish speaking........unfortunately, happens more often than you'd think), they are put into an English classroom with English as a Second Language support, which basically means the teacher has been taught some ways to help communicate and get the ideas/concepts across.

 

[Saffron]

I think Joey Vento must be hurtin' for cash, maybe Pat's is kickin' his "greezy" "samwiches" all over town. He sure isn't stupid though, he's managed to get himself some free national advertising on all the major networks.

The day Joey Vento learns how to speak English ( AND not refer to himself in the third party ), is the day he can demand others learn to speak English. I'm glad steps are being taken to get him to take the sign down. The Human Rights Commision has filed a complaint against him and the city council has asked him nicely to take it down. Maybe he forgets that this is "The city of brotherly love", or "the city that loves you back", not the city of "we can speak and butcher the English language anyway we want 'cause we're American, you can't cause we don't like it and MAYBE you aren't American." What a joke. I hope he realizes people were laughing at him and the irony of his "English". Hey Joey, you wanna walk the walk, you gotta talk the talk, for real.

And yes, Pat's and Geno's are Philly icons, as much as some of you may not want them to be. When tourists come into Philly looking to buy the stereo-typical Philly cheese steak from the home of the cheese steak, south Philly, that's where they go, Pat's or Geno's. They been having a "greatest cheese steak in Philly" war for decades. If you aren't into greasy food, you probably haven't heard of them. If you live around here or are interested in regional cuisine, you've probably heard of them. Hopefully from now on all the tourists will go to Pat's.

Gina ... great post, as always.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I am in the "other" category.... I think HE should learn to speak the language he needs to be successful in the area he is.
I would rather his sign say..."hablamos espanol aqui" (or something like that....)

 

[Planogirl]

I think he should do what he wants and let the chips fall where they may.

 

[Papa Deuce]

I am in the "other" category.... I think HE should learn to speak the language he needs to be successful in the area he is.
I would rather his sign say..."hablamos espanol aqui" (or something like that....)

He is HUGELY successful.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

He is HUGELY successful.

I don't mean money PD....I mean friendly successful. Here in Texas you speak espanol y english. Bueno? Spanglish...

 

[N.Bailey]

He is HUGELY successful.

Did you decide yet how you feel about it?

 

[goofygirl]

I think he has every right to demand that people speak English.

As a Philly native, I am very familiar with this business. It is VERY busy and fast paced. They don't have time to spend many minutes figuring out what a person wants to order. Its best that you say your order in English, quickly and clearly, and move on. (Think of the "Soup Nazi" business in Seinfeld!)

It may not be a "warm and fuzzy" atmosphere, but the food is worth it!

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

I think he has every right to demand that people speak English.

As a Philly native, I am very familiar with this business. It is VERY busy and fast paced. They don't have time to spend many minutes figuring out what a person wants to order. Its best that you say your order in English, quickly and clearly, and move on. (Think of the "Soup Nazi" business in Seinfeld!)

It may not be a "warm and fuzzy" atmosphere, but the food is worth it!

And, from the news reports, he just wants people to be able to say "Cheesesteak" and "with wiz or without" It's not like he's asking people to fluently speak english or string together long sentences and hold a conversation with the counter person. From what he was saying on the news report he doesn't care how anyone talks out on the street but his place is very busy and he'd appreciate it if you could just say "Cheesesteak". I don't think that's too much to ask.

 

[Papa Deuce]

Did you decide yet how you feel about it?

I guess, I really don't care. But like I said, if you LIVE HERE, you need to learn English ASAP, IMO.