HELP! I've been kidnapped and taken to Mexico!!

[KLin]

Pinche gringos :roll:.

 

[oddyager]

Originally posted by: shinerburke
At least that's what I think has happened.

I'm sitting here watching Sunday Night Football on NBC and have seen several commercials in Spanish, the screen graphics(down, distance, etc, etc,) for the game have been in Spanish occasionally and Al Michaels just pointed out that the game was being broadcast in Spanish on Telemundo.

THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT! I'm so fricking sick and tired of road signs in Spanish, government forms in Spanish, Spanish announcements being made in Target/Wal-Mart/Sears/etc... and going into a restaurant and nobody working there can speak anything but Spanish.

This is the United States of America and we speak English here. If you want to immigrate then learn the god damned language! Don't expect us to adapt to you. You moved here....YOU ADAPT! You obviously came here because you country is a pile of crap and you had to come here to get a better life. If you did it illegally...GET THE FUCK OUT! If you did it legally then assimilate and stop trying to recreate your craptastic culture here.

You sound angry. I agree wtih you though.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: Casawi

Originally posted by: shinerburke
At least that's what I think has happened.

I'm sitting here watching Sunday Night Football on NBC and have seen several commercials in Spanish, the screen graphics(down, distance, etc, etc,) for the game have been in Spanish occasionally and Al Michaels just pointed out that the game was being broadcast in Spanish on Telemundo.

THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT! I'm so fricking sick and tired of road signs in Spanish, government forms in Spanish, Spanish announcements being made in Target/Wal-Mart/Sears/etc... and going into a restaurant and nobody working there can speak anything but Spanish.

This is the United States of America and we speak English here. If you want to immigrate then learn the god damned language! Don't expect us to adapt to you. You moved here....YOU ADAPT! You obviously came here because you country is a pile of crap and you had to come here to get a better life. If you did it illegally...GET THE FUCK OUT! If you did it legally then assimilate and stop trying to recreate your craptastic culture here.

You're an idiot my man, what can I say. Maybe arrogant too.

Yeah...I'm an idiot because I expect people to be able to speak the language of the country they have chosen to immigrate to. How stupid of me.

I'm going to venture a guess and say that you were born here and have not immigrated to another country before. I would also venture a guess that you haven't been alive long enough to see or you haven't looked up the data regarding how the Hispanic wave is within historical norms for assimilation.

Yes I was born here, no I have not immigrated to another country. However I have been all over the world and did not expect the people of the various countries I was in to speak English. I tried to pick up the basics of the language of whatever country I was visiting before I got there. That is common sense and what any reasonable person would do.

If I were to immigrate to...say Germany...I would not expect them to provide me with government forms in English, put up English street signs, etc, etc, etc.....

For an example of how stupid it has gotten here they are now doing naturalization ceremonies in Spanish. Tell me that isn't fucked up. I mean c'mon...you come here and want to become a citizen yet at the end of the process you still can't speak the language? That is beyond ridiculous. Hell I can't even believe we are pansy assed enough to do it. No, I take that back, I can.

Historic norms of assimilation? Maybe for some, but not the more recent wave. Like I have stated twice before. They are now teaching classes in the public school system here in Spanish. These aren't kids that just arrived, these are kids that were born here but their parent's won't allow them to learn English. That to is beyond ridiculous and it pisses me off to stratospheric levels that my tax dollars are paying for such bullshit.

The latest study for assimilation is based on the current legal Hispanic immigrants. Your rant is more appropriate for "hating" on illegals being here and their refusal to adapt. And let's be honest, illegal immigrants are generally not here to assimilate but to work and return home.

There are many public school systems that have taught in foreign languages. ESL classes often time offer help by using multi-language speakers. Immigrants who move here only need to learn a bare minimum of English. Generally speaking, most immigrants have not nor will ever move to the US with a solid understanding of English. This is particularly true for the older generation. The people who will eventually adapt are the young and the working. This is how it is now and this is how it has been consistently throughout history.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: purbeast0
oh poor you, you have to see some spanish on the TV wah wah wah!

cry me a damn river.

it's pretty obvious from your better than thou attitude that you are too good to ever step foot into a third world country. if you did then maybe you would understand why these people come here at any given chance, whether they have practiced our language or not.

and english is nothing you learn overnight.

you tell them to learn the language. well did you ever think that maybe them showing stuff in english AND spanish on TV is a way to TEACH english to them?

TV isn't the issue. The issue is we as taxpayers are footing the bill for:

Printing government forms in Spanish
Replacing street sings with bilingual ones
Spanish only classes in public schools
Etc
Etc
Etc....

As for traveling to 3rd World countries. I have been to Mexico, Panama, and Jamaica. While there I didn't expect them to speak English!

No, English isn't something you learn overnight, but if you have been here for 5+ years you should at least be able to speak it reasonably well. You also should not be denying your children, many who were born here, the chance to learn English.

Guess what. Many of those countries will learn English because they understand that much of their flourishing industries are driven by tourists. They often will learn basic English to assist in their economical goals. That's why eventually the Hispanic population will conform just like every other mass ethnic immigration prior to theirs. The problem is that the lifespan of a person does not allow them to see the end result. You're seeing the worst of the phase and generalizing it to be the only outcome.

 

[pyonir]

Originally posted by: shinerburke
If their culture is so wonderful then why are they fleeing it in the first place?

They aren't fleeing their culture, they are coming here to find jobs and to make money. It's not culture they are fleeing, it's poverty.

Edit: spelling

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: sygyzy

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
Tell that to the Native Americans who were forced to listen to our foreign language (while we systematically raped everything they had).

Have some tolerance. How is it affecting you other than bringing out the bigot in you?

Oh STFU. The whole Native American argument is weak as water. If you want to get into that sort of stupidity then let's go all the way back to when human kind first wandered out of Africa. I have a Masters Degree in Native American History and Culture so don't think you're talking to an idiot when it comes to that subject.

The point is the Mexicans are the only people in the history of this country who have immigrated and refused to assimilate. Instead of doing what generations of immigrants before them have done, learn our culture and language, they bull headedly insist on maintaining the very culture they escaped from and don't want to learn our language. It is ridiculous that governments have had to go to the expense of printing a multitude of official forms in Spanish, that they have had to replace perfectly good street/highway signs with new bilingual ones. How fucked up is that? If you can't read the language you sure as hell shouldn't be driving and likely don't even have a license or insurance.

You are obviously a liar. I don't believe for a second you have a masters degree, in anything, let alone Native American History and Culture.

Who creates the signs in spanish? What about the captioning on the tv shows you watch? You think Mexicans have guns to the heads of NBC and Vons supermarkets (or whatever) to put signs in Spanish? Oh wait, those are companies all owned and operated by white Americans. Why don't you boycott or lobby them for change? Also, Mexicans are not the only people that speak Spanish but I am sure to you Mexican means any Hispanic person. Spanish is spoken by 425 million people worldwide. That's larger than the population of the U.S. Finally, how is their culture "craptastic"? I can understand, barely, not wanting to see Spanish on your football games, but what does any of this have to do with judging their culture to be "craptastic"?

I have the following degrees:

B.A. in History
M.A. in History with specialization in Native American Cultures & Religion
BS in Political Science
BS in Geography

Believe it or not...but that is a fact.

The street signs were created in Spanish by the city and state governments. The signs in the businesses were created by the businesses themselves. I'm not talking just about stores like Wal-Mart, Target, etc...I'm talking about all the strip mall stores here in what is quickly becoming Little Mexico in the Northeast part of the city. Do those stores have signs in them in English as well as Spanish? No, I've been in them just out of curiosity. In fact when I walked in the people in there couldn't speak English.

No any Hispanic person is not Mexican. I'm talking about Mexican immigrants. Many of them illegal. Any damn fool knows that.

If their culture is so wonderful then why are they fleeing it in the first place?

You are mistaking country for culture. Their culture has been around for centuries and has had it's highs and lows. The current state of their country, is a different matter, and is sadly not in a great state due to the amount of corruption within.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

move to london for uninterupted english speaking action.

 

[PimpJuice]

First generation immigrants should not and cannot be forced to learn English.....its not easy at their ages. That being said, they should be chained and sent home for refusing that their children learn English in our American schools. That in itself is shows how unwilling they are about embracing the country they CHOSE to live. Anybody that refuses to let the children learn English is only here for the money and if their countrys situation ever improves (unlikely), they will move right back across the border.

The southern states are more spanish than they are american, I've seen it myself in New Mexica/Texas, etc.... That is not how it used to be and these illegals are making it happen. That is not good for the country because they are NOT HERE TO BE AMERICANS, they are here for the $$$.

Think about this, 2 spanish speaking people are involved in a crime. The police are now expected to have spanish speaking officers at all times to ensure that they know wtf is going on when they get there and try to sort through the facts.

Do not for one instant think that they work 2x as hard because they enjoy it. They work 2x as hard because their only option is to work 6x as hard back in mexico. AS SOON as they have any sort of leverage, they will go back to doing as much work as their paid to do and nothing more.

my parents are first generation immigrants, the only person in my whole extended family (60+) that cannot speak English is my grandmother. If my parents can do it, so can they......the only difference is that my parents chose to embrace America for what it is.

that being said, fvck those that dont embrace my country.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: ironwing

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Yep.

Like I said. Generations of other immigrants came here and adapted to our culture and language. It is only these new Mexican immigrants, many of them illegal, who refuse to do so.

As an example....

Here in Tulsa the schools are now having to setup classrooms in several of the schools that are Spanish only. Seriously. WTF? They are having to do so because the students don't speak English and their parents refuse to let them be taught English. Personally It think they should load their ass up and get back to Mexico, but no we have to understand them and help them. Bullcrap. God damned PC bleeding heart liberals are selling the country down the river with that kind of stupid thinking.

Four generations of Germans lived in Wisconsin before bothering to learn English. Growing up, I met old Norwegians who couldn't speak English. Their ancestors arrived in the US the 1840s. There were many communities where the public schools only taught in German, only taught in Norwegian. It worked for them. Eventually market forces convinced folks to learn English, not a government mandate. You don't want to learn Spanish? Then don't.

yes and it took them even longer to assimilate, creating insular communities for people to grow up in, with prejudice wasting generations promise. they also had heavy religious discrimination back then as well, i guess we should take it as an example to emulate? many horrible things happened in the past, its best not to take the suffering of generations of people too lightly because eventually it led to something better. its like saying to a liberal thats its ok that we had an iraq war because soon we'll elect a democrat again.

never mind its hardly a comparable situation anyways, back then you left your home country and were effectively cut off by distance and lack of easy communication. you had to make a go of it. there were very few government services to rely on, it was sink or swim. now with modern media you can be effectively cut off from another segment of society if your numbers grow large enough. just look at the belgian example, one country, two cultures, two languages, two medias, on the verge of separation. never mind quebec. its never a pretty thing, and those are situations where everyone is white

anyways not learning the countries language is a sign of disrespect. you come to join a family.

Isn't Spanish the second most widely-spoken language in the world? (I'm not talking only about raw numbers, but about distribution of speakers across the globe)

millions of dirt poor really might as well not exist, they are effectively irrelevant. if you count non native speakers then english numbers really are massive. plus theres the global distribution of even native speakers in countries that matter, the anglosphere.

 

[Kadarin]

I am in complete agreement with the OP. Mexican immigrants (legal and illegal) don't really seem to want to assimilate to American culture, but rather to force American culture to change to meet their desires.

 

[invidia]

I'm proud to be an American. We should set up death camps and kill everyone who isn't a legal US citizen and purge all those with non-American cultures.

 

[glutenberg]

Originally posted by: Kadarin
I am in complete agreement with the OP. Mexican immigrants (legal and illegal) don't really seem to want to assimilate to American culture, but rather to force American culture to change to meet their desires.

How many Hispanics do you know? Do you even know the majority of them? Or are you using anecdotal evidence and generalizing as being the same everywhere?

 

[sdifox]

1. US should just declare American English the official language and all official business can only be conducted in said language.
2. Stop offering public school in Spanish.

Whomever chose to not learn English has the freedom to do so, but may not demand service in any other language. An exception could be made to first generation legal immigrants.

BTW, I have been an immigrant twice, once to Argentina, once to Canada. I don't recall getting schooled in Mandarin when I was in Buenos Aires. Nor did I get schooled in Spanish when I got to Toronto.

 

[CorCentral]

Originally posted by: Kadarin
I am in complete agreement with the OP. Mexican immigrants (legal and illegal) don't really seem to want to assimilate to American culture, but rather to force American culture to change to meet their desires.

I agree with this agreement!

Hell, These 2 mexicans know how to SING in english :laugh:

 

[UNCjigga]

www.NFLatino.com

If you have any complaints, please direct them to the above site.

This is nothing more than marketing. There are lots of Latinos and Americans of Latin decent. Generation X/Y/Z are very capable with using Spanish language whatever they're actual ethnicity--beyond high-school and college Spanish kids these days are doing lots of immersion programs in the Caribbean and Latin America. The point is, there's a huge potential untapped market for the NFL and they wanna tap that ass.

$$$ rules the world.

 

[Martin]

Oh, poor OP. Did they turrk yer jerb too?

Here, let me play my violin while you post...

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

Originally posted by: aurareturn
Why should they be forced to become what we are?

Because they came here.

See... I think it would be asinine of me to go anywhere else in the world and NOT at least make an attempt to learn the language. When I vacation in Mexico, I speak as much Spanish as I can muster - it's not much, but if I lived there, I'd be up and running within a couple months. It's not that hard when you're immersed in and respect the culture, and give a crap to learn.

Surely you fucking jest. You think it is possible to learn another language in a few months. BULLLLLLLLLLLLSSHHHHHHHHITTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

<----- foreign language major (Spanish)

I'm also studying German. I had 4 years of it in High School and I'm continuing on at the University level.

I've spent several months abroad. Immersion helps, but it won't get you "up and running" in just a couple of months. You *have* to have formal instruction unless you grow up in a bilingual home or something similar. That's just the way it is. Now, there are some people that are gifted at languages and can learn very quickly, but it still takes more than a few months for them to become adept at a new language. It isn't just vocabulary but correct pronunciation, grammar, the ability to speak AND write as well as understand varying accents.

 

[imported_Tango]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: moshquerade

Originally posted by: joshsquall
This is why Congress needs to pass a law making English the official language of the US.

"In the first place we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag, which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Theodore Roosevelt
---------------
"Americanization" was a favorite theme of Roosevelt's during his later years, when he railed repeatedly against "hyphenated Americans" and the prospect of a nation "brought to ruins" by a "tangle of squabbling nationalities."

He advocated the compulsory learning of English by every naturalized citizen. "Every immigrant who comes here should be required within five years to learn English or to leave the country," he said in a statement to the Kansas City Star in 1918. "English should be the only language taught or used in the public schools."

He also insisted, on more than one occasion, that America has no room for what he called "fifty-fifty allegiance." In a speech made in 1917 he said, "It is our boast that we admit the immigrant to full fellowship and equality with the native-born. In return we demand that he shall share our undivided allegiance to the one flag which floats over all of us."

link

i love how no one commented on this post so i will, Teddy here had the right idea, simple as that,

My great grandparents came here round the turn of the last century, from Italy, my great grandfatherrefused to speak or write Italian after they got here, they refused to teach it to my grandparents because ?we live in America and we speak English" my grandfather fought in WW2 for the US, stormed the beaches of Normandy, killed Italians...

i highly doubt you would ever see a Mexican doing anything of the like, as the OP said they come here because its "better" and then make it just as craptastic as where they came from

its not just Mexicans who do this, they just do it more then most others, some groups of people try and assimilate as best they can, and many enjoy doing so, however it seems the legal and illegal Mexicans want to make the southern part of the US part of Mexico

I really hope he didn't. By the time the Americans landed in Normandy Italy had been part of the Allies for almost a year...

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: glutenberg

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: Casawi

Originally posted by: shinerburke
At least that's what I think has happened.

I'm sitting here watching Sunday Night Football on NBC and have seen several commercials in Spanish, the screen graphics(down, distance, etc, etc,) for the game have been in Spanish occasionally and Al Michaels just pointed out that the game was being broadcast in Spanish on Telemundo.

THIS IS ALL BULLSHIT! I'm so fricking sick and tired of road signs in Spanish, government forms in Spanish, Spanish announcements being made in Target/Wal-Mart/Sears/etc... and going into a restaurant and nobody working there can speak anything but Spanish.

This is the United States of America and we speak English here. If you want to immigrate then learn the god damned language! Don't expect us to adapt to you. You moved here....YOU ADAPT! You obviously came here because you country is a pile of crap and you had to come here to get a better life. If you did it illegally...GET THE FUCK OUT! If you did it legally then assimilate and stop trying to recreate your craptastic culture here.

You're an idiot my man, what can I say. Maybe arrogant too.

Yeah...I'm an idiot because I expect people to be able to speak the language of the country they have chosen to immigrate to. How stupid of me.

I'm going to venture a guess and say that you were born here and have not immigrated to another country before. I would also venture a guess that you haven't been alive long enough to see or you haven't looked up the data regarding how the Hispanic wave is within historical norms for assimilation.

Yes I was born here, no I have not immigrated to another country. However I have been all over the world and did not expect the people of the various countries I was in to speak English. I tried to pick up the basics of the language of whatever country I was visiting before I got there. That is common sense and what any reasonable person would do.

If I were to immigrate to...say Germany...I would not expect them to provide me with government forms in English, put up English street signs, etc, etc, etc.....

For an example of how stupid it has gotten here they are now doing naturalization ceremonies in Spanish. Tell me that isn't fucked up. I mean c'mon...you come here and want to become a citizen yet at the end of the process you still can't speak the language? That is beyond ridiculous. Hell I can't even believe we are pansy assed enough to do it. No, I take that back, I can.

Historic norms of assimilation? Maybe for some, but not the more recent wave. Like I have stated twice before. They are now teaching classes in the public school system here in Spanish. These aren't kids that just arrived, these are kids that were born here but their parent's won't allow them to learn English. That to is beyond ridiculous and it pisses me off to stratospheric levels that my tax dollars are paying for such bullshit.

The latest study for assimilation is based on the current legal Hispanic immigrants. Your rant is more appropriate for "hating" on illegals being here and their refusal to adapt. And let's be honest, illegal immigrants are generally not here to assimilate but to work and return home.

There are many public school systems that have taught in foreign languages. ESL classes often time offer help by using multi-language speakers. Immigrants who move here only need to learn a bare minimum of English. Generally speaking, most immigrants have not nor will ever move to the US with a solid understanding of English. This is particularly true for the older generation. The people who will eventually adapt are the young and the working. This is how it is now and this is how it has been consistently throughout history.

Exactly.

 

[CorCentral]

Originally posted by: Mill

Originally posted by: rivan

Originally posted by: Chaotic42

Originally posted by: aurareturn
Why should they be forced to become what we are?

Because they came here.

See... I think it would be asinine of me to go anywhere else in the world and NOT at least make an attempt to learn the language. When I vacation in Mexico, I speak as much Spanish as I can muster - it's not much, but if I lived there, I'd be up and running within a couple months. It's not that hard when you're immersed in and respect the culture, and give a crap to learn.

Surely you fucking jest. You think it is possible to learn another language in a few months. BULLLLLLLLLLLLSSHHHHHHHHITTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

<----- foreign language major (Spanish)

I'm also studying German. I had 4 years of it in High School and I'm continuing on at the University level.

I've spent several months abroad. Immersion helps, but it won't get you "up and running" in just a couple of months. You *have* to have formal instruction unless you grow up in a bilingual home or something similar. That's just the way it is. Now, there are some people that are gifted at languages and can learn very quickly, but it still takes more than a few months for them to become adept at a new language. It isn't just vocabulary but correct pronunciation, grammar, the ability to speak AND write as well as understand varying accents.

On the part about being gifted........... Has anyone seen that one program on tv where the guy learns Icelandic in 7 days?
Watch this video

 

[imported_Tango]

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: sygyzy

Originally posted by: shinerburke

Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
Tell that to the Native Americans who were forced to listen to our foreign language (while we systematically raped everything they had).

Have some tolerance. How is it affecting you other than bringing out the bigot in you?

Oh STFU. The whole Native American argument is weak as water. If you want to get into that sort of stupidity then let's go all the way back to when human kind first wandered out of Africa. I have a Masters Degree in Native American History and Culture so don't think you're talking to an idiot when it comes to that subject.

The point is the Mexicans are the only people in the history of this country who have immigrated and refused to assimilate. Instead of doing what generations of immigrants before them have done, learn our culture and language, they bull headedly insist on maintaining the very culture they escaped from and don't want to learn our language. It is ridiculous that governments have had to go to the expense of printing a multitude of official forms in Spanish, that they have had to replace perfectly good street/highway signs with new bilingual ones. How fucked up is that? If you can't read the language you sure as hell shouldn't be driving and likely don't even have a license or insurance.

You are obviously a liar. I don't believe for a second you have a masters degree, in anything, let alone Native American History and Culture.

Who creates the signs in spanish? What about the captioning on the tv shows you watch? You think Mexicans have guns to the heads of NBC and Vons supermarkets (or whatever) to put signs in Spanish? Oh wait, those are companies all owned and operated by white Americans. Why don't you boycott or lobby them for change? Also, Mexicans are not the only people that speak Spanish but I am sure to you Mexican means any Hispanic person. Spanish is spoken by 425 million people worldwide. That's larger than the population of the U.S. Finally, how is their culture "craptastic"? I can understand, barely, not wanting to see Spanish on your football games, but what does any of this have to do with judging their culture to be "craptastic"?

I have the following degrees:

B.A. in History
M.A. in History with specialization in Native American Cultures & Religion
BS in Political Science
BS in Geography

Believe it or not...but that is a fact.

The street signs were created in Spanish by the city and state governments. The signs in the businesses were created by the businesses themselves. I'm not talking just about stores like Wal-Mart, Target, etc...I'm talking about all the strip mall stores here in what is quickly becoming Little Mexico in the Northeast part of the city. Do those stores have signs in them in English as well as Spanish? No, I've been in them just out of curiosity. In fact when I walked in the people in there couldn't speak English.

No any Hispanic person is not Mexican. I'm talking about Mexican immigrants. Many of them illegal. Any damn fool knows that.

If their culture is so wonderful then why are they fleeing it in the first place?

Based on the degrees and the questions and considerations you pose, I must say you lost a lot of time taking those degrees.

Seriously, I am sure if you go back to the material covered in all those classes you can answer your own questions.

 

[IronWing]

Originally posted by: CorCentral

On the part about being gifted........... Has anyone seen that one program on tv where the guy learns Icelandic in 7 days?
Watch this video

Once you've learned the words for "hot tub", "vodka", and "herring" what's left to learn?

 

[Mill]

BTW, did you ever consider that businesses are trying to expand their consumer demographic and make money? That's why they were showing those examples (I didn't see it, so I'm not sure what you are talking about), and that's why they have commercials like that. There's a demand to get a new wave of consumers to buy goods. Companies would be batshit insane NOT to advertise toward Hispanic consumers.

I've personally watched my wife making a purchasing decision simply because a label had a Spanish translation or it came with directions in Spanish. She speaks English! But her native tongue will ALWAYS be Spanish. If companies want to increase their revenue they will market toward a new segment of society. This will always happen.

Finally, a lot of products you see in the US that have Spanish and English translations are a cost cutting method. With NAFTA many companies can ship the same products transnationally and use the same labels. They cut menu costs and labeling costs by using one label instead of two. You will also encounter labels that have French, Spanish and English, and some that are just French and English. It is the same idea -- have a universal label for the French speaking areas of Canada.

NAFTA is integrating the economies, and the SMART businesses are reducing their cost by printing universal languages and instructions. Go look at a TV manual or the instructions for a bookshelf. Many times they are in half-a-dozen to a dozen languages.

There's two reason for why businesses use signage in foreign languages. One is to attract consumers and the other is to reduce costs. That's why banks, airlines, DirectTV, and other businesses offer Spanish speaking CSRs. A lot of people are uncomfortable doing all of their business in English -- especially when it is a complicated task or deals with money. They want safety and security of their native tongue. It isn't to "help the lazy Mexicans" out not matter how much you want to believe that but due to smart business decisions.

As for governmental forms being in different languages... a lot of the time it is a public safety issue. Health Departments have to ensure the public's health and they have many tools that are in Spanish to help ensure children get vaccinated, reduce unwanted pregnancies, and treat those with communicable diseases. Immigrants can just download a language into their brain. It takes time to learn how to interpret forms when it comes to technical things like health, commerce, and government regulations.

I can read and speak Spanish pretty damn well, but I myself struggle when reading medical jargon or technical business documents in Spanish. I can navigate a lot of bureaucracy in Spanish, but there's been times I've not been able to figure out what 3 or 4 different lines of a form meant, and had to get help.

Speaking passable English and being able to discuss/read about your medical condition, read financial disclosures, or carry out a complex task go over and beyond basic English. You just don't realize it because you've been doing it all your life.

My wife struggles at times with understanding certain things. Sometimes it is cooking directions. Sometimes it is forms at the doctor or when purchasing something. She speaks good English, but she learned it at in High School and at her University. They don't teach you slang and technical jargon or all the necessary words and phrases to be able to understand your doctor or fill out confusing paperwork in triplicate.

Yes, there are *some* immigrants who refuse to assimilate and refuse to even attempt to learn English. But they aren't just Mexicans, and they aren't just Spanish speakers. You just notice Hispanics because they are the largest groups of immigrants. You think everyone working at your favorite sushi bar or Chinese restaurant speaks passable English? Highly unlikely.

Finally, people railed against immigrants at the turn of the last century. It is nothing new. They used the same tired old arguments as well. They refuse to assimilate, blah blah blah. Well, 99% of them have haven't they? The second and third generation Germans, Poles, Italians, Swedes, etc now speak perfect English. When you work 16 hours a day just to make ends meet it is sometimes hard to get formal -- and expensive -- training to learn English. Most immigrants learn English through trial and error and through English exposure through TV, work, or school. Cut them a break. We were all immigrants and one time or another -- unless, of course, you are Native American.

 

[Steve]

Originally posted by: sdifox
Nor did I get schooled in Spanish when I got to Toronto.

Or French?

 

[Steve]

:music: And I've got such a long way to go :music:
:music: ... (Such a long way to go ... ) :music:
:music: To make it to the border of Mexico, :music:
:music: So I ride ... like the wind, :music:
:music: ride like the wind! :music: