Right to protest, common sense need not apply here

[ThisYouWillDo]

...Fuck em, learn to speak English ...

Fuck you! What is it about English speakers? Too stupid or too lazy to cope with any other language: they'd rather commit genocide than learn a new language.

When the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to England, they didn't bother to learn the local language. They imposed their own. Later their descendants tried to eradicate the native languages of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. They successfully eradicated Cornish and Manx. This was deliberate policy - to control the population.

In the Americas, the same people wiped out the native languages and imposed their own. In India, Australia and New Zealand, their cousins did the same to a greater or lesser degree. And, of course, the same thing happened in Africa.

There's something very flawed in the nature of people descended from those small German tribes: a fearful arrogance and self-righteousness replacing a desire to accomodate and to adapt. Xenophobic, to use a foreign word, and paranoid, to use another.

The point about any dual language school is to promote both languages and to improve understanding and harmony. Refusal to accomodate other languages can only lead to isolationism and ignorance - and that's only worthy of "Little Americans".

TYWD

P.S. Go to any of the countries you mentioned, and you'll easily find someone who can speak English. You won't have to have learned their language at all. Go to Sweden or any Scandinavian country, and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't speak English (s/he'll probably speak German instead!).

I once had occasion to telephone a filling station in Sweden (from the UK). The telephone was answered in Swedish, as you would expect. My first words were, "Do you speak English?" and the girl replied, without hesitation, and in that beautiful Scandinavian accent, "Of course, Sir."

[Thorne]

Speaking for myself, I tend to agree that Americans, especially, tend to balk at learning other lanquages. But the issue in this country right now is whether we, as a nation, should be required to cater to every language spoken by "visitors" to our land. I have no quarrel with someone emigrating here and retaining their own language and customs. What I do object to is the concept that the United States is REQUIRED to help them retain their language without learning English.

If you come to this land with a French driver's license it will be accepted by any police force in the country, whether or not you can speak English. But if you want to apply for a driver's license from here, I feel it is only reasonable to expect you to learn at least enough English to take the test. Too many people feel that we must provide the test in their native language, at our expense.

True, many European natives speak English quite well. I am constantly, and pleasantly, surprised by the number of people from overseas who can make themselves understood, at least, in my language. I know, despite taking several languages in school, I could not do the same. But if I were to move to, for example, Germany, I would expect myself to learn the language there, for my own benefit if for no other reason. I would not, could not, expect everyone I meet to understand English, nor would I expect the German government to kowtow to my inability to speak their language.

Like many in this country, my ancestors moved here from central Europe. They came speaking little or no English, and they settled in areas where others who spoke their language already lived. But they worked to learn English, because they had adopted this country as their home, and because they wanted to become citizens. Their children, my grandparents, were taught in English speaking schools, and had to learn from English speaking teachers. They didn't expect their teachers or their classmates to understand Polish or Slavik. And this is the way things still are in virtually every country in the world. You want to live there, you'd better learn the language.

Yet in this country we are being inundated with DEMANDS for bi-lingual schools, primarily English and Spanish. More and more ads and signs are being posted in both languages. There was even a case in Philadelphia where a store owner was blasted by the city politicians for posting a sign in his store saying "English only spoken here." In my mind this is criminal.

There are strong reasons why English is so common in large areas of the world. The primary one is probably the influence of Hollywood on young people everywhere. Many businesses throughout the world want, or wanted, to do business here, and needed to learn the language. (Conversely, it seems that American companies wanting to do business overseas haven't always bothered to learn the languages and customs of their customers. That is also appalling and arrogant in the extreme.)

As for specialized schooling for other cultures or ethnic groups, I have no problems with that. But if they want to be citizens of this country, they should be required to ALSO learn English. After all, they have come here, presumably, for a better life. Trying to turn us into what they left behind is counterproductive at best!

[Thorne]

When the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to England, they didn't bother to learn the local language. They imposed their own. Later their descendants tried to eradicate the native languages of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. They successfully eradicated Cornish and Manx. This was deliberate policy - to control the population.

In the Americas, the same people wiped out the native languages and imposed their own. In India, Australia and New Zealand, their cousins did the same to a greater or lesser degree. And, of course, the same thing happened in Africa.

One thing to remember: those people came as conquerors, not as immigrants. They imposed their own languages and cultures on the survivors of the conquered lands. And it wasn't only English speakers. Many parts of the Caribbean and West Africa speak French to this day. Most of Central and South America speak Spanish or Portugese. Even Canada retains a remnant of French colonialism in Quebec. And let's not forget, French and Spanish and Italian, of course, are derived at least in part from the Latin spoken by their Roman conquerors. Even German and Russian have Latin influences, notably the titles Kaiser and Czar, which come from the Latin Caesar.

[ThisYouWillDo]

One thing to remember: those people came as conquerors, not as immigrants. They imposed their own languages and cultures on the survivors of the conquered lands. And it wasn't only English speakers. Many parts of the Caribbean and West Africa speak French to this day. Most of Central and South America speak Spanish or Portugese. Even Canada retains a remnant of French colonialism in Quebec. And let's not forget, French and Spanish and Italian, of course, are derived at least in part from the Latin spoken by their Roman conquerors. Even German and Russian have Latin influences, notably the titles Kaiser and Czar, which come from the Latin Caesar.

The first wave, the invaders, were the conquerors. After them came the migrants who wanted to settle the new lands their warriors had conquered. And it was then that the new language bagan to be imposed.

Yes, the French and Spanish did it too. Does that make it better?

I'm not sure what your point is about German and Russian having Latin influences. I believe that much of Germany and all of Russia stayed outside the Roman Empire so could not have a foreign tongue foisted upon them by conquerors. However, if it was useful, they would adopt Latin words to serve a purpose their own language failed to fulfil. English does that all the time. Let's see. From Arabic we have, admiral, alcove, candy, chemistry, genie, hazard, jar, lemon, lute, magazine, mattress, nadir, racket, sash, syrup, tariff, and zero - a selection from the hundreds of words used in everyday English from Arabic languages.

TYWD

[Midnite]

Fuck you! What is it about English speakers? Too stupid or too lazy to cope with any other language: they'd rather commit genocide than learn a new language.

When the Angles, Saxons and Jutes came to England, they didn't bother to learn the local language. They imposed their own. Later their descendants tried to eradicate the native languages of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. They successfully eradicated Cornish and Manx. This was deliberate policy - to control the population.

In the Americas, the same people wiped out the native languages and imposed their own. In India, Australia and New Zealand, their cousins did the same to a greater or lesser degree. And, of course, the same thing happened in Africa.

There's something very flawed in the nature of people descended from those small German tribes: a fearful arrogance and self-righteousness replacing a desire to accomodate and to adapt. Xenophobic, to use a foreign word, and paranoid, to use another.

The point about any dual language school is to promote both languages and to improve understanding and harmony. Refusal to accomodate other languages can only lead to isolationism and ignorance - and that's only worthy of "Little Americans".

TYWD

P.S. Go to any of the countries you mentioned, and you'll easily find someone who can speak English. You won't have to have learned their language at all. Go to Sweden or any Scandinavian country, and you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't speak English (s/he'll probably speak German instead!).

I once had occasion to telephone a filling station in Sweden (from the UK). The telephone was answered in Swedish, as you would expect. My first words were, "Do you speak English?" and the girl replied, without hesitation, and in that beautiful Scandinavian accent, "Of course, Sir."

You know I don't know when it was that you decided you didn't like me, and I really don't care why or when, but if you can't hold an intelligent conversation without insulting me then, no fuck you!

Why should I have to learn to speak another language, I live in America, English is the normal language here, so I see no need to learn to speak another language. I am not stupid or lazy.I would put my IQ up against yours any day of the week like I said don't insult me any more jackass!