Q of the D - LIW has been soooo slowwwwww

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Posted by RisiLeigh

My father has a T-shirt that says: 'Welcome to America - NOW SPEAK ENGLISH!' I think that about sums it up for me

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FH has that shirt

I do not think Spanish should be the second language of America. English is the 2nd language in some parts of my town and it S U C K S that I cannot shop in some stores - I agree with you Megan. I am very against anyone living in this country if they cannot speak English - or those who choose not to. At home, fine - in public, speak English. This goes for ANYONE of any ethnic group.

Catie I think we are on the same page!!!

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Posted by dajc23

I feel at this rate English is going to soon be the 2nd language, and Spanish the first.
I would never go to another country and expect the people around me to learn MY language. If I made the decision to move to a foreign place, I'd have to assimilate (sp?) to that way of life.

I have plenty of family members who have come to this country from Italy and each and every one of them learned English. Why is it so hard for others?

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My thoughts exactly. I would not move to another country, and assume they are going to learn how to speak my language. I feel that's lazy. My grandmother came over from Italy with NO English, and learned it because she was living in AMERICA!

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Posted by Lacey08

What really annoys me is when people speak a different language at a grocery store, nail place, etc. when clearly they can speak English just fine.

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That doesn't bother me. I really don't care what they have to say anyway.

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Posted by Lacey08

What really annoys me is when people speak a different language at a grocery store, nail place, etc. when clearly they can speak English just fine.

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I call people all day that are looking to take the GMAT or the GRE, and a LOT of them speak Spanish. What annoys me is when someone who doesn't supposedly speak English...says with perfect clarity 'I don't speak English'. What is that about? If you don't speak the language how are you communicating with me?

As someone who is perfectly bi-lingual (Spanish and English) I do not believe that it should be an official language of the United States. This is and should remain an officially English language speaking country. Even though it could be argued that maybe we should've learned all the native American dialects when we first came to this country (just being devil's advocate here.)

That being said....I think Americans should speak more than just English. It is common...especially in Europe to speak more than just your native language and it opens up your perspective and leads to less isolationism. Maybe we should know French and Spanish since our neighboring countries are Canada (a bi-lingual nation) and Mexico. After all we live in a increasingly global economy.

In terms of Spanish speaking immigrants, I absolutely do think they should learn English.....and many do....but they should not have leave behind Spanish and should teach their children how to speak Spanish. I also think while many of them do speak English, many of us English speakers have hard times with accents and immediately assume that they may not have learned English. I think this applies to anyone with an accent not just Spanish speakers. Just an observation I've made.

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Posted by Lacey08

What really annoys me is when people speak a different language at a grocery store, nail place, etc. when clearly they can speak English just fine.

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I speak a different language and don't see ANYTHING wrong with anyone speaking whatever language they want.
This is a touchy subject, its like politics and religion... Everyone things differently

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Posted by cbcf

that is my feeling. i dont think it should be accepted to come to this country and NEVER learn ENGLISH!! My FH's parents came from Romania and you bet their butt's they learned English---so I don't think it is fair for some to learn the English language and others not to. And we are AMERICA not SPANISH AMERICA. Sorry a touchy subject for me

Plus as an educator (soon to be) I do not feel I should HAVE to learn Spanish to communicate with my students. I am all for students being bilingual and speaking their 1st lang at home or where ever...but school there is no need. Plus I have had to deal with trying to collaborate with parents who cannot speak English and they use their children as a translator. I am sorry but another child should not do that for you. It makes them take on the roll of sort of the superior in a sense and i just don't agree with it.

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Posted by autumnbride10

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Posted by Lacey08

What really annoys me is when people speak a different language at a grocery store, nail place, etc. when clearly they can speak English just fine.

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I call people all day that are looking to take the GMAT or the GRE, and a LOT of them speak Spanish. What annoys me is when someone who doesn't supposedly speak English...says with perfect clarity 'I don't speak English'. What is that about? If you don't speak the language how are you communicating with me?

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that is so funny because my mom is a nurse and she has patients come in and the kids are speaking for their parents who supposedly dont speak english or they ask for the english speaking nurses' aide at my mom's office and they say can i speak to _____ (her name) and then they go back to speaking all spanish?! If you can say that in perfect english why can't you speak to the doctor and nurse in english. my mom hates it bec she has alot of spanish speaking people who come into her office asking to speak with the aide and the aide hates it bec she said she came from ecuador and had to learn english they should too!

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Posted by Lacey08

What really annoys me is when people speak a different language at a grocery store, nail place, etc. when clearly they can speak English just fine.

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Are they speaking to each other? If so, then why does it bother you? It's their conversation, they should speak whatever they want to with each other.

i don't think there is anything wrong with speaking a second or third language but we are in america we should all learn the native (english) language. and i know spanish i took it all 4 yrs in high school and some in college, i also took sign language for 2 yrs and i can understand romanian (bec of fh's family)

but i don't feel it is fair to americans or immigrants who came to this country gained their citizenship and learned the english language.

but to have a second lang taught in schools is wonderful...such a french, german,polish etc. BUT we shouldn't do that until our students can learn english first.

in order to unite a country as one, there must be one language in order to communicate between all people from neighbors to the President of the US. Imagine how divided it will become if we lose the ability to communicate the basics of life? Since this is America, English is the default language. I feel everyone should know the basics 'whats your name, how much is this, i cant breath, where is the bathroom.....' I don't care what people speak at home but make an effort in English.

At work, i have sooooo many spanish speaking people interrogate me about why i don't speak Spanish as if im in the wrong... it drives me nuts. With that said i do think being multi-lingual should be encouraged but we need one unifying language........

I personally feel that EVERYONE should speak English first b/4 we even worry about speaking any 2nd language. My dad is an off the boat Italian and he learned to speak English, and he came here when he was 13... FH parents are both off the boaters(Greece) and they came here around the same age and they too learned English.

I think it is horrible when i drive down certain roads and i can not read the signs to stores b/c they are written in a different language....

Like the shirt says 'WELCOME TO AMERICA... NOW SPEAK ENGLISH!'

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Posted by cbcf

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Posted by autumnbride10

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Posted by Lacey08

What really annoys me is when people speak a different language at a grocery store, nail place, etc. when clearly they can speak English just fine.

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I call people all day that are looking to take the GMAT or the GRE, and a LOT of them speak Spanish. What annoys me is when someone who doesn't supposedly speak English...says with perfect clarity 'I don't speak English'. What is that about? If you don't speak the language how are you communicating with me?

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that is so funny because my mom is a nurse and she has patients come in and the kids are speaking for their parents who supposedly dont speak english or they ask for the english speaking nurses' aide at my mom's office and they say can i speak to _____ (her name) and then they go back to speaking all spanish?! If you can say that in perfect english why can't you speak to the doctor and nurse in english. my mom hates it bec she has alot of spanish speaking people who come into her office asking to speak with the aide and the aide hates it bec she said she came from ecuador and had to learn english they should too!

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It's true. When we have a promotion with something for free...all of the sudden their English gets much better.

My parents came here from Italy and learned the language. IRONICALLY, they both also had to learn Spanish when they got jobs because they worked with many Hispanic people!

They have accents, but can communicate and my siblings and I speak perfect English.

I don't know - my parents didnt even finish HS and they were still able to pick up the language by without even taking any classes. . . so I don't understand why so many people don't make the effort.

ON THE OTHER HAND, when my mother starts talking and people hear an accent they just turn to me and ask ME to answer for her. Um, no - she speaks English have a little patience and maybe ask her to repeat what she was saying!!

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Posted by KK Holiday

i think first we should designate English as the official first language of the US

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Agreed!

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Posted by missliss

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Posted by Lacey08

What really annoys me is when people speak a different language at a grocery store, nail place, etc. when clearly they can speak English just fine.

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Are they speaking to each other? If so, then why does it bother you? It's their conversation, they should speak whatever they want to with each other.

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Completely agree.

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Posted by ant n tilde

ON THE OTHER HAND, when my mother starts talking and people hear an accent they just turn to me and ask ME to answer for her. Um, no - she speaks English have a little patience and maybe ask her to repeat what she was saying!!

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This is in part what I was talking about towards the end of my post.