Something that I have never understood is why we are starting to have two languages here in the US. I must admit that I get more than a little annoyed when I hear "Para Espanole...." Every immigrant group which came here from another country learned how to speak English. Can anyone answer for me why there is a large chunk of our population who refuses to learn English? I'm not saying this to be critical, I just don't understand why someone would leave their country and go to live permanently in another country and not learn the language. If I were to move to Argentina or any other Spanish speaking country I would learn the language. Why isn't it the other way around?
Ultimately it seems to come down to supply and demand. A large enough portion of your immigrant population speaks spanish as a first language (the demand, why not get served in the language you are most comfortable in if given the choice) and the government and many businesses provide the supply. Look at it this way, it's almost capitalism in it's purest form! :angel1:
Oh and if you get concerned about english being used in the USA we can send down the language police from Quebec. Only catch is you have to keep them!
Dos, actually it's because of our proximity to Canada that I ask the question. I know that there is a great deal of resentment in Canada about the language issue and I'm concerned that the same thing can happen here. I just don't understand why there is not an urge to learn the language. I certainly understand the supply and demand side. The same can be seen at TTR where almost everyone speaks some English because of the Anglo North American clientele. I don't understand why this one group comes to the US and insists on not learning the language. I'm always willing to learn something new and this issue is something that has bothered me for years so I'm looking to learn why they don't/won't learn English.
My guess is that it's because the Spanish speaking communities are so large (relatively) that they don't feel the need to speak english to get by. In that respect I don't really get too upset (looking at immigrant populations here, it's really a slight annoyance to me). I just hope that you guys don't get to the point where the government starts regulating language on signs etc the same way Quebec has. There for example you can be ticketed for having an English word being written more prominently than a French word on a sign. If I were in the living in the States I would say fine speak whatever you want but when working for me, if I were an employer, you must be at least proficient in English. As far as I know Spanish isn't legally an official language of the USA so beyond being good business (getting that market share) there shouldn't be a requirement to deal in anything other than english. I'd say the same of Mexico, sure you don't have to know English to operate a resort that caters mostly to english speakers, no legal reason to, but if you want to be successful you probably should. Hope I didn't ramble too much there!
Perhaps a little tolerance is in order, if only for historic reasons. The U.S. invaded and conquered the young Republic of Mexico and permanently annexed one third of its territory- where Gomez and Gonzales were far more common last names than Smith and Jones- in a war little remembered by Americans, but not forgotten in a land where every city has streets named for its young heroes who died trying to defend their country. Do you have a Winfield Scott Street, named for the American General that lead the largest U.S. amphibious assault in history prior to WWII, landing 10,000 U.S. soldiers at Vera Cruz, Mexico, in 1845; then, advanced on Mexico City, which he captured? Maybe there is something about this we'd just as soon forget.... The U.S.-Mexican War | PBS
Umm....and is anyone going to point out that English isn't the official language of the US? We don't have one because this country is supposed to be a "melting pot." I mean, really, why does everyone want to speak English - when we came here we should have learned at least one version of a Native American language, no? But, instead, there were more people speaking english, so we forced them to learn that. And when Americans go around the world MOST don't bother to learn a lick of the language of whatever country they visit. How much spanish do you know, yet you're on a website about Mexico? :bash:
Ive long been curious to why the US doesnt have an official language. I think Roxie has a couple of great points.
I wasn't aware that the US didn't have an official language. Kind of makes sense then that using my supply and demand analogy that the number of people who speak a certain language would have a proportional reflection on how many services you can get in it. And I'll freely admit that I have never had a formal spanish class, I like to try to throw in a few simple phrases when I can while in Cancun. And I am very thankful that the good people in Cancun and other areas of Mexico where us tourist types go are willing to put up with our lack of ability to speak the language of the land!
