To those who think we should have to learn spanish since we have spanish speaking people immigrating here?

Molly Pitcher

Exactly... all or none. I say none, unless a person elects to for educational purposes. English has worked for the past 380+ years, millions have assimilated just fine, no need for us to change things now because some are too lazy to try. I don't expect perfect, fluent English overnight - just an effort and willingness to try.

I can speak more than one language, and I use them when I travel. But when I'm in the States, I only speak English (unless its an emergency situation where someone needs help). I refuse to accommodate those who can't be bothered to make an effort.

eastchic2001

I don't think anyone should HAVE to learn Spanish. I just think it is beneficial to people who hope to work in many industries to learn Spanish. There is no harm in learning a second language, and it is definitely a bonus when getting a job. The reason that the focus is on Spanish because of our proximity to Mexico, in addition to the fact that the majority of immigrants are from Mexico (and thus speak Spanish).

I don't think it should be required, but I do like that some schools (I don't know if all state do) require students to take at least one foreign language.

No one should be required to learn any other language. But the reality is that we live in an increasing bilingual (Spanish - English) nation, so people that do learn Spanish have a foot up in getting jobs in most occupations.

I personally don't know Spanish, besides basic rudimentary stuff. I have taken spanish classes (to satisfy degree requirements), but I am by no means capable of speaking Spanish in a work environment. I wish I could.

Pagan Dan

It's numbers. As more and more businesses have Spanish-speaking clients and customers, they will want to increasingly hire employees who can deal with the customers. It's got nothing to do with language rights or "preserving heritage", or disrespect for minority language groups, or anything like that. It's got everything to do with providing good service. If people cannot speak English well, and no employee can talk to them, they will go elsewhere.

It wouldn't do any harm to learn Chinese either, by the way, as that is the way of the future. On the other hand, I don't think I would bother with Russian or German or any of the other languages you mentioned, unless it was for a girl I liked--and I'm too old and too married for that nonsense.

v Ã b o r a

No,of course Spanish is not and should never be mandatory.
Something to keep in mind is that the U.S. contains the world's fifth-largest Spanish speaking population.Respect their rights.
As for the immigrants,why is there an assumption that if people don't know English it's because they don't want to learn it? What about that people that are trying to learn it but haven't got there yet?It takes time.
You don't have to learn it,but Spanish skills can be an advantage, particularly in states with large Hispanic populations(just demographic realities)

Felipe Mankiller first kiss

WHERE are you people getting this information that
WE SHOULD HAVE TO SPEAK SPANISH ....please ....
who is telling you that ?
Surely you arent that stupid that you think we all have to start speaking spanish. If someone speaks a different language to you and you dont wish to speak with them , walk off.
If you traveled around the world you would find millons and millions of people in hundreds of countries speak english , it certainly no crime to learn another language. Its a sign of intelliegence I think and evidently some of you cant even master English.

Mendi8a

no one says u have to learn anything! where are you getting that from?

LeighAnn D

I say we learn whatever languages that we want!

It's "our" not "are",maybe u should try learning English first!

evalicious

You don't have to, but it might really benefit you. For instance, if you work in a restaurant and there are several coworkers whose English is limited, you can communicate with them better. Also, many jobs give better pay to bilinguals. The best reason to learn Spanish, or any other language for that matter, is that it is good for your brain. I just read a study that showed that learning another language can actually improve your memory. Children that learn a second language have higher IQ's and have more success in school.

game over

i think u should learn as many languages as u are capable of , people from other first wold countries are always looking at the Americans down because of the fact they do and in American we don't , those of us who believe u should learn Spanish only believe u should learn because of the number of Hispanics in the USA , however if u do not want to learn then don't do it , it is u who misses the opportunities because u can't , it is ur life so live it as u want . by the way should and must are not the same thing . i personally would like to be able to speak Portuguese , Italian and any of the main Indian languages of north America , i think we all should learn from them as much as possible , i do not think its fair the way everyone speaks about how everyone MUST learn english while forgetting about the native Americans whose language should had been learned by everyone who decided to come into their territories ( just my opinion ) .

EDIT :

it is a matter of what its better to U being able to speak any of the five Chinese languages could help u but they would not help u as much as being able to speak Spanish , as i said ur choice .

keve

"who you calling immigrant, pilgram?"
- anyomous native american

Dirty Martini

I don't think we should HAVE to learn to speak any foreign language in the USA.

The Constitution of the USA is written in English. The Declaration of Independence. The Bill of Rights.

If someone chooses to learn to speak a 2nd language, great, more power to them.

But HAVE to?

Not on your life. If someone wants to live and work in the US, then they must learn to speak English.

Its as simple as that.

ritzysmom

I don't think we should learn Spanish because of the immigrants coming in, but because it is the language of one of our neighbors. The other neighbor is predominantly English speaking with the exception of Quebec and even most of them are as fluent in English as they are in French. Most Europeans learn study in school the language of at least one of their neighbors (Germans study French, for example) as well as studying English for more than one year as it is seen as the language of international commerce as most countries throughout the world have been exposed to English through British colonialism and hence teach it in their schools as a language that they can communicate with any one from any other country in.
I think that everyone should be required to take a year or two of ANY foreign language just simply for the wonderful exercise it gives the brain. So if it is Spanish, it sure wouldn't hurt anyone. And for those kids who come from native Spanish speaking families, they should be made to take French or something else for their foreign language credits for high school graduation.
I don't think we should be accomodating them linguistically. As long as we do, they are not going to learn the language, there is on incentive. And we do them a disservice in that bcause as long as our native language is NOT Spanish, they will encounter situations where they will need to talk to someone and no one will know Spanish. The same as every VietNamese, Chinese, Polish, Kenyan, Iraqi, Afghan, Malaysian, etc immigrant finds themselves many times a day/week after they have come to the US.
And given that there is a different dialect of Spanish for every Central and South American country and even various regions of Mexico, even if we all studied Spanish there is still going to be things lost in translation. Try speaking to a Philipino whose dialect is Tagalog. THere is Spanish sprikled in and bent around their native pre-Spanish colonialim native tongue.

icpooreman

well I totally agree that english should remain the official language of the US and we shouldn't force people to speak spanish there is a reason they want people to start learning spanish.

It's because if recent population trends continue within my lifetime (I'm 23 and I'm assuming I live to be like 80 or 100) the majority of people in the US will be spanish speaking americans. Now whether or not recent population trends continue is debatable but it's obvious that spanish is and is going to be important to know in several major US cities in the future.

Edit:
it's not racist economically it makes sense. I mean we're not making special accomodations because they're spanish. We're making accomodations because they'll be a significant portion of the voting public. If half the population of the US spoke chinese we'd push for americans to speak some chinese.

In Europe many people know multiple languages it's not a big deal and it's a big help to the economy that those people can somewhat communicate with one another.

Cesar

I don't think, (as you want to make us believe) that all Spanish Speakers want USAers speak Spanish.
If some of them want, (maybe 1% ), I'd call them lazzies.

All immigrants have to addapt themselves to the way of living of the country where they emigrate.

But I've seen even Asian, or Armenian people speaking happily a poor spanish in California in order to SELL anything to hispanic immigrants.

And of course it would help you to learn more than one language.

Jared

I live in the U.S., we speak English here. If you want to do business at my work, you must speak English. That's just the way it is. We don't cater to the lazy who don't want to learn the de facto national language when they live here full time.

edwinjoel22

As a natural result of cultural conflict, ethnic strife and separatism grow:

â€œAmerican secessions have rarely been viewed with alarm [but] in the 1990s...we are more inclined to consider them a serious threat to national unity, especially since that unity is being stretched to the breaking point by ethnic revanchiste movements fueled by Third World immigration. ... In any major city, the peace is disturbed by Latino, black, and Asian nationalist gangs, which in some cases are only the shock troops of ethnic movements seeking the racial dismemberment of the United States. In refusing to control immigration, the Federal Government is writing a script for ethnic civil war. Why?â€6

Sometimes this ethnic separatism is clear and overt:

â€œA peaceful mass of people, hardworking, carries out slowly and patiently an unstoppable invasion, the most important in human history. ... The territory lost in the 19th century by Mexico ...seems to be restoring itself through a humble people who go on settling various zones that were once ours on the old maps. Land, under any concept of possession, ends up in the hands of those who deserve it.â€7

ianmoniq

Excellent point. And I've lived in this country a long time since birth and I don't feel I should have to learn another language just to get by (or waste time listening to "if you speak English" crap on the phone!). If we want to make it mandatory that children learn another language fine, but what if they want to learn French or Arabic?

LANGUAGE is one of the things that bonds us together as a society! Look over at Quebec in Canada. They want to secede. Look at Belgium.

We've managed to assimilate immigrants for years and it's worked pretty well, so why should we change anything? And WHY should we change CRAP because immigrants want us to??!! I'm sick of hearing about it.

:::And why do they have a 'foot-up' in jobs? Because so many of the freaks won't learn English! Make it mandatory to live in our country.

Eva, that's what we're saying -- they should learn English to get along better in our country. Goes both ways, Ms. Enlightened.

buddy's pal

When in America speak English. We should not have to learn any other language unless it is our choice or our job as interpeter.. However, I do wonder what the heck they are talking about sometimes.

K.C.

BULL CRAB .. WE DONT HAVE TO SPEAK ANY DAAM LANGUAGES ... IF YOU DONT SPEAK ENGLISH ... GO BACK TO WHERE THE HELL YOU CAME FROM ...... FINAL ANSWER

ALWAYS YOUR BEST ANSWER

prettynpink

We shouldn't HAVE to learn anything. If they want to walk around with everyone speaking spanish, then they should move back to Mexico!!! If I wanted to be made to learn it I would move to Mexico. English is the first language, everything else should be an option. The Constituition does NOT state ANYWHERE for US to conform, therefore it is a direct violation of my rights as a U.S. citizen

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