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Should We Accommodate Immigrants?

Should We Accommodate Immigrants?

  • Yes

    Votes: 5 21.7%
  • No

    Votes: 10 43.5%
  • Screw Them! This is America, not Mexico!

    Votes: 4 17.4%
  • Other

    Votes: 4 17.4%

  • Total voters
    23
If "English" and "American" are two separate languages that would mean you're bilingual, does anyone feel they can say they speak two languages because they know that in London an apartment is called a flat and an elevator is called a lift?

Give me a break, a few differences in spelling, definitions, and pronunciation does not make it a separate language. No more than "Southern" is its own language.

George Bernard Shaw is frequently quoted for his "two nations separated by a common language" quip. One language but different usage. Many journal editors specify "American English," and that's exactly the term they use.

And the Brits are concerned too: Lickety splits: two nations divided by a common language | Mind your language | Media | theguardian.com
 
The two most important languages to be fluent in are English and French. If you know these two languages you can go to almost any where in the world and get by.

English is the language of aviation, maritime and trade. List to an airport control tower in Tokyo, Moscow or Paris, they are speaking in English on the radios.

Call almost any manufacture in China and when the receptionist answerers the phone, start speaking in English and she will start speaking in English.

Go to Tijuana and you'll find more Mexicans who speak English than you will in Los Angeles. In fact you'll hear more English being spoken in TJ than in L.A.

Like I said, language should be taught from the earliest possible grades and students/parents should have a choice beyond Spainish. If someone learns French in high school, that's awesome, there's no downside to being bilingual whether its Spainish, French, German, or like myself Chinese.
 
George Bernard Shaw is frequently quoted for his "two nations separated by a common language" quip. One language but different usage. Many journal editors specify "American English," and that's exactly the term they use.

And the Brits are concerned too: Lickety splits: two nations divided by a common language | Mind your language | Media | theguardian.com

American English, is still English.

Seriously, unless you're going to tell me that you're bilingual because you speak American and English and do it with a straight face there's no discussion to be had.
 
Should we accommodate immigrants? I ask this because I see so many multilingual signs. Also Spanish is a mandatory subject in public schools. Even my delivery boxes and product instructions are multilingual. What do you think?

I voted No. I think that if they come to America that they need to learn to speak American. If you go to other countries (most) of them don't have multilingual signs in American. We have to learn basic words when we want to vacation in Europe or Asia.
First of all, if an area is a draw to tourists, they should absolutely accommodate the tourists to encourage them to come and spend their money.

If an area has a high immigrant population for some other reason, it is for that community to decide. The community should consider that immigrants may not suddenly learn English just because the community would prefer not to have bilingual signs, menus, etc.
 
American English, is still English.

Seriously, unless you're going to tell me that you're bilingual because you speak American and English and do it with a straight face there's no discussion to be had.

I'm sorry that this is so complicated for you. I've specified one language/separate usage. USAGE.
 
Like I said, language should be taught from the earliest possible grades and students/parents should have a choice beyond Spainish. If someone learns French in high school, that's awesome, there's no downside to being bilingual whether its Spainish, French, German, or like myself Chinese.

Where did you pick up Chinese? (Mandarin, I imagine?) I was thinking of taking a semester or two as electives but will probably decide against it because as an engineer pretty much any factory or service that I call in China will speak English.

Do you think there's any reason at all to learn it? And do you think 1-2 semesters would even be worth it?
 
I agree that English or "American" as it was put, should be considered the United States of America's language.

I agree that for a person to become a citizen they must first be proficient, (at least on a third grade level), in English or "American".

This belief is one of the things that separates me from Liberals and keeps me as an Independent.
But before those of you on the left want to slam me too hard, consider the rest of my views:

I also believe strongly in Immigration.
I believe in total amnesty for any illegals that wish to learn English, pay taxes, have no criminal record, and etc.
I view myself as an Immigrant and I view my ancestors that fought in the American Revolution as immigrants.
I view all people that are not Native American Indians, as immigrants.

I simply do not believe in having future immigrants become citizens if they are unwilling to learn the native language.
To be clear, I would also expect anyone that is already a citizen to be grandfathered in.
 
Should we accommodate immigrants? I ask this because I see so many multilingual signs. Also Spanish is a mandatory subject in public schools. Even my delivery boxes and product instructions are multilingual. What do you think?

I voted No. I think that if they come to America that they need to learn to speak American. If you go to other countries (most) of them don't have multilingual signs in American. We have to learn basic words when we want to vacation in Europe or Asia.


I voted no.Immigrants do not have to speak like a grammar fag/nazi, nor do they have to get a degree in English. I do however expect immigrants to learn enough English to be proficient in it. Our signs should be in English, our government business should be done in English and their should be no bilingual forms.
 
Where did you pick up Chinese? (Mandarin, I imagine?) I was thinking of taking a semester or two as electives but will probably decide against it because as an engineer pretty much any factory or service that I call in China will speak English.

Do you think there's any reason at all to learn it? And do you think 1-2 semesters would even be worth it?

I picked up Chinese in college, took four semesters and studied abroad for 5 months, my degree program required a foreign language and my school only offered Spainish, Arabic, and Chinese and I picked Chinese because all my Army buddies were picking Arabic, so I wanted to be different. Since then I've kept up with it off and on, studying on my own, I have to admit my speaking and listening abilities aren't what they used to be because I have no one to talk to but my reading and writting continue to improve.

I think one or two semesters would be worth it, but in my experience nothing beats the real thing. My first trip to China lasted 6 weeks and I swear I learned more than I learned in the two semesters prior to that trip. And not only did I learn more but what I did learn stuck with me, its one thing to do a classroom exercise where you and a partner pretend to buy a train ticket or order a meal, but actually doing it, using the words you learned, listening to this total stranger talk back to you, and then amazingly the food you orders appears or those train tickets slide across the counter, that experience solidifies the language into your brain like no classroom can. You now have a memory and an experience to associate with those words, they are no longer just abstract concepts in your head, that's the most important thing.
 
American Accent and Dialect yes. Better let Microsoft know.

Right, the american version of English as a specific individual language, it does not exist.


Or do I as a Canadian speak English or American or Canadian
 
Right, the american version of English as a specific individual language, it does not exist.


Or do I as a Canadian speak English or American or Canadian

Damn you speak three languages, that's pretty impressive.
 
Right, the american version of English as a specific individual language, it does not exist.


Or do I as a Canadian speak English or American or Canadian

You speak the Canadian Dialect of the English Language.
 
Like I said, language should be taught from the earliest possible grades and students/parents should have a choice beyond Spainish. If someone learns French in high school, that's awesome, there's no downside to being bilingual whether its Spainish, French, German, or like myself Chinese.

Agreed.
 
Right, the american version of English as a specific individual language, it does not exist.


Or do I as a Canadian speak English or American or Canadian

Do you say "while" or "whilst"?
 
It's not hard to learn how to say "go pick that tomato" in Spanish.
 
Like it or not "American" has become a language.

Yeah, you're a cartoon.

American (language) - Wikiality, the Truthiness Encyclopedia

American is the official language of the United States of America, Stephen Colbert, Wikiality and most of the known Universe. It is derived from 4 words: "A" "me" "ri" "Can". The original schematics for this nomenclature is housed in the Antarctic National Archives along with a model representing a people of merry (mari)cylindrical (Can) proportions who are also believed to have been the ancient race of Atlantians. Often, treasonous "intellectuals" claim that we must pay homage to the far superior island people of Great Britain. But any real American would know that Tony Blair can no longer be trusted, since he is a flip-flopper and not related in any way to Atlantis as all Americans are.
 
Like it or not "American" has become a language. Americans have distanced themselves from the English language, changing many words' meanings and embracing new words. American is also full of slang. To put it into simpler terms, American and English have developed a similar lingual relationship as Italian and Latin. Italian and Latin have a lot of common words, but they are still two different languages each with their own unique words and definitions.

The above is so ridiculously idiotic, it's almost amazing you managed to actually type it up. Latin and Italian aren't intelligible. A person speaking Latin in the 1st century would have no clue what an Italian from Rome is saying. I manage to understand everything said by the BBC pretty well. Do you? Regional slang does not create an entire language. If so, then there are about 40 different languages in Mexico depending on what state you're in. Actually, no. It's ****ing stupid to consider regionally influenced forms of speaking as languages of their own.
 
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The above is so ridiculously idiotic, it's almost amazing you managed to actually type it up. Latin and Italian aren't intelligible. A person speaking Latin in the 1st century would have no clue what an Italian from Rome is saying. I manage to understand everything said by the BBC pretty well. Do you? Regional slang does not create an entire language. If so, then there are about 40 different languages in Mexico depending on what state you're in. Actually, no. It's ****ing stupid to consider regionally influenced forms of speaking as languages of their own.

People frequently speak Latin in Italy these days. It's one of the big hypes to take Latin in high school, because even though it's a dead language it will still get you around in Italy. That's not to say some people won't be slightly confused with what you are talking about, because there are words in each language that are unique. But generally speaking Latin in Italy is perfectly normal.
 
People frequently speak Latin in Italy these days.

Only one place I can think of and it's for ceremonies.

It's one of the big hypes to take Latin in high school, because even though it's a dead language it will still get you around in Italy.

This statement contradicts the one you made above. If it's frequently spoken, it's not a dead language.

That's not to say some people won't be slightly confused with what you are talking about, because there are words in each language that are unique. But generally speaking Latin in Italy is perfectly normal.

Now you're simply lying and/or contradicting yourself. If Latin is spoken natively around Italy, it's not dead language. If it is as you're claiming, a dead language, then it's not normal to hear it in Italy.
 
Should we accommodate immigrants? I ask this because I see so many multilingual signs. Also Spanish is a mandatory subject in public schools. Even my delivery boxes and product instructions are multilingual. What do you think?

I voted No. I think that if they come to America that they need to learn to speak American. If you go to other countries (most) of them don't have multilingual signs in American. We have to learn basic words when we want to vacation in Europe or Asia.

Countries with a significant portion of the population that speak english have signs in english ... why? Because signs exist for peoplet to understand.

The United States does not have an official language, and language flows and changes all the time, if more people speak spanish then signs should be in spanish ... plain and simple.

The US isn't and never was a monocultural place, and that includes language.
 
I'm against changing society for immigrants. I'm an American immigrant in Germany right now, so I learned the German language, and haven't expected the Germans to bend to me.

Immigration is a good thing, but you need to learn your host nation's language.

If you lived in an area where 40% + of the people spoke english, I guarantee you they'd have signs in english.
 
Should we accommodate immigrants? I ask this because I see so many multilingual signs. Also Spanish is a mandatory subject in public schools. Even my delivery boxes and product instructions are multilingual. What do you think?

I voted No. I think that if they come to America that they need to learn to speak American. If you go to other countries (most) of them don't have multilingual signs in American. We have to learn basic words when we want to vacation in Europe or Asia.

the damned eyetalians will never assimilate.

also

download.jpg

in conclusion,

SPEAK AMERICAN, DAMN YOU

:lol:
 
If you lived in an area where 40% + of the people spoke english, I guarantee you they'd have signs in english.

Well, if that were the case, they shouldn't. As an immigrant it is not your place to try to force your language on a native people. That's just ignorant and lazy. There is absolutely no excuse for that. If you want to pick another country, make some effort.
 
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