Why does our country cater to the Spanish speaking population so? We go out of our way to make telephone voice prompts available in Spanish, government forms and applications are also available in Spanish, we even have Spanish interpreters in some of our schools. I can understand individual businesses wanting to attract the large consumer body of spanish speaking people, but why our government? Why do we provide such a crutch for them to lean on? When is the last time you heard prompts available in Chinese, Korean, German, Swedish, Italian or any others?
If you travel to Europe or other non-English speaking countries, they expect you to learn their language if you are going to live there. Why should we be any different? The only reason many of those countries speak some English, is to cater to the tourists who support their economy. We should behave the same. English should be our official language.
The first colonists were of English descent. Other immigrants who have since made our country what it is today, a melting pot of cultures and diversity, learned to speak English to get along here. Sure, they continued to speak their native languages at home and within their communities, but to interact with everyone else, they learned English.
We are not being cruel by expecting them to conform to our language. We are not disallowing their beliefs, customs, or language. We are simply stating that if you wish to make this your home, you will need to learn English. You can still speak your own language at home and with others who speak the same, but don't expect everyone already here to bow down to you and make things easier just because you're new. This country was built on the backs of hard-working immigrants, if they could learn English, so can you.
posted by Tarah Jean @ 11:50 AM
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