Speak English

[Katzndogz]

Obviously we didn't tighten up on those student visas enough. Nor deport enough. That's how the Boston Marathon got bombed.

(My bold)

Nah, the survivor is a naturalized US citizen. That's one reason we're not hauling him off to Guantanamo for interrogation nor detention.

The older brother was somewhere in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen, I believe. He may have hit a snag in the process, I don't remember what the details were on that. It should be easy enough to look that up.

At least one of the co-defendants came here on a student visa, never attended a single class and the visa had long ago expired.

 

[Sunshine]

This is America. We speak English. If you can't grasp that, you know where the door is. There is no reason why we should accomodate those that can't speak English. It's all part of that assimilation thing. Speak English or leave!

Since this is America, shouldn't we speak Spanish and American Indian?

You are free to speak either one if you wish.

 

[konradv]

People have been bitching about immigrants since the country was established, failing to see through their hatred and understanding that immigrants built America.

At least the immigrants that actually built America learned to assimilate.

Who said current immigrants aren't? You have a bad case of myopia. In the past it wasn't until the third generation that people became totally assimilated and it's no different now. You can't expect freshly arrived people to speak perfect English or totally give up the language of their birth.

 

[Katzndogz]

Then they shouldn't have jobs where not understanding basic English presents a danger.

 

[Mac1958]

.

Moot point, done deal, gang. Multiculturalism is here to stay. Assimilation is no longer necessary, we're going to become more divided by the day. Identity politics has taken the place of "the melting pot".

I hear Rosetta Stone™ is pretty good for learning Spanish.

.

 

[hoosier88]

Obviously we didn't tighten up on those student visas enough. Nor deport enough. That's how the Boston Marathon got bombed.

(My bold)

Nah, the survivor is a naturalized US citizen. That's one reason we're not hauling him off to Guantanamo for interrogation nor detention.

The older brother was somewhere in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen, I believe. He may have hit a snag in the process, I don't remember what the details were on that. It should be easy enough to look that up.

At least one of the co-defendants came here on a student visa, never attended a single class and the visa had long ago expired.

(My bold)

Both had been students, easy to find: From Wikipedia - Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Tamerlan Tsarnaev [edit]

Early life and education [edit]

Tamerlan Anzorovich Tsarnaev (October 21, 1986 – April 19, 2013) was born in the Kalmyk Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (now Kalmykia), a North Caucasus[97] unit of Russia then in the Soviet Union.[35] He was a permanent resident of the U.S.,[28] a Russian citizen and a Kyrgyz citizen.[98]

After arriving in the U.S. in 2002, he attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, a public high school.[99] He applied for admission at the University of Massachusetts Boston for the fall of 2006, but was rejected.[100] He attended Bunker Hill Community College part-time for three terms between 2006 and 2008, studying accounting with hopes of becoming an engineer.[24][101] He dropped out of school to concentrate on boxing.[24][102]"

(My bold in quote)

Wikipedia reports that the family emigrated to the US in 2002, & applied for refugee status, which was granted. There's no mention of student visas for either one of the brothers, & as political refugees & then permanent resident & naturalized citizen, they wouldn't need a student visa.

 

[Katzndogz]

.

Moot point, done deal, gang. Multiculturalism is here to stay. Assimilation is no longer necessary, we're going to become more divided by the day. Identity politics has taken the place of "the melting pot".

I hear Rosetta Stone™ is pretty good for learning Spanish.

.

Spanish isn't nearly good enough. You need Mandarin and Farsi as well.

 

[Mac1958]

.

Moot point, done deal, gang. Multiculturalism is here to stay. Assimilation is no longer necessary, we're going to become more divided by the day. Identity politics has taken the place of "the melting pot".

I hear Rosetta Stone™ is pretty good for learning Spanish.

.

Spanish isn't nearly good enough. You need Mandarin and Farsi as well.

Fair enough, that's likely down the road a bit.

.

 

[NoNukes]

People have been bitching about immigrants since the country was established, failing to see through their hatred and understanding that immigrants built America.

At least the immigrants that actually built America learned to assimilate.

Who said current immigrants aren't? You have a bad case of myopia. In the past it wasn't until the third generation that people became totally assimilated and it's no different now. You can't expect freshly arrived people to speak perfect English or totally give up the language of their birth.

I went to school with a guy who was born in America with Italian parents. When he started school he could not speak English. First thing the nuns did was give them a pencil and piece of paper and told them to write their names. He copied off of the guy next to him. Yes, he began school getting caught cheating. LOL

 

[sfcalifornia]

Then they shouldn't have jobs where not understanding basic English presents a danger.

If not understanding basic English presents a danger for any job, those applicants were more than likely weeded out during the interview process. Have you ever been on an interview?

 

[sfcalifornia]

This is America. We speak English. If you can't grasp that, you know where the door is. There is no reason why we should accomodate those that can't speak English. It's all part of that assimilation thing. Speak English or leave!

Since this is America, shouldn't we speak Spanish and American Indian?

You are free to speak either one if you wish.

I'm glad I live in a country where that is true.

 

[Esmeralda]

At least the immigrants that actually built America learned to assimilate.

Who said current immigrants aren't? You have a bad case of myopia. In the past it wasn't until the third generation that people became totally assimilated and it's no different now. You can't expect freshly arrived people to speak perfect English or totally give up the language of their birth.

I went to school with a guy who was born in America with Italian parents. When he started school he could not speak English. First thing the nuns did was give them a pencil and piece of paper and told them to write their names. He copied off of the guy next to him. Yes, he began school getting caught cheating. LOL

I have a friend whose parents emigrated from China. All their kids were born in the States, NYC. His mom lived in China Town for the rest of her life and never learned any English. The kids, of course, were just like any Americans and all graduated college. Anyone who would be upset with the lovely woman his mom was would be an idiot.

 

[numan]

We already have Spanish versions of just about everything. In the future it's the people that can't speak both that are going to be cleaning the toilets. Who's going to hire someone for an executive position, if they can't speak to the customers and workers?

KonradV nails it here - in the 21st century every person graduating college needs to be at least bilingual. If you want to speak English only - forget doing any export business.

I don't know why so many people here see this as a threat or a burden - in Finland every college graduate is trilingual, and has to be. It just is not that difficult.

You just can not work in today's world without two languages, and Spanish is an excellent, easy and widely used option.

Well, Saigon, the Finns are reasonably civilized and living in the 21st century, and Americans are neither.

By the end of this century (provided we survive), this whole question of "national" language will seem as silly as -- well, as silly as almost everything in the USA presently is.

The world is a global village. Look at how so much has been internationalized in the past hundred years. Are these fossils here on this board really so dumb that they think this will all slow down and stop?

Sure, they might feel uncomfortable in a world where everyone must speak several languages, but they should remember that they will be safely dead long before what they fear happens. The young, as usual, will adapt.

It is incredibly mean-spirited to try and control the future from the grave -- and it would be a totally vain endeavor, anyway!!
.

 

[Esmeralda]

We already have Spanish versions of just about everything. In the future it's the people that can't speak both that are going to be cleaning the toilets. Who's going to hire someone for an executive position, if they can't speak to the customers and workers?

KonradV nails it here - in the 21st century every person graduating college needs to be at least bilingual. If you want to speak English only - forget doing any export business.

I don't know why so many people here see this as a threat or a burden - in Finland every college graduate is trilingual, and has to be. It just is not that difficult. You just can not work in today's world without two languages, and Spanish is an excellent, easy and widely used option.

Well, Saigon, the Finns are reasonably civilized and living in the 21st century, and Americans are neither.

I'm not a flag waver nor am I nationalistic, quite the opposite in both cases. But this statement, that Americans are neither civilized nor modern thinking is ludicrous and ignorant. We see on this forum and in other aspects of American culture, some people who certainly seem uncivilized and backward thinking, but the truth is you can go to any country in the world and find similar people, even in (sarcasm coming) the ultra-civilized and reasonable Finland. There are foolish, ignorant, nationalistic, narrow minded jackasses there too.

The comparison between Americans and Europeans needing to learn multiple languages is a misconception. Helsinki, for example, is less than 2,000 miles from Rome. Los Angeles and NYC are nearly 3,000 miles distant from one another. Europeans travel a great deal within Europe. Between Helsinki and Rome are several countries, all speaking different languages. Finland is about the same size as one of our larger states. Unless you stay within the small borders of Finland your entire life, it makes sense to learn one or more other languages. Amercans travel as much, as far a distances, as Europeans, but they do not cross borders nearly so often. Our neighbor to the north is an English speaking country; our neighbor to the south is Spanish speaking. As well, there are many Spanish speaking people in the US. I have long thought that more Americans should speak Spanish, and I do not understand, as Saigon has expressed, why that should be a threat to anyone; however, in order to do business around the world, as English is the international language, most people only need to speak English. Americans speaking Spanish makes some sense; Americans needing to speak a 3rd or 4th language does not. Nothing wrong with it at all, but sneering at Americans for not doing so makes no sense at all. Only about 30% of Americans have passports and travel outside the US. It doesn't make sense to speak a language you are never going to use. This European arrogance toward all Americans because they are not bilingual or tri-lingual is not based in a rational outlook. The international language is English. The vast majority of Americans will never need to use another language. They do not live the same lifestyle as Europeans as far as spending a lot of time in countries that speak other languages nor of doing business with any countries where English is not the international language of business.

 

[Political Junky]

All of the Western US was Spanish until the mid 19th century. Many words we use every day have Spanish origins.

 

[Esmeralda]

All of the Western US was Spanish until the mid 19th century. Many words we use every day have Spanish origins.

Many English words used everyday have French origins; that applies to English used in any English speaking country. However, I do agree with those who think more Americans should speak Spanish. Maybe we would be able to work better with Mexico and other neighbors to the south. The way to improve the immigration problem regarding Mexico is to help Mexico have a stronger economy so people will want to stay home. That's the only solution, imo. All the other methods don't work, as we have seen.

 

[Political Junky]

.

Moot point, done deal, gang. Multiculturalism is here to stay. Assimilation is no longer necessary, we're going to become more divided by the day. Identity politics has taken the place of "the melting pot".

I hear Rosetta Stone™ is pretty good for learning Spanish.

.

Spanish isn't nearly good enough. You need Mandarin and Farsi as well.

I wasn't aware we had that many Farsi speakers. That is what is spoken in Persia/Iran.

 

[numan]

I'm not a flag waver nor am I nationalistic, quite the opposite in both cases. But this statement, that Americans are neither civilized nor modern thinking is ludicrous and ignorant. We see on this forum and in other aspects of American culture, some people who certainly seem uncivilized and backward thinking, but the truth is you can go to any country in the world and find similar people....

Imbecility exists in all countries, but Americans seem to specialise in it.

Exhibit A....

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seYUbVa7L7w]Rick Mercer Talks with Americans on CBC television[/ame]
.

 

[Harry Dresden]

We already have Spanish versions of just about everything. In the future it's the people that can't speak both that are going to be cleaning the toilets. Who's going to hire someone for an executive position, if they can't speak to the customers and workers?

KonradV nails it here - in the 21st century every person graduating college needs to be at least bilingual. If you want to speak English only - forget doing any export business.

I don't know why so many people here see this as a threat or a burden - in Finland every college graduate is trilingual, and has to be. It just is not that difficult.

You just can not work in today's world without two languages, and Spanish is an excellent, easy and widely used option.

Well, Saigon, the Finns are reasonably civilized and living in the 21st century, and Americans are neither.

By the end of this century (provided we survive), this whole question of "national" language will seem as silly as -- well, as silly as almost everything in the USA presently is.

The world is a global village. Look at how so much has been internationalized in the past hundred years. Are these fossils here on this board really so dumb that they think this will all slow down and stop?

Sure, they might feel uncomfortable in a world where everyone must speak several languages, but they should remember that they will be safely dead long before what they fear happens. The young, as usual, will adapt.

It is incredibly mean-spirited to try and control the future from the grave -- and it would be a totally vain endeavor, anyway!!
.

the Finns are reasonably civilized and living in the 21st century, and Americans are neither

lets compare all the things invented and developed in the backwards US as compared to the advanced Finland.....K?.....

 

[Unkotare]

In order to be a citizen, you must prove that you read, write, and speak English.

That is an inaccurate statement.