Apr
23
Press One For English?
Filed Under Current Events
The immigration debate is one that is far from over. The United States of America has often been described as the great melting pot. And I think that immigration has been one of the key factors that have shaped this place into the great country that it is.
But decades ago immigration was an entirely different beast than it is today. When my great grandfather came to this country, he came with the ambition to not only succeed, but also to assimilate. He came to America because he wanted to become an American. One of the first and most important orders of business for him, his wife and my grandparents (their kids) was to immerse themselves in English. I have been told that speaking Italian was not even allowed in their house!
Well this is in stark contrast to the immigration we are seeing today. Today’s immigrants have what seems to me to be a complete unwillingness or at least no motivation to assimilate. In fact it seems to me that it is quite the opposite. Instead of learning English the new immigrants expect us to provide everything in Spanish. Should I really have to press 1 for English whenever I make a call in America? My great grandfather would be very disappointed if he could see what is happening. This is one of the key issues in today’s immigration debate.
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10 Responses to “Press One For English?”
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I agree with you. English should be a requirement of anyone that is wanting to become an American. I have no problem with them wanting to retain their native language, but I do have a problem with being expected to conform to their language when they are in my country.
I agree. Retaining their native language is fine. But they’re living in America now. Even if they don’t speak it fluently, they should at least make the effort to speak it. I mean, when foreigners move to their country, they don’t expect them to just talk in English and expect the locals to never talk to them in the native language.
I live in Fla. and many cities in south Fla. you have to speak Spanish or you won’t get serviced. It could be a restaurant or a car repair shop. I really admire my Latino and Cuban friends who have immigrated to this country and learned the language.
This is the United States of America, not the United States of Mexico. English is the language. Either learn it, or get out.
I think it is good that America is such a melting pot of languages and cultures but it is still America. I should not have to push a button to continue in my own language.
Yo hablo American. I don’t hablo Spanish or any other language. I was born in the south and am American through and through. If you want to listen to Spanish, subscribe to Telemundo.
Pressing 1 for English isn’t a very high price to pay for the diversity that new people bring to America. As for the immigration debate, I find the employment argument more appealing. In that case, Americans are actually hurt by immigration in a measurable way.
Last time I checked, we as Americans do NOT have a national language. Yes, there are a lot of us that speak English, but there are a lot of us that are LEGAL citizens, born and bred here, and speak other languages. Compared to cultures world wide we are exceptionally ignorant because many people in the US only speak a single language; to me, it’s a travesty.
When you don’t have a single, unifying language, the society breaks down into little disjointed silos. Quebec is a great example of this, where the government mandates that everything be in French and English. If I were to move to Germany, I would not expect those folks to speak English; I’d assimilate and learn their language and abide by their customs.
People can be so ignorant of history. 150 years ago, people came to America to become Americans and they did it legally. Now, the open borders that we have allow people to just invade and disregard our language, culture and national identity. Sad.