What are people's thoughts on

[Zhukov]

Originally Posted by Flagg

I am more inclined to agree with the majority; there should not be a "requirement" to learn English per se, but it would be greatly beneficial to anyone who does.

Of course.

Originally Posted by Colonel Flagg

The famous "Jim's Steaks" in South Philly made news recently by making it a requirement that in ordering your meal that you must order in ENGLISH.

(I think it was "Jim's" - it may have been "Pat's")

And this is interesting because I seem to hear a lot of the complaining being done is in regards to business, either examples like this, or where Spanish speaking advertising is taking over.

I'm interested in this whole idea, because it's globalisation now actually available in the USA. People seem to think that you can just ban speaking Spanish or something ridiculous like that, and it will all go away, or that you can tell a company to advertise in English and expect them not to lose out on a huge Spanish speaking market. The reasonably free market will always lean towards the profitability of it all, rather than sensibilities. It wont be long before coca cola start producing Spanish version bottles for the US.

Originally Posted by Dimnos

You need to learn it. If you want to live here and be an American then you need to speak the language. I wouldnt move to Germany without having learned a good bit of German. That would just be stupid.

Stupid for the person migrating. You learn the language to fit in, right? To be able to live properly in society. But what about when you don't need the language to survive? What about when you are a Pole moving right across the border to 'Little Poland' or something, where everyone speaks Polish, all the shops are Polish run, and Polish is the second most spoken language in the country, and always increasing.

[Fathom Zero]

Originally Posted by Zhukov

Stupid for the person migrating. You learn the language to fit in, right? To be able to live properly in society. But what about when you don't need the language to survive? What about when you are a Pole moving right across the border to 'Little Poland' or something, where everyone speaks Polish, all the shops are Polish run, and Polish is the second most spoken language in the country, and always increasing.

Jawohl, little man in the red and yellow car.

[Dimnos]

Originally Posted by Zhukov

Stupid for the person migrating. You learn the language to fit in, right? To be able to live properly in society. But what about when you don't need the language to survive? What about when you are a Pole moving right across the border to 'Little Poland' or something, where everyone speaks Polish, all the shops are Polish run, and Polish is the second most spoken language in the country, and always increasing.

Then there isnt much you can really do about it. Like you said, you really cant expect businesses to only advertise in English and miss out on the Spanish speaking market. Banning the language right out is a ridiculous idea as well. IF you are actually going to take action and want to pas some sort of law, the only sensible one is that you require a basic understanding of the native language. Then again this would only be forced on the legal immigrants. In the case of the Spanish speaking immigrants in the south most are here illegally.

All in all I really dont give a fuck what language you speak. As long as your here legally.

[Zhukov]

Well I hear they are cracking down on illegals now, so that fixes that.


An ex in New York tells me that all her workmates in a small dog grooming place are illegal immigrants.