“You need to make sure your child can speak Spanish!”
First thing is, how Obama got a reputation as an eloquent speaker is truly beyond me. Do people actually listen to his speeches? Or are so many people so stupid themselves that he just sounds smart in comparison?
Anyway. So there’s this clip of Obama ranting about the English-only crowd, and I am a transcriptionist so I fulfilled my destiny by transcribing it word-for-word. Unfortunately there’s no way to convey the tone, which is nothing short of bossy and even borderline belligerent. Same thing I have always hated about the way Dubya speaks. It’s a politician thing, I guess.
Hawkins has the video, and here’s the text:
“I, I don’t understand, when people are going around worrying about, ‘we need to have English only.’ They, they wanna pass a law, ‘we want just, uh, we want English only.’ No, I agree that immigrants should learn English. I agree with that.
But. But. Understand this. Instead of worrying about whether, uh, immigrants can learn English. They’ll learn English. You need to make sure your child can speak Spanish! You should be thinking about how can your child become bilingual. We should have every child speaking more than one language.
“You know, it’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing when, when, uh, when Europeans come over here. They all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe. All we can say is merci beaucoup. Right?”
Bullcorn.
“All” Europeans do NOT speak English. Nor do they all speak French and German. I realize he was talking about French people speaking French and German people speaking German, but still. Sorry pal but you are running for president and every word will be parsed. Deal with it.
But the reasoning is what really gets me about these ideas he has. For one thing, there are practical purposes for Europeans to speak other European languages. Have you ever superimposed a map of Europe over one of the U.S.? It’s simple logistics. If I lived in Vermont, and the people of, say, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine all spoke a different language than Vermonters, I WOULD LEARN THOSE LANGUAGES. Because I would need to unless I never wanted to leave my tiny little state.
I guaran-fuckin’-tee you that if North Carolinians spoke a different language than South Carolinians, you’d have a bunch of bilingual North and South Carolinians. It’s not an “ignorant American” thing, it’s a pragmatic thing.
How many Americans ever have a real need to learn a European language? Why in the world would I invest time and effort learning French unless I want to actually move to France?
I went to Italy last year for vacation. I’m sure I would have been less “embarrassing” over there if I were fluent in Italian, but tell me why I should know Italian if I’m only going to spend a few weeks in Italy in my entire life? And trust me, not that many Italians speak English, except those in the tourism industry. Because it’s practical for them. Helps them get my money.
Now, Spanish is a different story. There are good reasons to learn Spanish if you live in the southern parts of the U.S., or California. And I happen to love Spanish and am passably literate in it. But for a presidential candidate to tell me I need to know Spanish? That kinda pisses me off. It especially would if I lived in Utah or some place where Spanish was completely useless.
And for him to say not to worry about immigrants because they will learn English, well that’s just stupid. If that were so, every single government form in this state wouldn’t have to be in English AND Spanish. Billboards would not be in Spanish. And does Obama not see the flaw in his logic here? If all Spanish-speaking immigrants will learn English, then why should Americans learn Spanish unless they’re involved in teaching Mexican kids and adults how to speak English?
Gah. Like I said, I love Spanish and wish to speak it fluently, and maybe some day I will. Because I want to. Not because I’ve capitulated to the fact that my state is being overrun by folks who only speak that language. Obama’s insistence that we all learn Spanish tells me a few things, not least of which is that he has no intention of doing anything about rampant immigration.
Anyway. Back to the Europe thing, it reminds me of a girl I knew in college who was a big flaming Euro-humper. You know the type - Europeans are smart, well-traveled, and worldly, while Americans are a bunch of homebody dumb hicks. She was dating a German guy and loved to go on and on about how many foreign countries he’d visited in his life. She listed them off once, something like “France, Denmark, Austria, Poland, Netherlands, blah blah” - you see where this is going.
I kindly offered the No Shit, Sherlock rebuttal and pointed out that it was like bragging about a Kansan having visited Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Texas. It’s just not that big of a deal, sweetie.
America is not like Germany. We have two foreign neighbors (if you even count Canada as “foreign”, which I don’t), not a dozen within a short train ride’s distance away. If we want to visit European countries, we have to get on a plane for 8+ hours, at least. I’m pretty sure most “well-traveled” Europeans wouldn’t be visiting so many places if they had to spend thousands of dollars and many hours to do so, instead of just hopping in their car for an afternoon’s drive. So they can cram it with the attitude.
Why learn a European language? They will all be dead languages in another decade or 2, when they all go under sharia law. America Alone is a sad but true reading of Europe.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:03 pmI don’t think that you SHOULD learn Spanish - but I think learning another language is good. I didn’t take French because it was useful - I thought it was pretty. Turns out it made learning Spanish and Italian a whole lot easier as well. I have aspirations of learning Mandarin and Arabic as well (oh for the time).
Oh, and my father-in-law lives in Germany - he teached for the University of MD on the Army bases, and has done so for about 20 years now. He doesn’t speak German. I think that’s as wrong as someone coming here and not speaking English. So it goes both ways.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:10 pmBINGO! Hell, England won’t even be speaking English at this rate.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:11 pmI studied in Italy and was fairly fluent in Italian. My biggest problem when there? As soon as Italians realized I was American they would switch to English ‘to practice’ with me.
I would try and explain the reason I was there was (in part) to learn Italian and they would laugh. Most Italians would say that was not necessary and it would be much better if I would help them learn better English. Why? Because English was actually useful to them as opposed to my learning Italian just for fun.
I worked in the wine industry for a bit after college and the Italian was marginally useful. But face it - beyond being able to watch ‘Life Is Beautiful’ without subtitles learning Italian is basically useless.
I can’t think of all that many positives to learning German or French either. Face it, everyone you are likely to encounter in business will speak English, or a translator will be provided.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:12 pmThat’s good. If confronted with one more amphibian sporting a corny accent I.will.scream.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:13 pmRachel, I want to have your babies.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:13 pmBy the by, time to remove the ‘meet the meat’ expose? Please? I loathe the factory farms also, the large-scale hog farms in particular. Yet I ponder whether one can afford pork chops or hamburgers if the practice is eliminated.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:16 pmSpot on. My wife and I had a conversation about this last night and covered all of the points you just made. (Even your first point about why Obama is considered such a gifted speaker, he flubs more words and makes more gaffes in one speech than GWB makes in a week. But Bush is the stupid one… HUH?)
I resent the fact that he essentially told me that the people moving to MY country should learn English, sure, but it’s WAY more important for me to capitulate to THEM and learn Spanish. They can all kiss my ass, Obama included.
EDIT: And my wife made this good point: Ask an airline pilot what language they need to know if they fly to Russia, or France, or China, or Mexico.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:17 pmAm I the only person who actually READ what Barack Obama said? All of it?
He didn’t say that immigrants shouldn’t learn English. On the contrary.
He said that rather than worrying about whether or not it’s mandatory for someone to learn English, we should be working at making our children bilingual. And I think he threw out Spanish as an example.
In other words, learn another language - it really does increase your intelligence.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:22 pmIt’s a good idea for kids to study a foreign language, but absolutely not to save Obama from embarrassment. To me, that’s the worst part of this latest stumbling narcissistic ramble. Everything in America is always about the Obamas. They are as self centered as the Clintons, except they’ve mastered the trick of saying “you” when they really mean “I.”
I shudder contemplating the massive benevolent intrusions into private life if this popinjay is elected. The Republicans never actually reduce government bloat, at best they slow it down, but the Dems’ first act in every situation is to reach for the big stick of government.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:24 pmBrooke, yes obviously you are the only one who READS. Congratulations, you win the Stephen King Smarmy Ass Award for the day.
Had you actually understood what you so proudly read, you’d have seen that Obama doesn’t want kids to lean another language because it “increases your intelligence.” He wants them to do it so his European friends won’t point and laugh at him. It’s all about his “embarrassment.”
I don’t have kids, but if I did I’m pretty certain that I wouldn’t base their upbringing on what would make Obama feel warm and fuzzy. To quote the perpetually aggrieved Michelle, that sort of thing doesn’t help my kids.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:29 pmOr there might be one common foreign language everybody could learn so that they could engage in commerce — a lingua franca, if you will, like . . . Oh, wait!
Seriously, though, there is a correlation between higher verbal test scores and second language learning, so it’s indisputably useful, but to mandate it?
Arrogance.
Arrogance and anti-Americanism — the man’s embarrassed to be American, fercrissakes — these are qualifications for President now?
July 10th, 2008 at 12:33 pmNo, but if it helps you feel smarter than everyone else then by all means please continue to think so.
[/patronizing grade school teacher]
At issue is the prescriptive “should” statement which is arrogant on its face. Compound this by the false presumption that Europeans are more erudite than we and you have yet another public relations gaffe by an elitist tool.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:35 pmBrooke Says:
Really? Please explain how me learning Spanish is going to make me more intelligent? More knowledgeable, more experienced, sure, but I don’t see how it can make one more intelligent.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:40 pmFirst, that was painful to listen to. Obama is simply not that great of a public speaker, at least not off the cuff. Second, in response to Brooke, who said,
The problem with this is that it’s a dodge. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. I can simultaneously support having children learn more than one language, AND support making English the official language. In fact, I do. Why can’t someone worry about both the fact that many immigrants can’t speak English and their children can only speak English?
Oh, and also, learning another language has nothing whatsoever to do with “increasing” intelligence (to the extent to which such a thing can even be done, which I would argue is quite minimal).
July 10th, 2008 at 12:41 pmOh, I don’t know about that. The Italian survival instinct seems to have come back with a vengeance if their recent crackdowns on immigrants and the Roma are any indication.
Let me ask you, when was the last time the illegals met with the sort of hostility that the Roma drifters recently met with in Naples?
July 10th, 2008 at 12:43 pmWhat do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American.
I told this joke to my German landlord who, in addition to German (duh), spoke French and English. She thought it was funny.
Peabody304
July 10th, 2008 at 12:44 pmSFC, Retired
I saw that “speech”, too, and I was surprised at how much trouble he was having getting a simple set of sentences out without the occasional “uhm” and inappropriate laughter. I saw it as a blatant play to Hispanics, but also as yet further evidence of his elitism and snobbery. It didn’t seem tobe going over that well with the audience, either. Only a couple of people sitting on the stage behind him managed to clap in ascension, and the peanut gallery’s response wasn’t much better.
Glad to hear Rupert’s on the mend. Thank heavens we live in the 21st Century, when surgeons can do this kind of thing for people!
July 10th, 2008 at 12:45 pmAlso, don’t tell me what to speak, Barack. Besides, if I want to learn Spanish I will learn Catalan/Western European Spanish, not the version spoken by our rude neighbors south of the border.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:46 pmTo attempt to absolve B.O. of his arrogance by introducing the notion of the benefits of learning a second language is to conflate two separate issues.
For a country to mandate that immigrants who desire citizenship acquire the language of the country into which they have immigrated is not unreasonable.
There is a huge difference between that and mandating that the natural born citizen learn the language of an immigrant minority!
Mandating second language acquisition? Not the purview of Big Brother! There’s already a requirement at pretty much every institution of higher learning, isn’t there? So the incentive — even for those who, for some reason, do not find it intrinsically valuable — already exists!
July 10th, 2008 at 12:47 pmMont, see felicity’s post. Learning a different language is not just about learning language (though I have found for myself that I was able to actually learn English - as in grammar - at a higher level than if I hadn’t), it’s about learning about different cultures. And I’m not saying “Go Diversity” - I’m saying that there’s something to be said for knowing that it’s the culture to tip your movie usher when in France - or to not tip when you’re getting a spa treatment in Ireland. Yes, all available in a guidebook, but it fleshes out learning a language. You’re not just learning a language, you’re learning about how things are different in other parts of the world.
And Jason, I’m pretty much in the Obama camp where I don’t think there has to be any “official” language of America. Maybe it’s shortsighted on my part - I just don’t think the language of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution have really ever needed that level of protection.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:50 pmFelicity, it is already mandated that you have to learn English to become a citizen.
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=12e596981298d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD
Language
July 10th, 2008 at 12:53 pmApplicants for naturalization must be able to read, write, speak, and understand words in ordinary usage in the English language.
What Obama says in this speech and how he says it are less important to me than the attitudes on display when you read between the lines. Rachel is correct; Obama intends to do nothing about illegal immigration. He doesn’t believe in national borders, nor even the concept of a nation-state. This is the reason he defers to the Europeans. Like them, he’s an internationalist, or maybe a pan-nationalist. We can also infer that he would like to transplant the European socio-economic system right here in the U.S. His colors are clearly on display, but they ain’t red, white and blue.
Here’s what Obama thinks but does not say: Umm, you know, um, America is just an artificial, er, social construct. There really isn’t any, any such thing as America, except maybe in theory. Yeah, that’s right. America is just a theory. It doesn’t exist in any meaningful, you know, not in any meaningful way, unless we agree that it does. America is just a convenient fiction. You know, if you look at the earth from a distance, like, like from space, you, uh, don’t see national borders. And that’s, uh, a world I want to live in. A natural world. A world without borders. So, you need to learn Spanish. Because without borders, there won’t be an artificial barrier between the fiction that, that’s America, and the artificial construct we call Mexico.”
Sorry, I know that was painful, but someone had to say it.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:02 pm0bama is proud of his association with the Back of the Yards neighborhood in Chicago. A hundred years ago, when my wife’s grandmother moved there from Lithuania, no one was telling the people of Chicago to learn Lithuanian (or Polish, Estonian, Russian, Latvian or any of the other languages spoken there) so they could talk to her or any of the other immigrants. To get a job or conduct any kind of business outside the neighborhood, they had to learn English. Now we’re supposed to learn Spanish so that the current residents of Back of the Yards (which is a filthy, gang infested, dangerous place now that people like my in-laws are gone) can understand us?
July 10th, 2008 at 1:06 pmI had the same argument with my mother and my asinine cousin (who happens to be a freakin’ lobbyist by the way) two summers ago at a reunion. They were saying “oh, we Americans are so ignorant because most of us only know one language.” I told them that I had taken French in high school and Spanish in college. Every single student in both schools were required to take a language. My husband spent 8 years in school taking German. The thing is neither one of us remembers very much because we never freakin use it.
I also told them that if they were so concerned about appearing ignorant, perhaps they should go back to school to study another language. I hate going to family reunions with this idiots.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:07 pmPersonally, I believe we should mandate the teaching of Spanish in all our schools. That way we can guarantee that all our kids will be illiterate and unable to communicate in two languages instead of just one; and it won’t cost much more for twice the ignorance.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:09 pmCanada is not foreign?!?! How dare you suggest such a thing!
Actually, English Canada isn’t all that foreign, except for its socialism and docility. French Canada, on the other hand, does speak an example of “another language” that many (though by no means all) English Canadians have to learn out of necessity.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:17 pmPerhaps Mr. Obama should concentrate on practicing English.
There are kids who just cannot learn another language. Our local high school attempted to require two years of a foreign language as a graduation requirement. It didn’t work. It’s similar to forcing everyone to take and pass Calculus in order to graduate.
Does it really matter if my child doesn’t learn a foreign language if he wants to be an auto technician? If he’s at the top of his class at Tech School and lands a great job upon graduation but doesn’t speak Spanish, does it matter?
Having other languages available for study is great. Mandating it is a different story.
Maybe I would feel differently if I had any European friends to embarrass. I gotta get out more.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:20 pmObama’s just nuts to say something like that.
Oh, and by the way something, if Jesse ever gets the Big O alone, perhaps Sunny could provide a suitable cosmetic replacement….
(It would seem I get crude sometimes.)
July 10th, 2008 at 1:22 pmI’m not a native of Texas, but I live here now. I think you’re wrong to say that Texas is being over run by people speaking Spanish. The fact is that Texas has always had a huge percent of Spanish speaking people, long before Texas separated from Mexico. And that separation happened through the efforts of Spanish speaking and English speaking people.
I don’t know Spanish very well, but it seems a bit wrong to complain about people speaking it here where it has pretty much always been spoken here as long as it has been a part of western civilization.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:26 pmwell,gee,when my first American ancestor stepped off the boat in 1749,nobody was bending over backwards to communicate with him in German-they expected,and rightly so,for HIM to speak ENGLISH.Same principle applies to any immigrants coming here now
July 10th, 2008 at 1:28 pmRachel - you are my hero
July 10th, 2008 at 1:33 pmUnless you’re in Quebec. Then, if you can’t speak froggy, you might as well Va te faire foutre!
If you can’t speak it, they fart in your general direction.
SRSLY!
Oh, and just an observation — students at my university can no longer graduate from the honors program without a year of college-level foreign lauguage. Incoming freshman must either have a year of high school nauguage JUST TO GET IN or must take one semester of college-level foreign language.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:35 pmI’d like my kids to learn another language, but I don’t need Barack Boutros-Boutros Obama telling me which one, and 50 cents and his embarrassment are worth…about 49 cents.
Since the Brady Bunch can claim that law-abiding gunowners are just people who haven’t yet committed a crime, I can say that anyone who opposes English-only with respect to government is someone who seeks to profit from election fraud.
Who can vote in the U.S.? U.S. Citizens.
Naturalized citizens must demonstrate English proficiency. Native-born citizens have no excuse not to be proficient in English. Therefore, ballots need only be printed in English. The fact that multi-lingual ballots already exist is prima facie evidence of voter fraud, and anyone who advocates multi-lingual ballots is objectively an advocate of and/or accessory to voter fraud. Q. E. Duh.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:38 pmtis true - they don’t like english speakers in Quebec. Been there - proved that.
Off topic link:
Nation of whiners? From what I’ve seen, damned straight.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:41 pmDo trailer-parkian, eubonics, redneckish, hillbillian, jive turkey and ghetto slang count? If they don’t, they should, since we want to be cool like the Europeans.
Cuz’, you know, they are all derivatives of English, just as Spanish, French and Italian are all offshoots of Vulgar Latin … Latin is the cool parent language and the others are all bastardizations of that original language developed by people speaking it …
Just asking, because I’d rather my kids speak an acceptable, living, useful English derivative and call that being bilingual rather than wasting their time studying a mongrel dialect of Latin gasping its last as the Muslim Horde takes over the world.
Dig it! Becs could become a translator:
Even the jive-turkey dude dug her rap — same as anyone who emigrates should at least have a rudimentary grasp of English.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:44 pmI would like to go on record as saying that Barack Boutros Boutros Obama is probably my favorite nickname for him. That made me laugh.
And I had never thought of election fraud, but you made some great points about why ballots should only be in English.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:45 pmJust out of curiosity, has anyone heard the obamassiah EVER speak Spanish? I would think that, while trying to kiss the collective asses of “la raza” he might have attempted it. But I don’t know.
When I was in Africa, I didn’t need but a few words of “African baby-talk” to get along. If I had to have a conversation, I had an interpretor.
When I fought in Central & South America, I had enough Spanish to find the bathroom, get drunk, get laid. For anything else, I had an interpretor.
If I was going to emigrate to another country, I’d learn the language. If someone wants to immigrate to this country, they need to learn enough English to get along. If they don’t want to learn English - deny them citizenship and/or send them back where they came from. If that’s xenophobic — tough shit. It’s not up to me to accommodate or adapt to immigrants. The opposite is true.
I’m glad to hear that all is well on the Rupert front; and the operation went well.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:45 pmAs a citizen of the United Kingdom, I won’t comment on the USA’s politics, but I hope you’ll allow me to comment on a linguistic matter.
It would be good if Americans were to look more favourably on learning languages other than a form of English.
I would like to argue the case for learning and using Esperanto. This is a planned language which belongs to no one country or group of states. Take a look at www.esperanto.net
Esperanto works! I’ve used it in speech and writing in a dozen countries over recent years.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:47 pmIndeed, the language has some remarkable practical benefits. Personally, I’ve made friends around the world through Esperanto that I would never have been able to communicate with otherwise. And then there’s the Pasporta Servo, which provides free lodging and local information to Esperanto-speaking travellers in over 90 countries.
I speak, read, and write German fluently. My father did two tours with the German Navy (75-77) and (81-83). When we got to Germany the first time there was a small base but it closed in 1976. After that, there was only maybe one other American family living around us. I learned to speak German because…I was living in Germany! I went to German schools where I was expected to speak…German! No one in my family expected everyone around us to accommodate our language and cultural deficiencies. So, we ADAPTED. We learned the language and embraced the culture. I also speak a little French and Spanish (I grew up 10 minutes from Tijuana, Mexico).
Immigrants who come to this country should learn English. Why should I have to accommodate someone who is not willing to learn the primary language of the country they are living in? I think it’s funny that Obama said the only thing Americans can say when in France is merci beaucoup. He fails to mention that the only thing that most immigrants can say is no habla ingles.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:51 pm1. Ask a German what langauge he speaks when he goes to a business meeting in Paris. English is the international language of business. That’s why European schools teach it as a requirement.
2. Could be wrong, but I don’t think knowing “Spanish” would’ve helped the person in BO’s hypothetical to understand “mur-see boo-coop.” But I do know that the Southerners he spoke to weren’t tickled by his mocking them.
3. Also on that hypothetical, since people from all over the world immigrate here, should we as parents likewise ensure that our children know French? German? Chinese?
I don’t think The Great Orator fully exercised the logic. Then again, he doesn’t have to knowing that no one will call him on it.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:52 pmOk, but that’s not really the argument I was making. I really don’t care much about whether or not English is the “officical” language, though I think it probably ought to be. But whatever. I have no desire to argue it because I really, honestly, don’t care that much.
The point I was making was that Obama apparently thinks it’s inconsistent for someone to simultanesouly hold the view that English should be the official language AND native-born English-speaking children should learn more than one language. This is where I most certainly disagree with him.
However, I don’t suppose he really thinks that either. What he was really attempting to do (and rather inartfully so) was to shift from an issue where he holds a rather unpopular position, to one where he holds a much more popular position, even though it’s a complete non sequitur.
Whether or not Spanish-speaking immigrants to the U.S. should learn English has no bearing whatsoever on whether or not my child should learn Cantonese or Farsi or Hindi or Swahili or Spanish, or whatever. The two really aren’t related at all.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:53 pm*ahem*
“Oh no, I’ve only got a 3000-mile-wide continent to play in, and I’ve never been to Antwerp!”
July 10th, 2008 at 1:54 pmway back when I lived in Germany, I remember that in order to graduate from our equivalent of high school, the German students were required to speak three languages (including German). Don’t know if it is still that way, but at the time it made sense to me, as France was only an hour down the road. And it seems everybody there spoke English to some extent, some with British accents even.
July 10th, 2008 at 1:57 pmBill (Mamba1-0), Obama doesn’t speak Spanish.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:04 pmSkyler mentioned the fact that Spanish was commonly spoken in Texas before Texas became part of the USA. I am a native of southern Arizona. Spanish and Apache were the most commonly spoken languages here as recently as 150 years ago. Southern Arizona at that time was a very dangerous place where people, of any stripe, lived very short and scary lives. Southern Arizona is now one of the safest places in the US to live… except in neighborhoods where spanish is the predominant language. BTW Rachel, is bullcorn the bovine equivelent of equine road apples? I gotch’er bi-lingualism riiiiight here!
July 10th, 2008 at 2:07 pmHow about his kids?
July 10th, 2008 at 2:13 pmSkylar said
Re-read the post. No one is complaining about Spanish speaking Texans speaking Spanish. In fact, she’s encouraging it. Rachel is arguing that for us to HAVE to teach our kids Spanish while living in central or northern USA is silly.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:14 pmDear Barack,
Speaking the same language brings people together and gives them something in common. It helps to get better paying jobs and makes the playing field a little more level.
Not speaking the same language as most people in the Country you have chosen to live in separates you from the majority and keeps you in the neighborhoods that speak only your language.
Do not encourage this separatist attitude. We want people in this country to assimilate (via language) so we can operate like the “United” States was supposed to, individuals coming together to be American. Isn’t that why most people move here from other countries? For American opportunity, American freedom and an American lifestyle.
Sincerely,
Mare
July 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pmBarak only mentioned people should learn Spanish because learning Spanish is politcally-correct. Methinks he wanted to say “Mandarin Chinese” or “Arabic” but was prevented from doing so because it wouldn’t make him appealing.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:22 pmHis argument is ridiculous. I lived in Germany for a little while, and got a job and applied for a work permit. In the work permit office specifically for Americans, the workers refused to speak English to me. I wasn’t an “arrogant American” expecting them to have a conversation in fluent English, I was learning German and am fluent in Dutch and Flemish and didn’t understand a term they were using. It was fairly important, as they were telling me I needed a certain piece of documentation for my application. Finally I just had them repeat it slowly, over and over, so I could write the term down and look it up later. So, in Germany, it is expected that people LEARN GERMAN, to the extent that even in an office specifically for Americans to visit, they will only speak to you in German. And we are the arrogant ones? Is it too much to ask that English be declared our official language?
My great grandparents immigrated to the U.S from the Netherlands and refused to let my grandmother speak Dutch. “You are an American, you will speak English,” she was told. I’m sure that wasn’t an unusual attitude at the time.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:25 pmI saw this earlier on TownHall, and I’m glad it’s making the rounds.
To me, the has nothing to do with the utility of knowing a second language. It has to do with the comparison to Europe. Frankly, who gives a rat’s ass what they do in Europe? If we loved Europe so much, we wouldn’t have booted King George’s behind off the continent in the first place. America has its own traditions and institutions, and Obama is running for president of the United States, not Europe.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:28 pmDear Barack,
p.s. We don’t give a crap how embarrassed you are about anything. Your stupidity is pretty embarrassing, asshole.
Sincerely,
Mare
July 10th, 2008 at 2:31 pmI am fatigued by the attitude — so prevalent in lefty academia and politics — that Americans, at least those who don’t live on a coast or vote for Democrats, are imbeciles and grossly inferior to the sophisticated, worldly people in every other nation.
Merde! I wish I could have back the semester of French I studied in 7th grade, and I love languages. My kid is learning Spanish in high school. If he had wanted to take French instead, we would have said no. It’s a bit like learning how to braid a buggy whip nowadays, isn’t it?
My car once broke down near Grenoble, France and the extent of my French was the ability to ask if I could sharpen my pencil or go to my locker. Amazingly (would Barry-O believe it?), the tow truck driver, repair shop owner, and his entire family were monolingual. How dare they only speak French in France! I pulled out my phrasebook, pointed to relevant words, and we got along fine.
I learned Spanish because it’s a practical choice, German because it’s fun to make up compound words, Italian because I lived in Italy for a while, and a little Chinese for business purposes. As so many have pointed out, Americans aren’t incapable or unwilling to learn other languages, we just don’t have to.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:39 pmI was born in Hawaii and moved west in my early years. Having lived in numerous countries (listing them all seems a bit pretentious to me right now,) I spoke Hindi first, then French, then English. After moving back to the States my Hindi and French disappeared (although I can imitate some pretty funny accents.) Why? Because I don’t need to. Were I to make frequent visits I would brush up, and if I were to live there I would speak the language. That’s the point, I think. I wouldn’t give it a second thought living in another country to try and learn the language. To demand that they learn MY language when I was the immigrant? Unthinkable, to me.
If the Dali Bama wants to mandate speaking Spanish, maybe he should tackle obliterating ebonics first. Is dat too much ta ax?
July 10th, 2008 at 2:44 pmThe problem with making English “official” is unlike French and Spanish, there is no “official” definition of what English is. You can go to England and get dozens of varieties of English, or the US for a couple different varieties, or Australia, or even Ghana.
Even if we could agree on what makes English, do you REALLY want to give politicians and bureaucrats the power to tell you what is good English and what isn’t? Because that would be the inevitable result. English would no longer be a free language, changing and adapting as its users see fit. It would become a political tool. Do we REALLY want to copy the French on this matter (or any matter)?
I don’t care what language anyone speaks. It only matters that they be understood and that they understand others. How they get there is irrelevent to me. If they can’t be understood, that’s a personal problem, not a government problem. And I’ll be damned if some Harvard snob tells me what my children will learn, be it Spanish or English.
July 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pmKnowing Spanish if you live in Utah really isn’t that useless. There is a huge spanish speaking population there. Plus, it’s rich with hispanic history.
http://historytogo.utah.gov/people/ethnic_cultures/the_peoples_of_utah/afterescalante.html
July 10th, 2008 at 2:53 pmwhat’s most interesting to me is that pendejo culero obama made no mention of the fact that he DOES NOT speak spanish.
you couldn’t ask for a better, more meaningful illustration of the liberal/obama mindset right there. “do as we, your betters and masters, instruct you! never mind that we will not follow those instructions! if you question us, or refuse to follow these orders, you will be prosecuted in ways both obvious and subtle!”
ALL politicians are scummy hypocrites, to be sure. but the left-wingers are the worse. there’s an old russian saying: doctors are worse than lawyers, because lawyers merely rob you - but doctors rob you AND kill you.
substitute ‘democrats’ for ‘doctors’, and you’re fully updated. POR QUE NO HABLES ESPANOL, HUSSEIN?? hmmmm?
July 10th, 2008 at 2:56 pmThis is all the Spanish I’ll ever need.
¿lavó usted sus manos de mierda antes de que usted tocara mis tomates, joder el agujero de asno?
And I do not apologize if it’s weird. This language has the adjectives in the wrong place fucking.
Kidding. I use it at work, brokenly, badly and only when marklar, hand-waving and excessive grimacing fail, with my students.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:03 pmExcellent! You really hit on all the right points in this argument. It’s a shame that Obama, and the hordes of embarrassed Americans he represents, can’t apply simple logic to any issue. The default reaction to any question is to blame America or Americans.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:04 pmWhat SgtPep said.
As an aside, there’s a lot more bilingual+ people in Utah than you’d realize. Must be all of them return Mormon missionaries who spent two years in foreign countries.
Hey, worked for me. I can speak Swedish and Norwegian and read Danish. Bonus.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:05 pmTo The Great Teleprompter-Reading, Non-Spanish Speaking Lawyer of Honolulu,
It is embarrassing that approximately half of this country wants to make you president.
Sincerely,
July 10th, 2008 at 3:15 pmTypical Monolingual American
Canada is an “officially” bilingual country - French and English. These are the languages of the “founding” nations - France and English. Thus, we can justify the need or choice to learn and speak both of these languages.
But, if I were a recent “immigrant” to a country which did not have English as its first language or England as one of its”founding” nations, I would be obligated to learn the language of the majority. Shouldn’t this rule apply to America since the English-speaking peoples were the first “immigrants” (I realize I’m excluding aboriginals in this)?
Additionally, English is the lingua franca of the world at the moment and intelligent non-English speaking people know this.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:41 pm1) In south Louisiana, we have a very close connection to the French Culture. As you cross the border, you are greeted by signs reading “Bienvenieu a Louisiana.” (Welcome to Louisiana). My kids were in a French immersion program from the time they entered the first grade until we had to move after Hurricane Rita (they were in High School then). They had their college requirement for foreign language earned by the 8th grade.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:48 pm2) As a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed at Ramstein AFB in Germany, we used to take weekend drives all the time. One of our regular day trips took us to the WWII cemetery in Luxemborg, into France and then back home to Germany. Did I mention that was a DAY trip? Yeah.
3) Spending Mother’s Day in Paris, my wife and I ran into a gentleman seeking information. Between the two of us we spoke six languages and couldn’t communicate as we had none in common. We just laughed and parted ways.
Obama can suck rocks.
Point me to a person who says we want English Only. OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS should be in English as the only OFFICIAL copy. Translations are fine, but any discrepancies will defer to the English version. There should NOT be any voting ballots in any language but English, both for the voter fraud issue brought up earlier, as well as for the point that if someone hasn’t learned enough English to read the ballot, they almost certainly haven’t assimilated enough to properly understand the issues in their cultural context.
Also, business owners would like to be able to insist that their business be conducted in English only, if they want to, without being persecuted like this guy.
People have known for a long time that learning a second language is helpful, even if it only helps you learn how other people think (Language structure influences thought patterns).
The ones who WANT to become Citizens will learn English, but the ones who only want to sponge off our prosperity and not integrate into the culture have no incentive to do so. If we cater to them and provide multilingual services just because they can’t be arsed to learn our language, it just drains more money that could be better used elsewhere.
Note that I’m not saying that there aren’t places that multilingual services aren’t useful; there certainly are, such as international companies who deal with foreign nationals all the time, places that have a lot of foreign tourism, Government agencies that deal with other countries, and probably more. However, that only describes maybe 10% of the country, and the rest just doesn’t have any real purpose for them.
July 10th, 2008 at 3:51 pmLOL 14K.
“ees ok, senor. we’re growing thees tomatoes for *export*!”
July 10th, 2008 at 4:06 pmSeriously.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:22 pmI understand the college-age set falling for him; they’ve got the stars of “hopey changey” in their eyes. But the rest?
Makes me want to weep. And damn glad I live in the country.
I took French and Spanish in high school and undergrad school. But, I grew up in the U.S., where English is the native language of the nation. Maybe not of the continent, but we can’t pick any Native American language because there are so many, and they do not translate easily between them. So, English is it. French and Spanish were my secondary languages.
Get over it. English then, English NOW, ENGLISH FOREVER!!! Get USED to it! GET USED TO IT! GET USED TO IT!!!
July 10th, 2008 at 4:26 pmYeah my Grandmother still remembers being treated like shit in PreK because she spoke with an IRISH ACCENT.She was born in America but only raised around straight off the boat Irish people.This was also a time in the country where if you were Catholic and Irish,you might as well work the red light district…you were fucked for getting a real job.Even store fronts hanged signs…’No Irish Need Apply.’ OH…if only we could still do those things! ‘Dont speak English? Dont apply!’
Obama is a dumbass.The wealth of evidence continues to mount against him.
All I know is…My kid will be learning anything BUT Spanish because this is America…and we speak Americanized English.We do not speak Arabic,we do not speak Spanish,we do not speak German…but ENGLISH.Even living outside of Washington,DC where if you’re white you are the minority…I refuse to speak anything BUT English.
July 10th, 2008 at 4:29 pmDid I imply that it wasn’t? My point was: that is a reasonable mandate, vs Obama’s suggestion that English speaking Americans should be required to learn a second language.
I’m sitting here laughing hysterically, and the closest I’ve come to studying Spanish (apart from assorted assembly instructions, owner’s manuals, and food wrappers) was French and Latin — which illustrates your earlier point most beautifully! Manus manum lavat!
July 10th, 2008 at 5:11 pmCurses! I’ve been modereated again! What did I say this time????
July 10th, 2008 at 5:13 pmI have lived in New Mexico since 1955. This is a state where the ‘minority’ is hispanic at about 59%. My kids were force fed spanish in school in the 80’s, my grandkids are forcefed it today. Most of the spanish spoken in this state is a bastard hybrid of south of the border slang and not true spanish. What a monumental waste of time when the kids need to be taught to read and speak english.
July 10th, 2008 at 5:29 pmI used to live next door to one of the Jive Dudes (Norman Gibbs), and we were even in some of the same classes together. He spoke perfect Midwestern American all the time, even though he was from New York. He must have had to take language coaching for his role in Airplane. In fact, the first time I saw the movie, I didn’t even recognize him.
July 10th, 2008 at 5:54 pmMy answer to the “Europeans are so sophisticated and Americans don’t even own a passport” canard.
My son, Matt the Marine doesn’t have a passport.
He has a little green active duty ID. On the strength of that, while he was onboard the USS Kearsarge with the 22nd MEU, visted twelve different countries over a 6 month tour.
How many “sophisticated” Euros could do that?
July 10th, 2008 at 6:27 pmSorry, 12 different European and Middle Eastern countries.
July 10th, 2008 at 6:27 pmOh, and in high school my oldest, The Third, studied Latin for his first 2 years.
Never cracked the Spanish text over the next 2 years.
Aced it.
July 10th, 2008 at 6:30 pmHmmm. While I think we arrive at the same conclusion, I’m not sure it follows from your premise. Was Canada qua Canada (i.e. the country, as opposed to the Colony), actually co-founded by France any more than the U.S. was — inasmuch as major parts of this country were originally settled by France and Spain?
I’m with you on the immigrant question, but I fear that the rest of your argument might actually be used to support the notion of mandatory bilingualism — especially in places like Texas and Southern California!
In an interesting twist, Quebec has made French — which is the language of a majority of Quebec’s citizens, but a minority of Canada’s — its official language. Though the signage laws now call for French to be only ‘markedly predominant’, there were originally ‘French only’ laws. The Office québécois de la langue française still goes after businesses for bizarre ‘infractions,’ like this case of a pub being threatened because the beer label posters on their walls were in ‘English only’ — WTF?
So, in an Obama future, one wonders if there would be similar laws against ‘English only’ signs in Los Angeles!
July 10th, 2008 at 6:39 pmBrooke and 14k,
July 10th, 2008 at 6:42 pmI wrote responses to a couple of your comments, but the modereater has them :(.
Here is what I think we ought to do…and it will solve three or more problems in one fell swoop.
July 10th, 2008 at 6:43 pmWe need to take over Mexico- we will then have a smaller border to protect with less illegal immigrants (still need to speak English, though), we will have the oil from the Mexican oil fields, and we can make 7 states out of Mexico thereby proving that Obama had great foresight when talking about our 57 states.
Learn Spanish? He’s just talkin’ down to you crackers… want me to cut his ?!@#’s off?
July 10th, 2008 at 6:50 pmEuropeans also tend to learn English because it is considered to be the international language of business.
I absolutely agree with the point about Europeans being considered well travelled because they’ve been to so many European countries. If I could get on a train to a different country every weekend, I would be exceptionally well travelled too.
It takes serious effort to be a well travelled Australian. Roughly 24 hours of travelling from anywhere in Australia to anywhere in Europe. That’s a slog!
July 10th, 2008 at 6:52 pmI studied Spanish for 7 years in HS and college. I can kinda sorta still read the language, but I was never able to speak it well. After a few years in the Navy, I entered a career where I spend much of my time in Taiwan and China. I never “studied” Mandarin, but I can speak it tolerably well after 10 years of travels. My point being that learning a language necessarily entails using it. If, as BO claims, the immigrants will learn (i.e. use) English, when and where will I use Spanish?
July 10th, 2008 at 7:02 pmAm I the only one to notice Brooke’s “higher level” grammar here? Teached? I thought the past tense of teach was taught, as in “he taught”. No?
July 10th, 2008 at 7:29 pmThanks, Rachel! (Tip jar love, coming your way!!!)
July 10th, 2008 at 8:14 pmN. O’Brain,
Just because I’m a pedant, I have to point out - even knowing that it has nothing to do with your point - that active duty ID cards haven’t been green in many years. They’re white. They’re the same as drilling reservist ID cards and they have a little computer chip on them to hold lots of data.
And I’m very proud for your son.
July 10th, 2008 at 8:26 pmSee! Knowing urban slang is more helpful than knowing a foreign language, like I said earlier!
July 10th, 2008 at 8:49 pmYeah for me!
I don’t know what kind of speaker Obama is; I avoid all political speeches as they tend to raise my blood pressure. But my wife thought he walked on water the first time she heard him speak, and she had no idea who he was before that. So he must be doing something right.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:06 pmHey Brooke,
Great spin job…how long have you been on Obama’s payroll?
BTW…He can’t speak Spanish either,did you know that?
July 10th, 2008 at 9:24 pmI recently retired from a 27 year career with a Dutch chemical company. During those years I spent time at plants in Netherlands, Portugal, and Argentina as well as Illinois and Georgia. That’s Dutch, Portugese, and Spanish. I delt with customers in the Pacific area including China. I haven’t a clue on how to speak any of those languages. Why? Because English is the standard language of international business. In Europe, where the native language changes every couple of hundred miles (or kilos if you prefer). English is the international language of choice. It’s only at the UN where they play the language game.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:38 pmSweet, felicity, just SWEET!!
July 10th, 2008 at 9:54 pmI just about blew a gasket when I heard this. First, I was insulted… in the “clinging to guns and religion” sense. What condescending crap. I’m supposed to be “embarrassed” that I’m not bilingual?? Shame-on-you campaigning is a sure way for me to NOT vote for you, BO.
Beyond being scolded and belittled by this story, it came to my attention against a very relevant backdrop of how I’ve been spending my time every day this week. I’ve missed 3 1/2 days of work because I was called to jury duty. It’s a very complicated wrongful death lawsuit that involves 4 plaintiffs and 4 defendants. The jury selection process has been grueling… hours and hours of questioning of about 100 prospective jurors by 5 different legal teams and the judge( apparently it takes that big of a sample to get a good 16 for a case of this nature). The case is supposed to go on for 3 months and after 3+ days, we’re still trying to select the jury. It’s going to suck for the 16 people who end up getting selected. For me, majorly… it’ll ruin my summer. I’ll essentially be working two full time jobs, spending my days listening to mind-numbing medical testimony, then starting my real job afterward, working into the night. But it’s my civic duty. I am required by law to serve if called upon.
Here’s the relevant part: After listening to a lot of the questioning, I’ve seen three people get excused because they DON’T SPEAK OR UNDERSTAND ENGLISH well enough. If I am required by law to serve, and it obviously requires me to be able to communicate in and comprehend English, then isn’t that case enough to require English be spoken to be a citizen????
And just to further the point, these three particular people have lived in the US for 10-25 years, had jobs here the entire time, and one even holds a degree from an American community college!
I’m so pissed I could scream.
July 10th, 2008 at 9:57 pmI listened to several talk radio hosts discuss Obama’s speech, and Rachel, you hit the nail on the head better than any of them.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:30 pmOf course you’re correct, but it was such an odd error, I chalked it up to either a strange typo or a curious attempt at some sort of baiting — neither of which seemed worth pursuing at the time!
July 10th, 2008 at 10:56 pmA little of Obama speechifying goes a long way. He always speaks, or brays, in that same baying tone, that loud, one-note, stentorian braying/baying uninflected harangue. I can’t reproduce it in black and white, but I can’t stand it.
July 10th, 2008 at 11:46 pmI’ve said for many years that Europeans just don’t understand how enormous America is. That impression is cemented further everytime I meet a grad school “Euro-snob” in DC who tries to talk to me about what ignorant buffons Americans are. I always respond by asking if they have bothered to travel in America by means OTHER than airplane (usually not) and then I try to explain to them the amazing geographic and cultural diversity of this country.
Maps don’t mean much if you travel by plane. Get into a car and you’ll understand how impressive this country is! Many Americans have been to LA, the Grand Canyon, Orlando, DC, NYC, Mount Rushmore, etc. That is well-traveled!
I often can’t make a dent in the “educated” Euro-snob, but working class Europeans get it faster. I met a Scottish railway worker who took train vacations all over the world. He couldn’t stop talking about how long it took him to get from our East coast to the West coast - it blew his mind!
July 11th, 2008 at 1:37 amLadyD, dismount from your high horse.
Oh, and my father-in-law lives in Germany - he teached for the University of MD on the Army bases, and has done so for about 20 years now.
Look at your keyboard. The “D” key and the “S” key are adjacent. How obvious does a typographical error need to be?
Couldn’t you figure out what had happened from the strongly implied present tense of the verb?
July 11th, 2008 at 2:15 amHuh, in 48 years of living, here in the US as a bitter Western Pennsylvanian clinging to my guns, my truck and religion, I’ve never needed to speak spanish. None of the obama clang speaks spanish. Now, my kids have been taking spanish since first grade in their Catholic school. My oldest daughter, going into her junior year of public high school just finished Spanish 3 and a college freshman course of French at the same time. She took it for fun. Now I have had to translate Brooklynese for some of my midwestern freinds and I’ll be damned if I can understand what Bostonians are saying.
July 11th, 2008 at 6:58 amThanks, Mike — at least one of us was actually awake last night! — and sorry, Brooke!
As the queen of fat fingered typing, I’m the last person who should engage in nitpicking other people’s typos!
(Tip jar Nitpick penance: check! I can has absolution?)
July 11th, 2008 at 7:57 amOldsmoblogger– re: the “voter fraud” statement– so breathtakingly transparent that I never noticed it until you pointed it out! LOVE IT!
July 11th, 2008 at 8:40 amJill, this seems like a good time to break out my favorite Diana Gabaldon wisdom: The difference between a Brit and an American is that a Brit thinks a hundred miles is a long way, while an American thinks a hundred years is a long time.
Doesn’t bash either side, just is generically true.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:19 amHere’s my two cents:
First of all, if the immigrants “are GOING to learn English”, then why the hell do we “need to learn Spanish”?
Also, I hate when people say “Well, your kids need to learn Spanish to help them get a job when they get older”. Why? Does my kid plan on working at the DMV? Because the only jobs that I know of (at least around my area) where you need to speak Spanish are if you a) work at the DMV or some other similar gov’t job, or b) supervising a crew of Mexican laborers, and guess what Jack…NOBODY wants either one of those jobs. Most American guys I know DO NOT want to get stuck being in charge of a bunch of orange-pickers or construction laborers that can’t speak English. So as long as my kid aspires to do something better than that, then he should be fine. If he WANTS to learn Spanish, then of course that’s ok, but I won’t force him/her.
And again, back to the “immigrants WILL learn English” thing. I live in rural South Florida and this place is swarming with Mexican, Guatemalan, and Cuban illegal aliens (and legal immigrants too). You have no idea how many of them can’t speak English, many of whom have lived here for years. I work at a Caterpillar construction-equipment dealer, and I have a bunch of customers who sent Spanish-speaking laborers to my store to pick up the parts that they order. There’s one guy who’s a regular who has an accent that is so thick it sounds like Tattoo from Fantasy Island with a mouthful of marbles. He’s a pretty nice guy and one day I asked him where he was from and how long he’d been here. “Cuba…25 years”. 25 FUCKING YEARS AND HE STILL DOESN’T SPEAK ENGLISH WORTH A SHIT! But why should he? After all, almost any public number you call has an option for Spanish, as do ATM’s and government forms.
July 11th, 2008 at 9:48 amRead Mark Steyn, its only a matter of time before we do go it alone. Obama with his 143 days in office has again demonstrated his blinding ignorance of Americans. Im getting the feeling he really has no idea what goes on in the heads of the folks in “fly over country”.English is the language of power. It is the language of business and international relations. Why? because WE are the top banana and if you want to deal with the US you do it in English. Obama cannot stand that we are the supreme power in the world and will do anything he can to belittle it or wreck it. I expect nothing less from a socialist idiot like him.
July 11th, 2008 at 10:00 amIt was a typo!! I swear! Thank you for those that pointed out it probably was.
And Justin, I’m not on Obama’s payroll….I’m not 100% behind him either (nor am I 98% behind him, so don’t start splitting hairs)….I just think that what he was intending to say and how it got interpreted got lost. And I get it. I am a big fan of “perception is reality” - what you perceive is your reality.
I still think it’s a good thing to learn a foreign language. The earlier, the better.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:02 amRon Burgundy said it best: “When in Rome…”
July 11th, 2008 at 11:19 amTHANK YOU! As soon as I read the first sentence of your post I had to say it.
I’m sick of sensitive, doe-eyed nutless males whose eyes water over, their voices breaking, saying “Obama’s so eloquent and profound”.
President Reagan could inspire you. But when I hear Obama speak, I want to throw up on his shoes.
Eloquent? Don’t make me sick.
July 11th, 2008 at 11:56 amLearning a second language is a great way to expand your knowledge.
Having said that..It is not of the realm of decisions for Barack Obama to be making for Americans when he tells us to make sure our kids are bilingual (full disclosure: I, like Rachel, don’t like or want kids). Obama is seriously overstepping his boundaries as presidential nominee and demanding that Americans make certain sacrifice (can’t eat as much, can’t have drive our SUV’s..etc..) For the people who are voting for Obama, step back and listen to what he is selling.
(one more disclosure: it was required for me to graduate with 2 years of a foreign language, I had 3 because I loved French — Shut up Obama!)
July 11th, 2008 at 12:00 pmThe biggest problem with proposing English speakers learning Spanish to deal with those who come here not knowing English is as follows. Why only Spanish? Why not also Korean? And Tagalog? And Cantonese? And Mandarin? And Wu? And Vietnamese, Laotian, Hindi, Urdu, Farsi, Arabic (in a number of dialects), Watusi, etc.?
The logic for our learning Spanish applies just as well to learning many other languages. Many people who come to this country not knowing English also do not know Spanish. That is why, for example, California, is trying to develop the capability of communicating with speakers of about 30 languages. (Futile, of course, but that’s California for you.)
That is why English only. If you disagree with English only, understand where your position leads.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pmSince I’m lazy, I’m using two different sources here, but according to this for Europe, and this for the U.S., The continent of Europe (including portions of the former Soviet Union) is about 5.7% larger than the United States. Some states have counties that are larger than all but the largest European countries.
Based on World History, I’d say its amazing that we have been able to keep this country so nearly homogeneous in terms of language, though in the latter century, communications have certainly helped that quite a bit.
July 11th, 2008 at 12:22 pmWe’ve gotten far removed from what the actual job of the President is. Every time I hear either of ‘em babble about whichever topic du jour, I keep repeating, “That’s not your job.”
July 11th, 2008 at 1:13 pmLawDog spelled it out last May in a rather good post.
Hey,
I speak 49 different languages, but am most fluent in Californian and Minnesotan. Unfortunately, I never was able to master Alaskan, but I hope to before long.
July 11th, 2008 at 2:05 pmSenor Obama, I don’t wanna be bilingual. I only like girls.
Pep
P.S. I couldn’t help it.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:44 pmToo many people making my points, but Kudos need to be given to Oldsmablogger. I never have been able to make that point about voting and you have really nailed it.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:49 pmHi Rachel.
Brilliant. Everything I’ve always wanted to say about another topic but lacked the ability to do so. Everything. Weird how thoughts are feelings and concepts before they become words. That essay sums it all up re: compulsory language & the whys & why-the-fuck nots perfectly.
By simply reading your blog, I feel like I have vented the anger I get in reaction to this dumb shit being belched out by the likes of Obama and that ding-bat you knew in college.
Good job & thanks!
July 11th, 2008 at 3:52 pmBrooke,
If Obama is so eloquent, why didn’t he simply say “learn another language - it really does increase your intelligence.”
If he meant that, why did he say “You know, it’s embarrassing, it’s embarrassing when, when, uh, when Europeans come over here. They all speak English, they speak French, they speak German. And then we go over to Europe. All we can say is merci beaucoup. Right?” instead?
Easy to infer that Americans embarrass him. Dr. Freud, what say ye?
If not, then his communication skills when shooting from the hip really SUCK. I am tired of people saying things on a GLOBAL scale that have to be explained and reexplained until the person who said them is knighted by their adoring public and the true gist of what they said is completely ignored.
In this case, he said We embarrass Him.
Fuck him.
July 11th, 2008 at 4:00 pmAm I the only one who noticed, this German boyfriend visited all the countries that the Nazis invaded?
July 11th, 2008 at 7:01 pmBrooke,
¿Ninguna respuesta?
July 12th, 2008 at 1:56 amAbsolutely blows my mind that people will still vote for this guy just because he’s black and promises all this “change” it’s way too bad they don’t realize it’ll be a change for the worse
July 12th, 2008 at 8:56 amEasy to find evidence of Obama not being able to say what he means.
What a joke.
July 14th, 2008 at 11:34 amIs it me or does B Hussein Obama become more incoherent in his speeches, with all the “uh’s”, “um’s” and “ah’s” as we approach November? Has anyone here seen the movie Idiocracy?
As for multiple languages I was raised in a Spanish-English speaking home, in the US (my folks are legal, they waited their turn, guess they weren’t great swimmers). My father always insisted that I speak English first, out of respect for being an American by birth. I am also fluent in Portuguese which I taught myself. Why did I teach myself Portuguese? Because I love going to Brasil for vacations and like to mingle with the local populace and avoind the tourist traps. What happens once they know I am American ? They want to practice their English with me. It is the same in the middle east (Arabic speaking), where I work, and when I am in Lebanon(Arabic and French speaking) on holiday. Everyone wants to practice their english.
Turd Ferguson,
AMEN, Brother. Amen
July 14th, 2008 at 1:34 pmIf we don’t accomodate illegal aliens who break the law by crossing the border and use fraudulent ID to live and work here by speaking Spanish it is American’s fault.
If we don’t accomodate the countries we visit as tourists spending our hard earned dollars by speaking the local language it is American’s fault.
Both circumstances are the reverse of common sense and reflect upon Barack Hussein Obama as someone who loathes this country and the individual liberties that make us great.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:05 pmThere is nothing wrong with speaking a foreign language but why should Americans learn Spanish as opposed to Hindi, German, Korean, or Russian? In the Dalibama’s mind we must make our illegal aliens happy and comfortable. I visited my local library and was shocked by the selection of Spanish books although there were none in any other language. I lived in Latin America for more than a few years and there are few libraries and none stock English books.
I wonder when Obama will suggest we adopt sharia law to make our Muslims happy.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:04 pmI’m learning French, in fits and starts, because I want to, not because I have to. My limited experience traveling outside the english speaking world (Germany, Russia) is that knowing a non-english language is nice but not necessary. Knowing a non-english language may help get an ‘in’ with the locals, but it is not a requirement for business or travel.
July 20th, 2008 at 11:04 pm