¿Habla Español? Your kids may soon

Skagit Valley Herald ^ | 12/01/03 | STEVE HOWIE

[Ben Chad]

In the short term, it might help Americans to learn spanish, as the Mexicans are overrunning our borders. In the long run, the entire world had better learn english, but that is the language which will ultimately prevail.

Our competitors in Europe have caught on to the need to know english and they learn it as a second language at an early age. It would do us all good in the U.S. to learn a second language. The earlier taught, the easier. Unfortunately my choice in college was French. Zeut Alors. Habría sido mejor haber aprendido español.

[Poohbah]

Saying "defeatist" doesn't end the debate. It merely shows that you are unable or unwilling to engage in that debate.

Now, assuming you actually manage to build a 2,100-mile Berlin wall--which, in itself, would be a rather impressive engineering feat--the illegal immigrants and those who profit from bringing in illegal aliens will look for alternative means of getting the illegals into the country.

One rather obvious method would be to bring in illegal aliens by boat.

How do you propose to counter this effort? Note that the key selling point of that 2,100-mile-long Berlin Wall is that it will largely stop illegal immigration. When it does not do this, you will have a credibility problem, and that will make additional measures less likely to be approved.

[FITZ]

I would not recommend learning Spanish in a dual-language program ---- if someone is interested in learning that language it would be better to do it the right way --- take the courses that teach spelling and grammar and then study in a foreign university a semester or two and learn by the immersion method. All you hear around here is the slang --- terms like "la troca" or sentences mixed with Spanish and English like "da me la pencil". It's okay for the border maybe but it's not Spanish that would get you very far.

[archy]

It would be fairer if they chose Scottish Gaelic (aka Ga\idhlig); so few native speakers left, nobody would have an unfair advantage, tha mi a' smaoineachadh.

And some awfully pretty music for icing on the cake, too. One of the tricks I learned a long time ago when trying to pick up a new language was to listen to all the music in that language I could. It helps the pronunciation, gives you a few quick memorable phrases, and sometimes a few idiomatic terms as well.

tha mi a' smaoineachadh Klingons? The Klingons are attacking?!?! Mia kusenveturilo estas plena da angiloj!

[CholeraJoe]

Wouldn't America be a great place if it just weren't for all the Sp*cs, Ni%%ers, and Ra&#eads. /sarcasm

Military Academies are now requiring 3 years of high school Foreign language. Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese or Chinese.

The world has changed since the 50's. Deal with it.

[FITZ]

A guy from here who is hispanic and was stationed in the military in Panama told us of a very funny story ---- they were doing an exam on a prim and proper Panamanian woman and needed a translator --- they chose a Chicana woman who claimed she spoke Spanish but she only knew the most vulgar street terms for anatomical parts and of course used them to describe a procedure and ask questions of her.

[Dog Gone]

What is your problem? I mentioned the coastline first, then the Canadian border, and finally Alaska. I guess I could have mentioned Hawaii, too, but my point was long lost over your head.

Arguing with you is pointless when you can't even grasp the little points.

[sarcasm]

the illegal immigrants and those who profit from bringing in illegal aliens will look for alternative means of getting the illegals into the country.

Interior enforcement with mandatory prison sentences for employers of illegal aliens would cut down on the demand.

[FITZ]

It would do us all good in the U.S. to learn a second language.

It's okay to learn whatever foreign language you choose to learn --- but really the USA is far ahead of Europe and any of those multi-language countries. We got far ahead of the rest of the world by being a unified people with a common language ---- not by being Balkanized like we are now aiming to do.

[Poohbah]

Interior enforcement with mandatory prison sentences for employers of illegal aliens would cut down on the demand.

That will last right up to the moment that Mrs. Soccer Mom gets sentenced to 5-10 for hiring day labor.

[DeathAngel]

Indoctrination?

[sarcasm]

It would actually be easier to stop from coming by water. There has to be some point where this invasion stops - you seem to want to rollover and let the country be overrun by illegal aliens.

[Poohbah]

It would actually be easier to stop from coming by water.

Actually, it wouldn't.

They don't have to show up at a shipping pier. You have to secure almost every mile of coastline.

[sarcasm]

As I said before - you're a defeatist.

[archy]

Don't be a smartass. You can close off one entry point entirely, and guess where the next entry point will be. If you guessed "the next easiest point of entry", you win.

Good thing I'm bilingual! Hope they are too....

[DeFault User]

That sort of street Spanish is to Spanish as Ebonics is to English.

My wife is currently teaching Spanish to some doctors and nurses. Even with their minimal knowledge so far (this semester), they tell her they get a lot of gratitude from their hispanic patients. It could also avoid mistakes in directions regarding diagnoses, medications, etc.

[FITZ]

Ending all welfare programs for non-citizens, deporting those who won't pay their own hospital bills or school tuition, and cleaning out the Social Security number database and going after those committing felony document fraud would go a long way to making at least a big dent in the problem. The borders are being flooded by indigent people from the third world country ---- the economies in the border states are a disaster.

I think we should categorize immigrants --- the freeloaders need to go ---- there doesn't have to be a Berlin Wall, there doesn't have to be door-to-door searches ---- a lot more could be done with existing monies.

[Dog Gone]

you seem to want to rollover and let the country be overrun by illegal aliens

Not at all. I just don't think any physical barrier would do more than slow it down.

I favor a system of laws that discourages the entry of illegals by denying them jobs or government benefits, unless they have permission to enter to get them. That would cost hundreds of billions less than creating a Berlin Wall around the thousands of miles of our borders.

[Poohbah]

As I said before - you're a defeatist.

"Defeatist" is a favorite term of the reality-allergic.

As long as anti-illegal-immigration measures don't personally inconvenience the population at large, they are popular. Once they begin to hit ordinary folks, they will quickly grow unpopular. When they're expensive and unpopular, they have a shelf life of hours at best.

You'd have to jail a sizable percentage of the border state population to make a large dent. And you'd also inevitably hit a lot of American citizens who work off the books for cash. Yup. Great way to win friends and influence people.

[FITZ]

But still you wonder why people living in this country refuse so adamantly to learn the language of this country. Most Americans will learn more Spanish for a 2-week vacation in Mexico than Mexicans will learn of English in 10 years of living in the USA.

I would not go to a Mexican doctor in Mexico and expect them to speak English --- I would think it was up to me to learn their language.