Posted on 05/28/2018 8:46:14 AM PDT by artichokegrower
Natalia Meneses was shopping at a Walmart in Georgia this year when her 3-year-old daughter began a conversation that triggered an ugly experience.
The little girl did not blurt out a profanity or otherwise say anything inappropriate. She simply pointed out flower hair clips to her mother: "Mira, Mami!"
Overhearing the conversation that ensued in Spanish between mother and child, a woman snapped at Meneses, an American citizen who was born in Colombia.
"You need to teach this kid to speak English, because this is America and kids need to learn English," she said. "If not, you need to get out of this country."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
English is my primary language. I find it strange that in a nation that is constitutionally founded on the right to freedom of speech that there would be advocates for dictating the language used in speech of children to their parents.
When I went to Public High School many decades ago some Proficiency in at least 1 additional foreign language was required for graduation.
Many of the founding fathers were multilingual. English is the lingua Franca in today’s culture. It is also the official language of the American people. It must be mastered before graduation from any school herein the USA. Or it should be. However people should be able to speak whatever language do they choose in any location that they choose because of our constitution.
the germans didn’t have a monopoly on fascism. many people here want to control the language people speak outside of work or school, whether or not they are getting intoxicated, and how they raise their kids.
I have no problem with people speaking Spanish or any other language to their heart’s content anywhere.
BUT
This is an English speaking country. We should not be making accommodations for people on official forms etc to speak languages other than English. The expectation is that you learn English. If you are unwilling to learn the language of the country, I’d suggest you leave. Your employment prospects will be very dim.
My dad speaks 11 languages. I speak just one. You and I jumped to different conclusions about the girl and her mother than each other. I guess there is no way to prove either of us is right.
Did your father demand bilingual German - English public school instruction? Bilingual ballots in both German and English. Did he get to press 2 for German? No? Maybe that’s why he grew up to be a lawyer and not a sausage maker. My grandfather growing up in rural Minnesota could say grace in German, Dutch, Norwegian and English. I can’t.
It is common courtesy. Does it offends you to consider the comfort of others?
I agree. Damn illegal holding up the line at 7/11 because he couldn’t say FOUR, as in four dollars of gas to the clerk. He finally ended-up holding up four fingers to signify what he wanted.
It is simply accepted as common courtesy to speak the native language of the country you are in unless you simply never learned how. This is especially true when you are in the presence of Americans, in this case.
It is not Spanish-speaking people who are “making us pay” for all that. It is our government.
If that happened to me, I’d say “Ich kann kein Spanien.”, which is German for “I don’t speak Spanish.”.
It irritates me too, I'm first generation and my parents went overboard insuring that we learned English by only speaking English to us. But you know, I feel like I lost a huge part of their culture through that.
There is a huge animosity, and rightfully so, against illegals from south of our border, but the United States doesn't have a national language(legislated) and acting out against a parent and child isn't going to do anything, except show the person acting out as a bigot.
As far as translators and such, we pay for translated material and translators for every language, not just Spanish. Before you go away mad, I agree that all children should be taught in English only, immersion works and works well as has been historically proven, I just don't agree with slamming anyone for speaking their ethnic language at home or in public.
I live in National City, hard by the city of San Diego, Mexican population 67%. I hear Mexicans (maybe they are “Americans”) conversing in Spanish every day I venture out. This includes children with parents and employees speaking with each other at Walmart and other stores. Californians will be fortunate to be in a bilingual state in the future. There is a good chance that English will be supplanted by Spanish as the major language, eventually.
Municipal Hospitals are obliged to have a staff of Interpreters in several languages, dozens even, 24/7.
Some hospitals prohibit family members or workers who are bilingual from interpreting as it must only be done by ‘official’ Interpreters.
It is OK because Health Care is free for many if not most of these cases.
No and as far as we know neither did this mother. Just because I believe people should speak whatever language they choose at home and in private conversation does not mean I think the U.S. needs to become like Quebec.
Is German language teacher was a bit put out to discover that her star pupil spoke German at home. I would have loved to have seen my grandfather’s face as the teacher went on about my dad’s progress in her class.
In any case competent maids and fruit growers are not to be sneezed at. You are right if the girl does not become proficient in English her future will be very limited. But more and more that is true of people who are not bi-lingual.
No Hebrew? How anti-Semitic of them.
Eavesdropping or trying to hear the conversation of others is rude. Nobody owes you the “courtesy” of your being able to hear and understand their conversation.
What about deaf people? Do you understand Ameslan (kudos if you do.) should they not sign in front of others?
You can speak your native language or learn a second and third one but you must speak English. It is the only way to survive in America.
Not in private conversation. It would be rude to assume when engaging in public business that people will speak your language if it is not the common language of that country. But we are not discussing that. We are discussing a mother speaking to her child in private conversation.
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