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2007-05-23 Home Front: Culture Wars

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Posted by anonymous5089 2007-05-23 08:45|| || Front Page|| [11130 views ] Top

#1 1. At least where I live most of the hispanics are Salvadorans, guatamalans, etc, etc, NOT Mexicans, so they have no territorial claim.

2. All the data Ive seen says 2nd generation hispanics (including Mexicans) are just as likely to speak English as 2nd gen immigrants at earlier points in history

3. Of course we should be demanding more assimilation. We should also be more fully fund english language courses for adults. We should make assimilation a national priority

Posted by liberalhawk 2007-05-23 09:20|| 2007-05-23 09:20|| Front Page Top

#2 Note this is from a rather rightwing website, but like the Buchanan piece yesterday, I thought there was a point about the USA, and the West more generally.

Posted by anonymous5089 2007-05-23 09:24|| 2007-05-23 09:24|| Front Page Top

#3 There are more Chinese studying English every night on the mainland than 'immigrants' within the borders of the US. The Chinese aren't held back by the lack of 'funded' programs as an excuse.

Posted by Procopius2k 2007-05-23 09:25|| 2007-05-23 09:25|| Front Page Top

#4 Liberalhawk-You fail to recognize the linguistic chauvinism of Spanish speakers in America. Ask some Spanish speakers how they generally view the requirement to assimilate linguistically. Of course they learn English-every semester I had more Spanish speakers in my ESL classes than any other linguistic group and they were wonderful students. What the data doesn't show you is that while they are ABLE to speak English, they push for Spanish to be spoken by Americans as no other linguistic groups do.

While there may be 32 languages on the California drivers' exam, there are not push buttons for other languages on phone calls, i.e., have you ever seen push one for Chinese, two for Japanese, three for Hindi, four for Arabic, five for Portuguese, six for French...This says something about Spanish speakers' view of English as the language of the US.

Regarding English classes for adults, we had better make a change in the way students are registered. When I ran a program, we were legally prohibited to press ESL students for social security cards or other IDs.

Posted by Jules 2007-05-23 10:48|| 2007-05-23 10:48|| Front Page Top

#5 A more optimist view.

Posted by anonymous5089 2007-05-23 11:22|| 2007-05-23 11:22|| Front Page Top

#6 ...have you ever seen push one for Chinese, two for Japanese, three for Hindi, four for Arabic, five for Portuguese, six for French...This says something about Spanish speakers' view of English as the language of the US.

Well, I think it says something about the prevalence of Spanish-speakers, as opposed to those others, and their buying power. That is, if they didn't have the dollars to demand Spanish-speaking ATMs, say, there wouldn't be very many.

Of course, Spanish-speaking ATMs could just be the work of the Perpetually Indignant, who are mostly affluent Anglos.

My local ATM offers English, Spanish, and Russian. No idea where that last one came from. Dasvedanya, y'all.

Posted by Angie Schultz 2007-05-23 13:53|| 2007-05-23 13:53|| Front Page Top

#7 Spanish Speaking ATMs, why can't your card cary a language note on the strip so that the ATM knows what language to use without being asked? The technolgy was there long ago. That would also make it intersting for those dealing with stolen cards who don't have a great grasp of English.

Posted by rjschwarz 2007-05-23 14:55|| 2007-05-23 14:55|| Front Page Top

#8 Angie-That is giving preferential treatment to one ethnic/linguistic group over others, simply because of their numbers. Ours is a land of equal, not preferential, rights. The common language of the US-the language of the Constitution-should be the national and official language.

From Wikipedia:
"The languages of the European Union...include the twenty-three official languages of the European Union along with a range of others...The Official Journal of the European Union shall be published in the twenty-three official languages."

See where this could lead?

Posted by Jules 2007-05-23 16:40|| 2007-05-23 16:40|| Front Page Top

#9 That is giving preferential treatment to one ethnic/linguistic group over others, simply because of their numbers.

Actually, this afternoon I caught a TV commercial for some loan company whose ad claimed that they spoke Spanish. This is pretty common here, with lawyers, loan companies, pawn shops, auto dealerships... And it occurred to me that I had been thinking of the wrong kind of "demand". It's more likely that some of these businesses thought they'd get the jump on their competition by catering to the Spanish-speaking crowd, and so it proved. Eventually the competition tries to catch up, and soon everybody's doing it.

That's not got anything to do with "equal rights", anymore than strip clubs and hardware stores catering more to men, and shoe stores and hairdressers to women, do. (Unless Edwards is elected.)

It's capitalism, babies!

Posted by Angie Schultz 2007-05-23 22:50|| 2007-05-23 22:50|| Front Page Top

#10 It is indeed capitalism. If I recall correctly from my long ago wage slave days, Hispanic-Americans form intense brand loyalties to those brands and companies that address them directly: on Spanish language television and radio stations, using hispanic images and situations, responding to their aspirations. And they'll stick with those brands and companies even after they've learnt English, moved to a nice suburb, and sent the children off to college. It's apparently quite expensive to seduce a new customer, first to try, then to buy... and even more expensive to loose her to the competition, because she tells all her friends.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-05-23 23:50|| 2007-05-23 23:50|| Front Page Top

23:50 trailing wife
23:49 Mark Espinola
23:48 Zenster
23:45 Mark Espinola
23:43 DMFD
23:43 WTF
23:42 Zenster
23:30 anonymous2u
23:26 DMFD
23:24 Danking70
22:50 Angie Schultz
22:49 Mac
22:47 Shieldwolf
22:45 Mac
22:44 Mac
22:36 DMFD
22:33 DMFD
22:32 DMFD
22:31 SR-71
22:21 George Orwell
22:19 George Orwell
22:08 ed
22:04 Anonymoose
22:00 George Orwell