“Why Aren’t You Speaking English?”
During committee testimony this week in Austin, a Texas senator interrupted a Spanish speaker and telling him he should "be speaking in English" during a committee hearing.
Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition was testifying against Senate Bill 9 that would help crack down on illegal immigrants in Texas. Aguirre spoke through an interpreter even though he had been in the U.S. since 1988.
This.
See, here's the thing. My grandparents came to this country from Italy in the run-up to WWII. Not a single one spoke English as their first, or even second language (come to find out, my mother's father was fluent in four or five languages). They all learned English, all four of them, either before they got here or once they got off the boat. Sure, my "Nona" (who was actually my great-grandmother) spoke in broken English and preferred Italian among those who also spoke, but she came over later in her life.
But she still spoke English.
Had you suggested to any of them that they should have interpreters handy to translate for them - some two dozen years after they immigrated - they'd have laughed in your face. They knew damn well that an American moving to Italy would have to learn Italian - hell, that's basic courtesy. In fact, my mother's father learned German and French as well as English so he could converse with the touristas - that was simple business sense. When they came here, they knew that in order to fully integrate with American society they had to learn the language - and they did.
As for preserving old traditions, well, look. If the traditions are worth preserving, it'll happen. If keeping your Spanish heritage is that important to you, make sure your kids are bilingual - hell, it'll give them an easy "A" in middle school. You can preserve the old ways while making room for new ways; we still have a multi-course dinner for Christmas that starts somewhere around 2 and goes well into the night that involves about 18 different courses, for example. But my parents, only the first generation of our family born in the USA, speak English with nary a hint of an accent.
I find nothing objectionable in the Texas Senator's question.
That is all.
19 comments:
Jay,
Apologies in advance . . . this is gonna be long.
You just hit a sore spot with me. Many folks coming to the US are not coming to become Americans, they're coming so they can leave their old country -- and in the process are slowly turning the US of A into a 3rd rate banana republic. My own grandfather's story is similar to that of yours. Georg came here in 1910 at age 22, settling in Chicago. Depending on time in history, the town where he was born was part of The Hapsburg Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, The Kingdom of Poland, The Soviet Union and today is located in The Ukraine -- and the town hasn't moved. When Georg stepped off the boat June 5, 1910, he was fluent in German, Yiddish, Polish, Russian and Hebrew. The moment he got here, HE LEARNED STANDARD AMERICAN ENGLISH because he became an American . . . so I'm with you 500% on this one. Like the example you cite, these people who come here and refuse to adapt to American Culture, I believe are imperious bastards and should be sent packing. You have something to offer and want to adapt to American living? Great!! Come on in, the beer's cold. I'm not asking you to give up your culture -- hell, that's part of the richness that makes us great. I'm asking you to keep your culture but adapt to American living. Thank you. [/rant]
As a first-generation immigrant, genuinely foreign-born and all, I think that if you come here and decide to become part of this culture, you should speak the primary language of the country.
Living here for over twenty years and having to use an interpreter to speak English is ridiculous and inexcusable. It doesn't take very long to gain basic proficiency in any language. Nobody says you have to *only* speak English, but you better make a good-faith effort to *also* speak English.
Not only was the question not objectionable, that whole interpreter thing was a stunt. The guy knew English.
I'm in Texas, and this reminds of what my wife has run across in her job. She had 2 coworkers who are first generation immigrants to the USA with sons of about the same age (3-4 years old). One was teaching her son how to speak both Spanish and English. The other felt it was the schools' job to teach her son English. It is to guess which one of those boys is more likely to be a success in life.
Great grandparents on mom's side were from Italy, GGramma would speak exclusively Italian with her husband and a couple friends.
Grampa, my mom's father, spoke italian but if he tried in front of GGramma, she'd blow a gasket, "We inna America, you born here, speak English!"
My mother never learned a word.
I applaud this senator, we're never going to win unless we start standing up to them. We have to regain the RIGHT to refuse service.
You don't have to be a strict constructionist like Antonin Scalia to know that there is no constitutional or other legal requirement to speak English in order to legally live here, nor are your rights contingent on speaking English.
There isn't?
Speaking English isn't a requirement of emigrating to the United States?
Might want to check on that one.
I would dare say that a good percentage of the folks coming across the boarder don't have the slightest interest in becoming Americans. The only reason they come here to the land of the big PX is to make the long green so they can send it back to their home country. Once they have enough money made, they can go back home and live like Kings. I've seen it time after time, that's why so many bodegas and small stores that deal with Latinos have Western Union and other wire service affiliations.
I don't want to know how much money is wired out of this country each month.
I believe reading, writing, and speaking English is a condition of naturalization, but not of immigration.
I second what Brad_in_MA wrote. Mrs. TOTWTYTR is a teaching who has taught in a number of urban high schools. She said several of her foreign born students have told her that they hate this country and only came here because of the generous welfare benefits. Many of them refuse to learn English and demand translators.
They all plan to return to their native nations as soon as they have accrued enough money.
They refuse to even stand during the Pledge or National Anthem.
My grandparents fled from various parts of Russia to escape persecution. I think one of them spoke English, but I'm not sure. The others spoke not one word when they came here. Both of my grandfathers worked days, eventually starting small businesses, and went to school to learn English at night. My grandmothers took care of their kids and went to school at night to learn English.
They all became American citizens at some point.
At one time, when you entered this country, you had to sign a document stating that your intent was to live here permanently, swear allegiance to the US, and foreswear allegiance to any other nation, government, king, emperor, or foreign potentate. I have a form from 1912 filled out by a great uncle who foreswore his allegiance to Czar Nicholas II of Russia.
People used to come here because there was almost unlimited opportunity and freedom compared to where they previously lived. Now, many come here to suck on the gigantic teat of American welfare.
Want to go a long way to solving our financial crisis? Do what many nations do and require evidence of financial solvency or salable skills to anyone who wants to come here. Forbid immigrants to apply for welfare.
I know I sound like a Xenophobic isolationist, but I'm not. This is a nation of immigrants, but it always was a nation of immigrants who came here to work and contribute to society. When that went away (thanks Dead Ted Kennedy) our society started to decline in many ways.
English por favor!
With that, I'm one to cut slack to a point. That point is one of decorum and an honest attempt to respect the forum. He has been here for enough years to become proficient in English. The forum speaks English.
Now if for some reason English is hard and you want to be very clear the right way is say that in English with a proper respect to the forum and then ask that an interpreter be used to avoid pronunciation errors. One way is rude, the other is polite. Diplomats understand this and often learn enough foreign language to be polite if anything.
With all that said, I work with people that have typically been here only few years and their English is often better than mine!
Eck!
When my Hispanic customers suggest I should learn Spanish to better serve them I reply "Ich sprach Deutsch als ein kinder."
That's as close as I can come to what little German I learned when Dad was stationed there.
It's usually enough for the customer to find the words, in English, for what they want.
Conversely I do have a Spanish/English translation site bookmarked on the store computer. No sense in letting a sale get away.
I'm sure the Texas senator will be force to "apologize" and attend sensitivity classes.
"Do what many nations do and require evidence of financial solvency or salable skills to anyone who wants to come here."
Canada does this, BTW. I have a cousin who recently moved to Canada and not only did she have to have a job lined up, she had to havea certain amount of money in her bank account.
Oh, and she also had to prove she was fluent in French...
This irritates me to no end. It's NOT HARD to learn a foreign language when you are living in that country and immersed in it.
Granted, I was only 9 when I moved to Germany (the younger you are, the easier to learn another language), but I was fluent within 2 years. Within 3, I was attending German schools where they certainly made no special accommodations for me, or any other student for whom German was a second (or third) language.
If you immigrate here, embrace the language and culture. Celebrate your own, to be sure, but be proud to be part of this great country.
Way to perpetrate the Lazy Mexican stereotype, Mr. Aguirre. 20 years and no English is either completely useless or politically motivated.
Pshaw.
As a immigrant from Canada, I can categorically state that while the language Americans speak bears some resemblance to English, it isn't actually English, but rather some strange un-named foreign tongue that bears as much resemblance to actual English as Romanian does to French.
And it's pronounced "Zed" as is in "Zeta", not "Zee" as in "Zunderzee". Deal with it!
;)
That being said, once I learned Spanish, the world of Latino culture and history opened up for me. Yes, you should learn "English";) when you come to this country, but there's nothing wrong with keeping a bit of your history with you when you arrive. I just wish there was a bit of MY history (namely, a Tim Horton's) within 1500 miles of where I live...
Here is the thing: In Texas, speaking Spanish to a group of English speakers when everyone knows damn good and well you do know English, is an insult. It meas "I don't want to interact with you, and this is the quickest way to get rid of you." Shit, I've pretended to tourists that I didn't speak English.
I'm willing to bet if those damn welfare and free medical forms had to be done in English and could only be filled out by the applicant, there's be a whole lot of English learnin' going on. And NOT just by immigrants...
My Great Grandfather came from Denmark in the turn of the century. His father, forbid anyone in the family from speaking Danish, it was english alone so that they would understand it and be fluent with it. You are in a country that speaks english. (While we do not speak the queens english as pointed out, Canadian english is diffrent from the queens english as well... as is the rest of it but we still can communicate..)
That being said, I agree what one does in their own home or with their friends is their busness. To speak like this individual did is ment as a direct insult.
Years ago I worked in a casino and we would have issues with various non english speaking folks, Hmong, Mexican usually. When spoke to, they claimed to speak no english. Threaten them with expulsion for their behavior or fighting with the employees on something, suddenly they understood and spoke fluent english!
This whole speech that was given is nothing short of a insult and the congresscritter that asked why it was not done in english knew it.
When my father and his brothers came from Peru, they came to be Americans. They stayed in English immersion boarding houses. My father joined the Army. To this day, they all have slight accents. But they speak only English, except to each other.
The brother that went to Germany many years after the others left speaks both English and German. He's not even in a country where English is the primary language and he still learned English.
Myself and all the American-born cousins on my father's side can't speak Spanish worth a darn. Oh, I learned how to sing some prayers in Spanish by rote, but I haven't the barest hint of grammar understanding.
Not that it would have helped at all. You see, my father can't understand Mexicans. He speaks Spain-Spanish. You can tell when he listens to Mexicans, it's like he's trying to parse Scottish.
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