Quoting Bangtail:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" America does not have an official language, ... [snip!] ... and they suck at the language themselves."</blockquote> Wanting people to speak English doesn't make you racist."

That in and of itself doesn't necessarily make a person racist, but the majority of people I know who bitch about it are VERY racist.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" That in and of itself doesn't necessarily make a person racist, but the majority of people I know who bitch about it are VERY racist."</blockquote>

That's very true. Honestly, I used to think that way. I didn't understand why I should have to bend. But life experience changed my views. I've had the pleasure of working with a lot of immigrants who were more thankful for what they had then most people born here and I found myself wanting to learn their language, not only to help but also as a sign of respect.

Quoting Man. Bear. Pig.:" How do you feel when you walk into a business and their literature/signs, etc are written in another ... [snip!] ...   K, my poll doesn't make sense with the yes or no's sorry..... I'm sooo tired today. The general idea is there though."

I do think people should learn English if they move here. My grandpa came here from Greece not knowing a word of English and he taught himself english.

Quoting Bangtail:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" That in and of itself doesn't necessarily ... [snip!] ... then most people born here and I found myself wanting to learn their language, not only to help but also as a sign of respect."

My grandma came here from Germany 50 years ago and didn't know a lick of English. Now she speaks English better than the majority of Americans do. I just take offense when people assume that every immigrant refuses to learn the language. Most do try, but it's not easy, especially if you're really new to the country. They can't be expected to be fluent in a few months or even a few years in some cases. People learn at different paces. And the majority of these "speak English!" people only bitch about people who speak Spanish. It's not fair.

Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:" My grandma came here from Germany 50 years ago and didn't know a lick of English. Now she speaks English ... [snip!] ... at different paces. And the majority of these "speak English!" people only bitch about people who speak Spanish. It's not fair."

Totally.

And gawd-smurfing-forbid Americans learn another language.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" My grandma came here from Germany 50 years ago and didn't know a lick of English. Now she speaks English ... [snip!] ... at different paces. And the majority of these "speak English!" people only bitch about people who speak Spanish. It's not fair."</blockquote>


That's because that's the majority of what they actually run into. It's not about being fair; it's life experience. I've had the pleasure of working with Laotian, Thai, Russian, German, Kenyan, and Mexican immigrants. The majority of the ones that couldn't speak English were Hispanic but I think that has to do with the fact that there's a larger Hispanic culture here so it is easier (for lack of a better word) for them to not learn English right away. When I was younger, I'd get frustrated with them. But now, I attempt to do what I can to communicate effectively with them. But I'm much better at understand Spanish then I am speaking it. I do what I can, though. Sadly, I cannot legally hire them unless they have at least a working knowledge of English.

Quoting Dr. Paradigm Shift:" Totally. And gawd-smurfing-forbid Americans learn another language. "

We live in a very me me me culture. Most other countries learn at least a little bit of English. Yet we expect not to have to learn any other language? Makes me sick. I love learning languages. I don't get the hangup.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Dr. Paradigm Shift:</b>" Totally. And gawd-smurfing-forbid Americans learn another language. "</blockquote>



I'm very instant that my children learn Spanish because that's the predominant other language in this area. My husbands family gripes about it, but I think it's a respect thing. English is not an easy language to learn. Right now I'm homeschooling my 5 and 7 year olds and I'm realizing that there are very few constant rules in our language. It's just not an easy language to learn. I want them to know and respect that fact. I've just developed a huge respect for the immigrants in this area. The majority work very hard just to send a few bucks to their families in their home countries, and they're thankful for it. Yes, there's criminals in the mix, but most are just trying to better themselves and their families and I can't fault them for that.

Quoting Bangtail:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" My grandma came here from Germany 50 ... [snip!] ... it. I do what I can, though. Sadly, I cannot legally hire them unless they have at least a working knowledge of English."

I live in a predominantly hispanic neighborhood. The guy I rent from is Guatemalan. He speaks English just fine but he speaks Spanish most of the time. Well not to me, but like when he's on the phone he does. I understand Spanish pretty well and I speak it alright so it doesn't really bother me. But I could see the safety issues of hiring someone who doesn't understand English.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" I live in a predominantly hispanic neighborhood. The guy I rent from is Guatemalan. He speaks English ... [snip!] ... it alright so it doesn't really bother me. But I could see the safety issues of hiring someone who doesn't understand English."</blockquote>



Really, it's just for DOT purposes. We used to hire drivers that couldn't speak English when we had Spanish-speaking dispatchers but we sent one guy on a load to the docks in Louisiana and they had no one who could communicate with him so we failed a HazMat load for shell. It is an actual FMCSR but there's usually ways around it.

What side of Houston do you live in? I've lived and worked all over it.

Quoting Bangtail:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Dr. Paradigm Shift:</b>" Totally. And gawd-smurfing-forbid ... [snip!] ... there's criminals in the mix, but most are just trying to better themselves and their families and I can't fault them for that."

Luckily my SO is very into learning languages. He speaks Portuguese pretty fluently and Spanish alright. If we ever have kids we will at least teach them Spanish.

You can't expect an older person to instantly learn a new language!,
Remember with kids its a different situation, They learn very quick!
as an older person maybe 40+ years old, It's not going to be easy.

Quoting Man. Bear. Pig.:" How do you feel when you walk into a business and their literature/signs, etc are written in another ... [snip!] ...   K, my poll doesn't make sense with the yes or no's sorry..... I'm sooo tired today. The general idea is there though."

English is one of the HARDEST languages to learn. I can go onto a whole tirade about this, but the "Learn English, it's America!" pisses me off because English is a very, very hard language to learn.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" Luckily my SO is very into learning languages. He speaks Portuguese pretty fluently and Spanish alright. If we ever have kids we will at least teach them Spanish."</blockquote>




Mine is doing good to speak English. He's from a super small town in north Texas where the education left a lot to be desired. But he's a computer genius and has done very well with that. I have a very diverse family, so my aunt teaches us Spanish. She's from Columbia where they use the vosotros form so it's a little different. Of course, that's another good thing about this area. There are so many strong cultures that you can expose yourself and your kids to.

Quoting Bangtail:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Tarynosaurus Rex:</b>" Luckily my SO is very into learning languages. ... [snip!] ... that's another good thing about this area. There are so many strong cultures that you can expose yourself and your kids to."

I just noticed you live in Katy. You're not far from me at all. We didn't learn vosotros in high school cuz my teacher said it was mostly used in Spain.