merde!

[bluegreen17]

what the...?!!!!

i don't even like spanish! and i like it even less every day since it seems to be shoved down our throats alot...okay,so i'm not politically correct. i'm just bitter on behalf of my ancestors who went to a lot of trouble to learn english when they moved here from quebec.

on the happier front,after thousands of years,i finally 'get' the title of one of john lennon's books. ha! my comprehension is so slow it's amazing it's not going backward in time.


You are a Spaniard.


What's your Inner European?
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Comments

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

On the language issue: Heh, I know what you mean. As a linguist, I'm supposed to think language diversity is way cool, but I also can't help noticing what a pain in the ass it is when you have 18 different languages spoken in an area the size of Connecticut. Yes, sure, Americans should learn foreign languages more, just for the sake of it. But let's think for a second about how much money the E.U. spends on translators alone: I mean, each of its official documents has to be translated into every one of the (13? 14? I'm not even sure how many) member languages. Maybe we're homogeneous and bland here in the States, but at least we can understand each other.

Oh, and apparently my inner European is a Bavarian. Hee.

[altoidsaddict.livejournal.com]

Out here in Colorado, though, there are towns and families that have spoken Spanish since this place was Mexico. It makes more sense to speak Spanish instead of English out here, really. My husband and I both speak it and I'm trying to get my mom to speak a few phrases.

Useful? Yes. You would not believe how easy it is for me to navigate through a lot of situations once people realize *I'm* willing to accomodate *their* language. I've been a foreigner with a limited understanding of the native language (when I went to Costa Rica, I had limited Spanish based on living here), and it means the world to know that people don't mind that you speak English.

[bluegreen17]

i didn't realize that colorado was once part of mexico.

i don't know why the spanish thing annoys me so much. i don't really understand why there is such emphasis on it here in new england! years ago,i worked in social services and we had folks who were from puerto rico,and i was glad i knew a little spanish to help them out. but i just don't think everything around here should have to be in spanish and english.

i guess there are different ways of looking at things. for instance,puerto ricans speak spanish,and they are part of the usa. most of the usa speaks english. so who should have to accomadate if the puerto ricans move to english-speaking areas? i certainly think that there should be help for them to learn english if they move to the mainland,so to speak. but i don't think having everything in two languages is necessary. it's just a terrible prejudice i have.

when i was growing up,quite a few kids in my class had just immigrated from quebec. they stayed after school hours to learn english.

i'll stop harping on it now,or i will appear more evil than i actually am! it's part of my dark side...

Re:

[altoidsaddict.livejournal.com]

Yeah, until 150 years ago a quarter of the United States was Mexico. The biggest roadblock to a dual-language culture is the difference in class - Spanish-speaking Latinos (whether American-born or not) provide a huge underclass in our society, and it's to the upper class's financial advantage to keep them that way - insisting that people with neither the means nor the time to learn one of the world's most difficult languages to get ahead is a perfect strategy. In other areas, where Vietnamese or German or Korean or Laotian or Chinese or Norwegian or Swedish is either a primary or secondary language, there's not nearly as much galvanized opposition and insistences that "if they move here, they should learn English." It's changing - one of the things I like about Dubya (okay, the only thing) is that he at least in practice legitimizes the Spanish language. 'Cause it helps, in Texas.

Costa Rica is somewhat of a multi-lingual culture. Some indigenous groups don't speak Spanish, and instead speak obscure Mayan dialects. In the schools, depending on the area, they teach English, Swedish, Norwegian, or German, and speaking two languages is a standard requirement in urban employment. It works pretty well - until I became fluent, I had no trouble speaking English; the doctor at the hospital I went to spoke five languages.

[bluegreen17]

more stuff i didn't know. thanks.

i'm still perplexed,though,about the situation around here. there is a very large number of asian and indian folks here...in fact,i see them more often than i hear (because you can't always tell they're latino by looks,as you can for asian and indians) latinos. so i still don't get it as to why it's like this where i live. perhaps we are just going by national 'standards' or 'recommendations' as opposed to tailoring it for regions...though there are at least two spanish tv stations in the general boston area. maybe there is a greater influx of latinos in boston than i know about...certainly there is much more that i dont' know than that i know. maybe i'll ask my sister,who lives in arlington,which is basically boston.

thanks for helping me to be slightly less ignorant!

[bluegreen17]

bavarian makes me think of decadent pastries. isn't bavaria a region of germany? or maybe switzerland. i don't know if the e.u. is a good idea,but i haven't really studied the whole issue. but eighteen translations? sheesh.

[silverwraith.livejournal.com]

yeah, I understand about that whole Quebec thing. my grandparents came over from Germany and nobody spoke German for them. :/

but then again, I've never been known as a very PC chick. and the fact that I can call myself a "chick" without taking any offense is probably a good indicator of my lack of PC-ness. heh.

[(Anonymous)]

the canadians are required to have everything in french and english both. sometimes i think with the huge amount of spanish speaking people we have here in the us, we should do the same. yet i find some canadians are resentful of having to incorporate the second language! the co i work for has a huge amt of south americans and the communication gap is not good! patti