<p>quit being bitter because you can’t speak another language and you’re angry…that’s as bad as going to france and suspending an american studying abroad for speaking english…let’s make the official language spanish…wouldn’t be bad if a few more americans were bilingual</p>
<p>no dude, i meant that they were suspending the kid because he was a foreigner practically, and spoke his language in the halls. k maybe that’s a stretch, but i mean the kid learned english here</p>
<p>I think it’s funny how all the Europeans that came here couldn’t speak any English. Did the U.S.A. turn into a big liberal pansy puss fest and start printing everything into different languages? No. So why is everything turning into En Espanol? There is like no Mexicans or Hispanics here in St. Louis, so why the hell is En Espanol everywhere? There is a ton of Russians and Bosnians so why isn’t anything in Russian or Serbian?</p>
<p>man, some people need to lay off the haterade.</p>
<p>anyway, that article sounds like something out of the Onion, it’s just so RIDICULOUS.
a kid would get suspended for one line of Spanish?
(and what about the other kid, who started it?)</p>
<p>I bet that the issue extends beyond what we are told in the article. I would wager a little that the student and others have been involved in incidents in which they converse in Spanish so that others won’t understand them and they can talk about inappropriate things without fear of punishment- maybe trash teachers or students. It just doesn’t seem possible to me that he would be suspended solely for saying “no problema”. Plus the teacher is quoted as saying she had previously told him not to speak in Spanish… to me that sounds as if there was some kind of prior incident.
At least I hope thats the explanation.</p>
<p>so TPeck…what’s the U.S.'s official language?</p>
<p>I go to an international school, and teachers sometime get mad at us for speaking in Chinese/Taiwanese.</p>
<p>Personally, I think the only reason why they behave like that is because they are frustrated at not being able to understand what we are talking about.</p>
<p>I’m willing to bet that Principal Watts didn’t know any Spanish. =p</p>
<p>I got to a school where we get some boarders from all over (Korea, South American, Europe). Nobody cares when they speak in their own language (which they do often at lunch or even amongst each other during class) - teachers even joke about it.</p>
<p>Charles (some of the Koreans pick a random American name to make things easier - he thought “Charles” sounded good with his last name - “Choi”…once my friend Jin Ho tried to get a freshman to go by Tyrone) often will mutter to himself in Korean during calc, and our teacher would go like - “Charles, are you calling me a white devil?” ::points to another Korean:: “Did he just call me a white devil?”</p>
<p>Oh, and Tpeck, why aren’t Europeans’ languages more widespread…because they aren’t the largest minority group, Spanish-speakers are.</p>
<p>And why are Spanish speakers the biggest minority group? And why do Americans have to adjust to their language and not the other way around? That is the point I’m trying to make. If you want to learn Spanish for them, go ahead. I’m not.</p>
<p>“so TPeck…what’s the U.S.'s official language?”</p>
<p>None, why do you ask? It goes state by state. I think here in Missouri the official language is English. Check Wikipedia.</p>
<p>“And why do Americans have to adjust to their language and not the other way around”</p>
<p>“None, why do you ask?”</p>
<p>just contradicted yourself…there is no “our” language…don’t think states even have official languages…so it’s perfectly legitimate to print government documents/corporate slogans in Spanish…furthermore, individuals who live and work in the U.S. do eventually pick up atleast fragments of English…it’s a matter of convenience…how would you like it if you went to France and there was nothing printed in English?</p>
<p>i agree - this principal was downing the haterade</p>
<p>one word: Racist.
Asbolutely ridiculous.</p>
<p>You’re wrong.</p>
<p>The United States does not have an official language; nevertheless, American English (referred to in the US as simply English) is the language used for legislation, regulations, executive orders, treaties, federal court rulings, and all other official pronouncements. Many individual states have adopted English as their official language:</p>
<ul>
<li>Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming</li>
</ul>
<p>I have a feeling there is more to this than what the press is disclosing.</p>
<p>I like how Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas aren’t on that list.</p>
<p>if kids are talking in Spanish I highly doubt they do it just to talk smack about their teachers. way to be paranoid.</p>
<p>Firstly, discrimination against Spanish-speakers is not racism. Contrary to popular media, there’s no race called “Latinos” or “Hispanics”. Some Spanish-speakers are just white people from Spain; others are Mestizos with both Spanish and Amerindian blood. Other may be full Amerindian. They are united by language, not blood. Therefore, it’s cultural discrimination, like how the white Anglophones in Canada push around the white Francophones. It’s not racism people.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, it didn’t turn into a big liberal pansy puss. Instead, it became brutal towards those “lesser whites” like the Irish and Italians (aka wops), relegating them to **** poor jobs and dank slums. But hey, that beats being “liberal pussies”, right?</p>
<p>i think egocentric is the word…dunno if there’s a word like linguocentric</p>
<p>I don’t mean to sound racist/elitest/whatever you want to call it, but I hate the fact that things are spanish in this country. While I don’t think the kid should have been suspended (sounds fishy, something else probably was going on) it does raise this issue of spanish in american culture.</p>
<p>This most certainly got under my belt when I bought a new answering machine for my mom last night, and the VOICE instructions on the machine were first in spanish, then in english. The company you may ask? General Electric.</p>
<p>I’m really sick and tired of spanish being infused into all american culture. While I understand that there is a ton of immigration from mexico and south america and such, these people NEED to learn english. This goes for anyone in this country who can’t speak english. I’ve had enough of gas attendants who can’t speak english, taxi drivers who can’t speak english, and anyone else who I’m paying a service for who can’t speak english.</p>
<p>Also, don’t tell me to learn spanish, don’t tell me these people are only making “minimum wage” and can’t afford to learn english. Thats a bunch of crap. Ask the Italian, Irish, and Russian immigrants how they were treated. No one learned Italian when all the southern italians immigrated here. They all learned english. And if its not possible, explain how my grandfather was able to come to this country at the age of 10, learn english, be in the US army in WWII, and get not only an undergraduate degree, but a masters in mechanical engineering from an american university. I think if immigrants would put some effort into learning the language, they could get their way out of crappy jobs. Prior immigration waves did it, they can too.</p>
<p>The question that really boggles me is how these people are able to get drivers liscenses. They offer the test in about 210318391 languages, yet all the street signs are in english. hmmmm. i think thats a bit dangerous don’t you? Making english the official language would make life a lot easier for everyone in this country.</p>
<p>Try going to a country and speaking not a word of their langauge. I used to agree with you, but after moving to a country where I couldn’t understand a single word of the language I changed my opinion. </p>
<p>I moved to Germany and had never taken the language in my whole life. I was thrown into a completely different culture right off the bat. It was one of the scariest, utterly frightening experiences ever. Every day I am so thankful that people here speak English or that their are signs in English. I can speak German now, but its still nice to be able to talk to someone in your native tongue, get service or buy something, take a test. I can take my driver’s license test here in German. I think thats completely fair- so much of the language is so technical it would be impossible to pass. And most people can understand road signs- regardless of what language they are in. </p>
<p>I think its terrible that you have that kind of attitude. Yes, people should learn English when they come here. But it is irresponsible and irrational to think you can learn a language in a few days or weeks. It takes time, not only to adjust to the new language, but to the new culture. Such insensitivity. Seriously.</p>
<p>And on another note, what is so wrong with having instructions in other languages. When you buy anything where I live they come in about 12 languages- no one here is complaining that they are all not in German. When you speak multiple languages, sure you can understand them all, but there is always a preference for your native tongue. What is so wrong with that. You don’t have to learn Spanish, but you should at least respect their ability to continue speaking Spanish. I think its sad that so many people are so English centric. People speak other languages too. I only hope one day that some other language will take over, and all these people preaching intolerance will understand.</p>
<p>The situations between Germany and America is COMPLETELY different. First off, english is the most important language regardless of what any of you may want to think. The business world is english now. The science world is english now. I would venture to say most of not all the biggest companies in the world are American. Also, last time I checked, there are only 3 languages even spoken really in north america, spanish, english, and the minority french in Quebec. In europe, you have about 30 countries each with their own language, plus the fact that all countries are so small that commuting to a different country for work isn’t even a consideration. (for example northern italy borders 5 countries. You could work in any of them if you live in the north) Also, I wouldn’t move to a country where I couldn’t speak the native language. Also, I don’t have a problem with people making the attempt to learn, and I don’t expect people to learn english over night. But honestly, you have people who’ve been here for YEARS and you can barely speak to them, let alone hold a conversation. </p>
<p>In your situation, I’m sure you moved to Germany for job purposes. Either that or you’re extremely adventuerous. But these people leave their crappy lives in mexico, to have crappy (albiet a less crappy) lives in the US. Doesn’t make much sense to me.</p>