Lorill

I consider myself pretty open-minded, but man I get frustrated when I go to my local Chipotle (in Kansas City) and the Mexican making my burrito can't understand a WORD of english. I end up ordering in Spanish. I blame that on bad business management more than anything, though. I just wish people would hire english-speaking workers when they have to deal in customer interaction.

Juan.©amaney

Sort of like when I go to Bocca Di Beppo and the menu is in Italian? Dude, you want to have mexican food from someone who speaks english, go to Taco Bell. You want authentic Mex food, learn to order in spanish. I get frustrated when I go to Starbucks and order a regular expresso. Then they bust out with their fugging venti, or grande or some bullshit. I sigh, and tell them to bring me what I ask for.

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Lorill

Ha... "expresso." You sound more hick than Mexican, . Just kidding.

Chiptole (owned by McDonalds, I believe) is not where I go to get authentic Mexican food.

Juan.©amaney

lol fugger. I spelled it like that to prove my un-hipness with Starbucs lingo. FUCK THEM IF THEY CAN'T TAKE A JOKE.

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squish

normally I'd agree with S10, but the reality is that this is the United States, not England, or France where they make an effort to teach their children other languages at an early age. Yes, it is wrong to think that someone should learn the language of the country they are in, but it is also ignorant to live in another country and expect everyone to speak your language. If I was in France, I would learn French, or attempt to, it's plain stupid to assume everyone speaks English over there, just like it's plain stupid to assume that all the people over here speak Spanish. Plain and simple, if you want to do business somewhere , it's a good idea to learn the local language, otherwise you get what you ask for - a lot of people not understanding you.

falldown

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I don’t really know how big this is an issue in America. But here in Australia I don’t see a problem with Chosen language. In Melbourne , we have one of the biggest multi lingual communities which I think is great. I think that when needed, English should be spoken, especially in business. The are so many, and I’m talking hundreds of, restaurants/cafes where the staff speak at least 2 languages. If you are not part of the conversation, then it is none of your business what language someone is speaking. People should not be forced to speak in a certain way unless it is necessary. If anything, you should learn more languages yourself. Learn about different cultures. You might want to travel O.S. someday, and if you don’t know ‘their’ language basics, you’ll look the fool.

BigTruck

With a large hispanic population here in my area I have seen the Home Depot scene several times myself. Even heard the same comments by people. I do have mixed feelings on this though. First of all, yes they have a right to speak their native language, especially to their friends or whoever else speaks it as well. But for a society to function well, there must be communication between its members. If we cannot speak the same language, it makes it very hard to communicate. I have people come into where I work that don't speek or read any english, and it makes it very hard to help them because I speak very little spanish. We do ahve forms and such printed in spanish, but with out a translater, it is not always possible to tell them everything they need to know.

So....yes I do agree with their right to speak spanish if they choose to. But I think for their own sake they should make an effort to learn some English to help them function better in our society. As we should also be trying to learn some spanish at the same time to help them out.

Ryan

I find it amusing that people will complain about someone speaking spanish in line at home depot, but they probably have no comment about the fact that there are like 5 spanish-only channels on tv. Or street signs in spanish. Granted I live in southern california, where the hispanic population is a higher proportion than the rest of the country, but speaking spanish is almost a necessity here. Being bilingual, or at least understanding some spanish is almost required for many jobs. There are streets you'll drive down, and 95% of the signs and advertising billboards are in spanish.

People need to face the fact that languages follow the same rules as economics.... supply and demand. If there are enough spanish speakers to demand that language, it will prevail in a given geographic area. How come people always complain about spanish speakers, but never mention China Town, or Korea Town, or Little Saigon... all of the signs there are in their native languages, and there are many people that happily live their lives as immigrants within the friendly confines of their respective "town"... yet no one complains that they need to make their store signs in english or go home... they walk into the shops and pretend they are actually visiting the foreign land like tourists.

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Oh my god, I have a blog

mln35

Okay...there's the hot button that got me. Look...I don't care what language you speak or the communication issues you have when ordering Mexican food at the local grease pit. What i do have a problem with, however, are with people that move here from other countries and set up their own communities, never intending to blend in to American life. If you move here from Korea, lets say, move here to be an American...be a Korean living in America! But don't move part of Korea to America, and expect us to accept that. How the fuck does that cause anything but issues? Dallas is just like that in places, most of it thriving via illegal businesses. To never make an attempt to break out of the mini-country you brought here, is bullshit. I am not talking about Chinatown or Little Italy, where most of the community works outside of that area and then returns there when work is done...nothing wrong with that in my book. But moving here from Vietnam, living and working in a Vietnamese community, never intending to leave it, and then calling home for more to come over and enlarge that community is bullshit. Stay in your own fucking country if you can't contribute socio-economically. I could give a fuck who speaks what. I'll try my best to understand and communicate in a friendly manner. Don't expect me to be a happy shiny person while you tell me I should accept that.

Okay. I feel better now.

Insaniteus

Commenting on the "America is not a country" line, I would like to point out that "United Statian" doesn't sound as pimperiffic as "American", so shaddup .

-Insaniteus-

kulotsalot

i am not an american and i don't ever want to be one, but being a canadian immigrant, i understand the language and cultural issues that arise.

when you move to another country you feel lost and a little bit stupid. everything that's familiar to you is now gone. you're at the airport with your luggage, your whole life has been packed into 2 big boxes. you feel embarrassed because you know your english isn't that good, your accent sounds funny, you don't even know if you need quarters or dimes to call your relatives to come pick you up (even worse if you don't have any relatives to call). your instinct would be to cling to something that's familiar, something that would remind you of home and of the life that you've lived before you moved. you want to be with people who have shared (roughly) the same life experiences that you've had.

my english is really good, i'm even better at spelling and grammar than some native canadians that i've worked with. i've copied the accent perfectly. most people are surprised when i tell them that i've only been in canada for 1 1/2 years. they usually think that i'm either born here or moved here at a very young age. but i still talk to my parents (and everyone else who understands filipino) in my native tongue because it just feels more comfortable that way. i think on some subconscious level i'm reminding myself that although the goal of moving to canada is to "become canadian" (ie gain canadian citizenship) part of me will forever be filipino, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Lorill

Being American is the best. Why would anyone say they would never want to be American? That is the goal of every human being, is it not? To be American?

kulotsalot

haha! no, not really. i never wanted to be american even when i was a kid. when i think "american" i think white man's burden, how they used to think that they are better than everyone else just because they're white and how it's their "duty" to save everyone else from the misfortune of being un-american. some people still think this way, but in this time of political-correctness they don't say it out loud. America as a nation has interfered in way too many countries' political situations to suit my liking.

Lorill

Yeah, but we have hot chicks.

I wasn't being serious, anyway, kulot.