[Vision2020] FW: Words Bring Pause
Steven Basoa
sbasoa at moscow.com
Mon Mar 12 15:17:28 PDT 2007
Since we're up here in North Idaho, shouldn't we be required to read
and speak Canadian as well as english, eh?
On Mar 12, 2007, at 2:41 PM, Kai Eiselein, editor wrote:
Ok, so one can expect to see things labeled in English and Japanese
in Hawaii, mainly because of businesses catering to Japanese
tourists. As a matter of fact, I was the only American in the group I
went scuba diving with, everyone else was Japanese, with the
exception of one divemaster, and even he spoke Japanese fluently.
Frankly, I didn't notice a language smorgasbord on Oahu, just a lot
of Japanese signage and Japanese languge TV shows. Most of the non-
Japanese tourists I ran into were either Aussies and Kiwis, who speak
a strange dialect of English, LOL..
One would also expect to see signs and such in English and Spanish
along the US/Mexico border. I will be in Nogales, AZ next month, and
I fully expect I'll need to speak English, Spanish and Spanglish
while there. No problem, in a matter of hours of arriving, it'll be
like I never left.
But should I have to speak Spanish in, say, Idaho? No I shouldn't,
yet I needed to a couple of weeks ago while in the Boise area,
because most of the hotel staff did not speak Engish at all. In order
to communicate my needs, I had to speak Spanish. Was it the end of
the world? No. Was it annoying? Yes, why should I have to switch to a
foreign language in order to communicate in my own country? I
shouldn't have to.
I think English should be the official language of the US.
If businesses want to deal in more than one language to attract
customers, that is their choice. I don't feel that Joe Taxpayer
should have to pay for government documents to be printed in every
language on the planet.
I think speaking more than one language is great, the more the
better, but in my home country I should only NEED to speak one.
-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-
bounces at moscow.com]On Behalf Of Sue Hovey
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 1:18 PM
To: Donovan Arnold; keely emerinemix; vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Words Bring Pause
OK, I guess we can agree to disagree on the English language mandate.
But would you humor me on this one? You said:
If you haven't bought anything where the directions were primarily
Spanish it is because you haven't bought anything in a community that
is in the Southwestern United States. You probably buy your stuff in
Moscow or Spokane that is 98% White not 40% White.
I believe in buying locally so I don't tend to run off to Arizona or
California to buy products. If they are sold there and not shipped
out, why does that create a problem for you? And I really would like
an example. It's not that I'm unwilling to believe you, I just want
to know what one might be.
Actually for the past three months I have done all my buying in
Hawaii--lucky me. There are many things I love about this wonderful
state, and among them is the benefit of its linguistic diversity. I
don't buy many products here that need directions, but it's great fun
to shop for groceries where one runs into labels printed in many
languages--of course one can shop in World Market in Spokane and do
the same thing.
Sue
----- Original Message -----
From: Donovan Arnold
To: Sue Hovey ; keely emerinemix ; vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Monday, March 12, 2007 5:12 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Words Bring Pause
Sue,
You wrote:
"Donovan, Your contention that those who don't speak English are rude
and make everyone cater to them is a pretty narrow view of the
conditions of many non-English speakers."
This is a false representation of what I said. I said I have the
deepest respect for those that try to learn the language and spite
for those that don't.
Unless you are mentally incapable, which I doubt most non-English
speaking people in this country are, you should be attempting to
learn the language. Further businesses and other agencies that print
everything in two or 20 languages are only allowing them to not learn.
Many millions of people come into this country and refuse to learn
the language, they stay in cities like LA, Phoenix, and Las Vegas
where everything is in their language. They get jobs, go shopping,
and drive on the roads, not knowing more than three words in English
and don't care to learn it. I am not talking about people 65 who grew
up in an other country until last week, I am talking about people
18-50 that have lived the better half of their life in this country,
and people that refuse to teach English to their children.
Anyone that really wants to learn English can learn English. I also
believe that it is a serious danger to the lives of people in this
country when people cannot communicate because of a language barrier,
it happens everyday, in emergency situations, or situations that
quickly because emergency situations because of a lack of communication.
Yes Sue, all the cultures that have come to the US have learned to
speak English. There are no major cities in the United States where
the majority speaks German, the Germans learned English, as did the
French, the Italians, the Greeks, the Spanish, the Russians, the
Swedish, Japanese, all did, even the Slaves that were forbidden by
law from reading learned to speak English.
We have to have one language as a matter of necessity, you have road
signs, government literature, communications over the radio, TV and
Internet, the language of government meetings, the words on printed
money etc, can be only adequately done in one language. No one person
chose the English language we all agreed to it many years ago because
it gave us the greatest opportunity in the world.
If you haven't bought anything where the directions were primarily
Spanish it is because you haven't bought anything in a community that
is in the Southwestern United States. You probably buy your stuff in
Moscow or Spokane that is 98% White not 40% White.
Not having everyone speak one language is not only an inconvenience,
it is also a danger to our society.
Further, I don't even think you should be able to get a driver's
license without being able to speak English.
Best,
Donovan
Sue Hovey <suehovey at moscow.com> wrote:
Donovan, Your contention that those who don't speak English are rude
and make everyone cater to them is a pretty narrow view of the
conditions of many non-English speakers. Some of them are elderly
with limited opportunities to learn English, many of them are eager
to learn and seek out classes only to find they cannot afford the
tuition or the classes are full. Others, and I have known numbers of
them, struggle to learn as much as they can while they clean the
houses, pick the fruit, and care for the children of the more affluent.
I think I might not so much mind the misguided efforts of arrogant
lawmakers, if in their haste to proclaim English as our national
language, they also passed laws to facilitate that learning for non-
English speaking adults. Fortunately we do have programs in place
for school age children, but even today there is a national movement
to deny many of these children education services.
You state that all of our prior immigrants learned to speak English,
surely you know that is not so. Certainly you are correct that being
unable to speak English does hinder those who need to make a living
here. I don't think you actually meant to say English is an American
invention--sometimes even those of us who speak it don't get it right
all the time.
I do see products with Spanish as well as English instructions, but
unless they are imports, Donovan, Your contention that those who
don't speak English are rude and make everyone cater to them is a
pretty narrow view of the conditions of many non-English speakers.
Sue
----- Original Message -----
From: Donovan Arnold
To: Sue Hovey ; keely emerinemix ; vision2020 at moscow.com
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 7:14 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Words Bring Pause
Now the good Senator can go to Somalia and give the same speech to
them, as they too have also elected to make Somalia and English their
official languages.
I think helping those that cannot speak English in this country is
wonderful. However, I think not learning to speak the language simple
keeps those individuals down in society and hinders society as well.
In the sheltered world of Northern Idaho, Spanish is by far a second
language, but in many other parts of the west, in an increasing
number of places, English is the second language and most the people
on the street are speaking Spanish, not English, the signs are in
Spanish and if you do not speak Spanish you often find yourself
unable to ask the person next to you or an employee at a business a
question.
Even instructions on some products are primarily in Spanish, with
English as the second language.
The US is a nation of immigrants, Spanish, German, French, Italian
Greek, Swedish, Irish, Arabic, Asian, African, Eskimo, etc. But they
all learned to speak English. It isn't favoritism, it even an
American invention, it isn't superiority, and it certainly isn't the
most sensible, logical, or easiest language to master, but they all,
all, even the poor ones, learned to speak the language. They didn't
try to change the country to their culture and language, they added
too it, they didn't destroy it, ignore it, or disrespect it.
In the United States we speak English. To refuse to speak the
language of the people in the country you choose to live in is rude
and disrespectful to those in it.
I have the deepest respect for the people that come here and learn
the language, but I have nothing but spite for those that come here
and refuse to help out and make everyone cater to them.
Best,
Donovan
"If you speak English, Press 1 now. If you don't speak English, learn
it, then press 1."
Sue Hovey <suehovey at moscow.com> wrote:
Edgar Malepeai is a very special person and a remarkable teacher. One of
the impacts of legislation such as this is the harm in inflicts on
people
who speak English (in Edgar's case it's beautifully spoken and
articulate as
well) as a second language (or third or fourth) because there is the
implied
message that some languages are superior to others.
Some of you may not appreciate the message "numero dos, para Espanol"
but
there are those of us who sometimes push button two just to make our
minds
remember what we used to know pretty well.
Closing with a non sequitur: When Governor George Bush told Texans he
was
learning Spanish, Jim Hightower responded, "Now he can be bi-ignorant."
Sue Hovey
----- Original Message -----
From: "keely emerinemix"
To: ;
Sent: Sunday, March 11, 2007 2:46 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Words Bring Pause
> Thanks to Sen. Malepeai for his clearheaded and rational comments
against
> a
> divisive and unnecessary bill.
>
> keely
>
>
> From: "Tom Hansen"
> To: "Vision 2020"
> Subject: [Vision2020] Words Bring Pause
> Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2007 14:42:03 -0700
>
> >From today's (March 11, 2007) Spokesman Review with a very
special thanks
> to
> State Senator Edgar Malepeai -
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Words Bring Pause
>
> The Idaho Senate voted 20-15 in favor of Senate Bill 1172, declaring
> English
> to be the official language of Idaho, in a debate that took a
personal
> turn.
>
> "It's not for shutting people out, but bringing people in," Sen. Mel
> Richardson, R-Idaho Falls, lead sponsor of the bill, told the Senate.
>
> Sen. Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, said quietly, "Looking around the
> chamber,
> I think I'm probably the only one that has English as a second
language."
> Malepeai recalled that his late father and uncles served proudly
in the
> U.S.
> military. "They spoke very, very broken English, but they were proud
> American Samoans," Malepeai said. Democracy and freedom "is what
unifies
> people in this country," he said, "not the English language." A
hush fell
> in
> the Senate after Malepeai's comments, and no one else debated the
bill.
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Seeya round town, Moscow.
>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>
> "I love my country but fear my government."
>
> - Author Unknown
>
>
>
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