I guess this gives us some insight into where the country will be headed when Obama gets elected. Change we can believe in.
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#61 – Mr. C. Dvorak
I believe he mentioned Spanish because at this point in the history of the Great Melting Pot, many of the new arrivals (citizens, as well as illegal aliens) speak that language.
He wasn’t suggesting that ability to speak fluent Spanish be made mandatory. It was just a suggestion that “hey, Mom and Dad, maybe instead of your kids all getting a black belt in Xbox 360, their time might be better spent learning something about your neighbors”.
Personally, I think it’s a great idea.
While I’m all for learning Japanese, Chinese, and Navajo, you’ve got to start small.
For me, learning Spanish was one of the most useful “life skills” that I got out of my education. Not only did it allow me to live in another country and feel like less of an outsider, but even back here in the US, I wander through the most dangerous parts of the hispanic ghetto, and when the folks on the street realize that they’re dealing with un blanquito que habla español, the knives and guns get put away and the faces start to smile.
It’s surprising how much good will a little effort can engender.
I guess we could shoot all the beaners and put up that magical 1/3-of-the-border multibillion dollar fence. But there will still be millions and millions of LEGAL hispanoparlantes throughout the land.
So I think his idea is a good one.
Just one of the many reasons I’m voting for the dude.
¡Si, se puede!
#62 – huh
>>AND we should eliminate all spanish language
>>hep at banks, on the phone, etc.
Better steer clear of Minneapolis then. Not only does the light rail system have instructions at the ticket kiosk in English and Spanish, they have them in Somali and Hoob (the language of the Hmong people).
And how about that SeaTac airport?? Christ, I can’t even identify all the sing-songy languages they give the instructions in over the PA system in the shuttle train. The woman’s voice is pretty sexy though, whatever she’s saying.
Hot damn! You might think America was a melting pot, or something.
The terrorists have won.
#61 John C Dvorak
“It’s about welcoming illegal aliens.”
You got that right! In the early days of the Obama candidacy he said that he he would allow the families of illegals to unite.
What this means is under an Obama presidency the border is opening wide. This could explain this sudden need for our children to speak Spanish.
And for the whole business about learning a foreign language to appreciate another culture, well that a huge pile of BS.
You learn to appreciate another culture by living in that culture.
All the time I meet foreigners who learned English and then came to America with a vastly wrong notion about who we are. They were surprised to discover that as a whole we are an amazingly tolerant bunch, that it’s not the old west wherever you go, and that we are friendly.
One of the almost universal remarks I get is about the huge diversity of cultures and peoples in our country. And if you look at it, it’s pretty remarkable.
And you know what one of the most important binding elements is in our society? English! That’s right, people who want to participate in the American society learn to speak English. I learned Spanish to participate in their society and I’m better for it.
Is it really too much to ask that those who benefit from our society be asked to join it by speaking the language of the entire society instead of just a subculture?
#65 – Ah Yeah
>>bobbo, I agree. What use is it to spend the time
>>and money on learning a foreign language you may
>>never use?
Oh, you mean as opposed to physics and calculus and organic chemistry, which most people use on a daily basis?
Dunno what your lifestyle is, but I encounter more people who speak a foreign tongue during the course of a year than I have opportunities to show off my college physics skills.
#69 – Ah_yea
>>They were surprised to discover that as a
>>whole we are an amazingly tolerant bunch,
Send ’em to dvorak dot org slash blog. Then they’ll find out what intolerance really means.
#69 – Ah_yea
>>Is it really too much to ask that those who
>>benefit from our society be asked to join it by
>>speaking the language of the entire society
Am I Alice? Is this Wonderland? Did you watch the fucking video? In no way, shape, or form did Obama suggest that immigrants should not learn English. He said it would be a good idea if American children learned to speak another language.
And I don’t know how old you are, but when I was growing up there were plenty of kids with grandmothers who didn’t speak anything but Italian or Greek or Polish or Hebrew or Lithuanian or Albanian. Heck, we even had some Ricans whose grandmothers spoke nothing but Spanish. I guess I missed the memo suggesting that we put up a multi-billion dollar fence to keep those folks out.
#71, Mustard.
Well, like I said, “as a whole …” 🙂
Its interesting when people say that our children are at a terrible disadvantage vs. other nation’s children due to not being bilingual. When you look at it that way, it is absolutely true. However, if you look at the details of Bilingual teaching programs in other countries you will find that the most common second language is not spanish, or chinese, or even Hindi. Though all would be appropriate given population data.
The truth of the matter is that these children are by and large learning English as a second language. The reason for this is simple. It allows you to succeed in a little game called international commerce, which is by and large played in English. One of the more interesting leftovers of the age of colonialism.
#73 – ‘dro
Read my fucking message. You can read English, right?
Mr Mustard.
You dont get the clue, eh? Go watch the video again a couple of times.
Its a subtle point, but I think you can get it.
There are no downsides to being bilingual. The more languages you learn as a child, the more useful and flexible your adult mind will become. Saying that kids need to learn a foreign language is like saying that kids need more exercise. It’s a no-brainer.
If they want to live in the U.S. then they need to learn English, because that’s our language. If I’m going to Mexico then I’m going to learn some Spanish or at least take a English to Spanish dictionary. I don’t expect somebody to speak my language in another country why should they expect it when they move to the U.S.
After reading 70 replies to John’s posting here, I have been able to come up with only one conclusion: Mr. Mustard does indeed care about America, he just has little faith in Americans. I agree that more of the same Bushisms from McCain are not helpful, but Obama has been frustratingly vague for far too long on too many subjects that really matter. I too travel worldwide and have often considered why most Americans do not speak any other language than English and I have decided that I was asking the wrong question. The question should be why do so many other cultures speak English as a second language? It is not a gesture on the part of the people in other countries to be polite or gracious. It is because THEY HAVE TO! In order to survive and exist in the current world economy, it behooves people in all parts of the world to teach their children English. This will not be always be true, but for now it is. I agree that it would be an advantage to teach American children another language, but I hesitate to recommend Spanish based solely on any cultural shift here in this country, since a cultural shift alone is enough to make us all bilingual eventually. Chinese may indeed turn out to be a more advantageous language to learn (dialects withstanding)in the coming years. For now, it’s a bit disingenuous to declare that Americans do not learn a second language because they are lazy or incapable (“those of us who are inbred hillbillies from the South.”)
Don’t worry– Hillary will take the guy out, just like she did JFK Jr.
Assasination by airplane “accident”.
She nearly did so earlier this week…..
Geez, did He ever said that?. my goodness you even added quotes. he suggested that that maybe learning another language can be useful now a days. stop submitting dumb shit. And please stop watching O’reilly. If you want to vote for MCbush then go ahead. another 4 years of the same shit wouldn’t hurt,now would it?.
Those who are bilingual (Eng/SP) in this hemisphere are living with a definite advantage. They have a larger area where they can make money and maybe a lot of it. Stay with just one language and limit your choices. Portuguese is another good one to learn for the Americas too.
Those who are bilingual are transitional to English only.
I speak 2 languages, down from 4 as a child. I often notice word similarities, roots and that sort of thing. It adds a little zing now and then.
When I was traveling, I had a tourist handle on 12-13 languages. Same zing like toasting in Chinese or Japanese, the slight pronounciation change was of passing interest. But profound?
What great insight or flexibility of mind did I experience or do I have now? Nada. Reading Sarte in the original is just as confusing as reading the English translation.
Any multi-lingual person here want to share the benefits you experience. I’d like to rethink my own experience/evaluation with a little help.
Um, does Obama speak Spanish?
My guess – HELL NO!
I lived overseas in Italy, Germany and Greece while serving in the military and being an Air Force Brat. With the exception of Germany I did try and learn some of the native language of my host country. (German beer got in the way of learning German – Zwei Bier Bitte)
I learned so much more about my own language and my own country by stepping for a time into another person’s shoes. The ugly American was the dumbshit tank battalion guy who looked to the European and asked, “What the fuck is your problem? Why don’t you speak English MF?” Then the jackass lacked the self confidence to have his self-image endure sitting in a room with someone speaking another language. Of course, the German, Italian, Greek, had to be talking about him.
Don’t learn that foreign language, because then you might learn that your own country isn’t #1. You may find the need to travel to Germany where people there live as far away as 100 miles from their job with the help of high-speed trains. You may find the need to travel to Greece where you will be hard pressed to find a Greek who couldn’t offer you a smile and a glass of raki or retsina wine. Don’t go to Italy where the shopkeeper’s favorite word is “domani” (tomorrow) you may just learn that the rat race has killed your quality of life.
A rose by any other name is bullshit?
Well I can honestly say he is another big disappointment from the left. Put this crap together with McBush’s crap and maybe you’ll understand why I’m not voting. I refuse to vote for somebody who doesn’t represent me, who doesn’t understand my needs, my problems. Why vote for someone who you don’t want? Why lend credibility to an incredible election? They both suck, and there’s nobody out there who cares about me (“us”). He represents foreigners, McBush represents foreigners. What’s left?
#86 – Boobolinguo
>>When I was traveling, I had a tourist handle
>>on 12-13 languages.
Oh yeah. Now I believe THAT. 12- 13? The number is so great you have to estimate it? HAW! Unless by “tourist handle” you mean you knew how to say “hello”, “goodbye”, and “thank you”, I call bullshit.
I’m constantly amazed by the number of people who claim to “speak” a language, when their skills are limited to the 3 most popular phrases in the “Estonian For Dummies” book.
#89–Why Mr Mustard==why so negative when as a matter of fact you have no idea at all? Not very christian. Rather than call bullshit, you might review your posts and find bullshit.
Whenever traveling to a country I would study the tourist phrase books so I had a vocabulary of 200-300 words. More for countries I visited more often. I stuck to the important ones including yours but also more important ones like “How much for a beer?” and “One more beer please” and then “Where is the bathroom”
When you focus on the words you need to know, its not that hard.
Mustard, to see oneself as others do. To use your own ignorance and pride thereof to attack strangers. tisk, tisk.
My faith in your being able to do better is starting to fade.
#90 – Pinocchio
Your nose is growing. Heh. No, HAW!
John C. Dvorak, #61:
Seriously? You are seriously afraid that Obama is going to . . . what? I’m confused as to what exactly you think his reference to Spanish means. You mention illegal aliens. Was this was some kind of code between Obama and Mexicans or Latinos that if he becomes President they will have a free pass of some sort to . . . what? Rape and pillage? Steal your job?
Seriously? Obama is going to return large chunks of the US to Mexico because he is a Mexican sleeper agent?
I’m really confused because you usually make fun of people for lazy, illogical thinking. Is this humor? Are you making fun of people who think that Obama is a foreigner or has a foreign agenda?
I’m honestly confused, and as a fan of your many shows, I would really like to understand what exactly you are intimating here.
#93–Peter==Obama has long stated he supports “comprehensive immigration reform” which most people take as an amnesty plan regardless of a direct denial on that point.
Recently Obama said he would support the uniting of separated families.
Recall his debate fiasco over whether or not illegals should get car licenses==yes, days after he watched Hillary go down in flames, he followed her right in.
So==I believe the answer to your question is: Obama while pandering for the mexican vote, will result in current Americans losing jobs to the new arrivals and legals and face continued pressure on wage parity.
Thats my take. I don’t know why our politicians have drunk the kool-aid on “fair trade.” Throwing over the middle/lower/working class to a percentage of latino voters doesn’t make much sense to me. A goodly percentage of legal latinos don’t want the competition either.
Go figure.
Bobbo, #94
Thanks for the answer, but what “mexican” vote? It’s not like Mexicans get a vote, nor can illegal immigrants vote.
I appreciate your concern, and I am not a big fan of the way Trade Agreements are structured, but don’t stagnating wages, huge deficits and unfair tax codes that privilege corporations and the wealthy over the middle and working class have a much more significant impact on American jobs than illegal immigration?
And wasn’t Bush supporting Amnesty at some point? Would Obama really be able to push through something that unpopular and unpolitic?
#61 – John C Dvorak – …if it was about multilingualism, then why Spanish? Why not Chinese? Or Japanese? Or Navaho? It’s not about multilingualism.
Perhaps because Spanish is spoken by most of the neighboring countries?! I mean, you can learn French if you want to go visit Jean Poutine in Quebec, but Spanish will let you communicate with way more people. Perhaps some people wouldn’t be so paranoid about Latinos if they actually communicated with them? And yes, other languages are also important… nothing says that kids can’t learn 3-4 languages.
#95, Peter illegal immigrants have voted in elections. Mr Huffington proved this after his loss to Dianne Feinstein, and there are many other cases. Vote security just isn’t that high a priority.
Almost a hundred responses, and nobody mentions the original subject to which Obama gave this response. Bilingual education in America doesn’t mean a class in Spanish or French or German or Chinese or Japanese. It primarily means immigrant kids being given classes in Spanish.
So Mustard, do you support these classes?