What do you think of "Arnold"

[Seattlefungus]

The Gov Arnold went on the news and said 'Spanish speaking US Television shows should all go off the air as it encourages non English speakers to not learn English and every one should speak English in the USA....

[SSwee]

I think it's great to be bilingual or multilingual. But it should be a person's option. I take offense to it being forced upon us. I watch cartoons with my grandkids and most of the popular shows are teaching the kids spanish. ie: Dora the explorer and the little mexican handyman with talking tools. My spanish is a bit rusty as is my american sign language but it was my choice to learn them. So, dial one for English my ass.
SS

[hulygan]

For me personaly, my fathers half of the family did not speak one word of english when they moved here in the 50's from Holland. They quickly learned english and promptly joined American culture. Unlike today when it seems that no immigrants want to learn english or join the culture of the country they decided was better than their former homeland. I think we need to go one step further and require that immigrants learn english or get the hell out. My family did, generations of americans before them did. So why the hell not now?

[Seattlefungus]

My Great grand-parents came here FOB (Fresh off the Boat) from Sweden. Now there is no one in my family that speaks more than a phrase or two.. But nobody made anyone conform either. None had problems getting work as they were all skilled wood and metal workers, and in the Northwest, there were large Swede and Norwegian onclaves...

[wandering_ronin]

I think he hit the nail on the head. Personally, I don't care if they speak their native tongue at home, or to others of the same ethnic background....BUT do not expect me to learn their language to make their lives easier! They came here, so they can learn our language. It worked for my ancestors.

[M1 Tanker]

I think he hit the nail on the head. Personally, I don't care if they speak their native tongue at home, or to others of the same ethnic background....BUT do not expect me to learn their language to make their lives easier! They came here, so they can learn our language. It worked for my ancestors.

Ronin, I couldn't have said it better.

SPEAK ENGLISH :America:

[okie shooter]

Seattlefungus, that was not what he said at all, go and find the sound bite he said, that they should turn off the spanish television, so the kids would use english as a first language. Not that spanish teleivision should go off the air, or anything like that, this was a question at a Hispanic Journalists meeting. This was in relation to a question about getting hispanic high school testing scores up too, something everyone seems to miss.

Heres the quote, so tell me where he says take spanish tv off the air in this.


"You've got to turn off the Spanish television set. It's that simple. You've got to learn English."

He also related in his comments on how he stopped useing German, no matter how much he loved Austria, to master english, as he was living here. There have always been native language news media outlets for immigrants, from the first irish and europians comeing here two hundred years ago, they had german, polish, italian and other language news papers, too. They still need to be informed, especally adults, as to current events. Remember you forefathers had the right to view media in what ever the language they chose(heck my great grandfather, got his job selling life insurance, due to the fact he spoke german, thus was able to make inrodes in the predomantally german neighborhoods he worked, in Altona PA, not even a large city)

Heres a link to a news story on this

http://www.fox6.com/news/state/story.aspx?content_id=898474b3-b7c3-41bf-9179-b96c765edacf&rss=801

Heres a better article, with even more detail

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/06/15/politics/main2933687.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_2933687

Thus what he is saying is that for hispanics to raise their testing scores in edcuation, they should imerse them selves into american culture, not that spanish tv and media should go away.

I believe that we should speak english too, but at home and in busness they can use what they want. I still say nowhere did Arnold say to stop spanish programing. Everyone here should realize there are almost forty million hispanics here in this nation, soon to become the largest identifiable ethnic group. This will give hispanics a great swath in economics and politics too.

[NavajoNPaleFace]

It's very simple for me.

This is America. English is our primary language. Learn to speak English or find another "home."

I am getting very, very tired of seeing products on the shelf with labels in both English and Spanish and I'm getting equally tired of calling some company and getting a recording optioning me with Spanish.


And, WHAT language is being forced on who?

[SteelCore]

BIG +1


only a small portion of my ancestors came from a country that spoke anglish...(most were Germans,Poles,Dutch) it was a point of honor for them to integrate by learning the language, fighting their new country's wars, and working its fields and factories.

That being said, it does take about a generation+ for full integration in the US. Ben Franklin used to work for the crown of England b4 the rev war, and he lamented the lack of integration of Dutch and Germans into the US as they settled in PA (my peeps!):

"And since Detachments of English from Britain sent to America, will have their Places at Home so soon supply'd and increase so largely here; why should the Palatine Boors [Germans] be suffered to swarm into our Settlements, and by herding together establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our Complexion."
(Excerpted from _America as a Land of Opportunity_, and essay by Benjamin Franklin,1751)

As you can see, everything did work out, and although certain "pennsylvania dutch" (i.e., German) culture points survive,we all got ourselves all nice and anglicised. Not to mention, Germany aided the colonists in training and weapos supply in the Rev War a scant generation later...

[Woodman in MO]

Bill Cosby has been saying this to the African American community for years and catches all sorts of hell for it.

[iocane]

Arnold a immigrant who learned english so he knows what he is talking about.

[Bulletboy]

I'm with this too. I do think its a very positive thing to be bi or multilingual, but it should be for the purpose of talking to those speakers when you go to their country. Not in ours. Unless you are teaching them English.

[SteelCore]

Dood, U sed two mutch!:wink:

(J/K....hadta take that outta context)

[bullseye]

Two things that really chap my ass are them saying this is a free country and seeing their store signs in spanish only. First off, it is "free" if you are a legal citizen, not an illegal border crosser. Second, we use both english and spanish on damn near everything in this country for them, they could at least do the same. :bull: is what it is. If you wanna come to a country, you need to learn the language if you wanna stay. If not, :upyours3: and go home.

[NavajoNPaleFace]

Dood, U sed two mutch!:wink:

(J/K....hadta take that outta context)

I am laughing by big fat butt off here.

I saw that "bi" thing to....trying my best NOT to go there. LOL :icon_biggrin:

[SteelCore]

Hope I dint peeve BBoy off too bad.

[RandyCOG3]

<snip> and I'm getting equally tired of calling some company and getting a recording optioning me with Spanish.

And, WHAT language is being forced on who?

Yeah, this frosts my a$$, on a nearly daily basis.
How much more would it cost for a 2nd, non-English phone number? Or, for even less money, just rig up the phone so that you can either hit * or #, or 6, or whatever, without being instructed, and it'll take you off to some other phone tree....or else, you can wait til the end of the English menu for instructions. "Press 1 for English".... NO! Press 1 or * or something if you don't understand the lingo. WTF, make that global, i.e. whenever you don't speak the lingo coming out of the phone, press *. How hard would that be for the world to figure out?

RandyCOG3

[Seattlefungus]

Sorry Okie, I only got a CNN sound bite and never saw the whole thing... Just the bite had all the new hounds foaming... I thought the whole thing interesting.. But got tried of waiting for them to show the story. Seems they were using it as a teaser...

[Norton]

Arnold is right, Their TV holds them back. Many of my workers work with other Spanish speakers read Spanish papers an watch Spanish TV.. So they never learn.
I wanted to learn Spanish fast so for around six months I watched Spanish TV every night for two hours and listened to Spanish radio to and from work.
I borrowed a book from the library called 'Learn Spanish' for 8/10 years olds.
With the help of other people I had a good foundation in about a years time.
The TV really helped me alot, seeing programs soap operas, commecials for Mc Donalds, Sears, World News ect.. Gave me a great deal of help on pronucations and speach rythms. I think what he meant was it was keeping them from learning English.

[Bulletboy]

Hope I dint peeve BBoy off too bad.

ROFL! :D Naw, not me bud! I'm always good for a laugh!

[Cavalryman]

Alaska's governor is much better looking!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v633/kelton01/SarahPalinSm.jpg

:America:

[Shovelheadfxwg]

If I move to Mexico, Spain, or any other Spanish speaking country I'll learn the language, but right now I'm happy with where I live, and the English language that we speak. Getting really tired of being pushed into this bilingual crap.

[Seattlefungus]

I think Cavalryman is right. Alaska's Gov is much easier on the eyes!