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If you wanna live here, learn [English]. | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| goosefrabbas Triglot Pro Member United States Joined 6372 days ago 393 posts - 475 votes  Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German, Italian Personal Language Map | Message 1 of 74 29 April 2010 at 3:11am | IP Logged | ||
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Here a commercial for the race for governor of Alabama in the US. For those who can't watch this video, the candidate states that the driving test is given in 12 languages and that reducing the languages in the test to only English would save money and "makes sense." I can see that it would save money by printing less (though I don't see why a printed driving test couldn't be computerized), and that a working knowledge of English is important to be able to read road signs, which makes driving safer. But at the same time, knowing the rules in whatever language seems more important than knowing them specifically in English.
Ignoring the politics of this one candidate and cliché glance down at the end of the video, what are your opinions on this? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Saif Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5616 days ago 122 posts - 208 votes Speaks: English*, Arabic (Levantine)*, French | Message 2 of 74 29 April 2010 at 3:38am | IP Logged | ||
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So how will non-English speakers know the meaning of yield or merge signs? They can
only know from the translations into their native languages. They will not know what they mean in English which would make driving less safe, not more safe. I think immigrants should eventually learn English, it would be beneficial so that they can prosper here, but that takes time. Until then, there should be exams available in their languages so that they can understand the driving rules. Forcing an English driving exam on them would be irresponsible. I also found the "if you want to live here, speak English" line xenophobic and bigoted. So if they don't speak English, they can't live here? This kind of language is acceptable in some parts (like Alabama), so he might be elected. Edited by Saif on 29 April 2010 at 3:45am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| ruskivyetr Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5485 days ago 769 posts - 962 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish, Russian, Polish, Modern Hebrew | Message 3 of 74 29 April 2010 at 3:40am | IP Logged | ||
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I was kind of offended by that :P. I don't know why, I just think he's a real jerk for saying that someone who can't
speak English can't take a driving test here. It doesn't cost that much money to get it translated (it only has to be translated once), and most of the exams to get a driver's permit are electronic. I don't know about the actual license exam, but I think some are electronic too. Taking that away doesn't save all that much money. It's just putting those who can speak English, but don't necessarily know some more advanced vocabulary used in the driving test (from what I've heard), at an inconvenience. I think it's because this guy just wants to make a point that he hates languages and the fact that he's not very intelligent. He is also OBVIOUSLY monolingual. His loss :P. There is no sense in not making those tests available. In my opinion, this guy is BS. The sad thing is, since Alabama is mostly a Republican state, this guy will probably get elected (he is the Republican candidate), unless there is another Republican candidate running against him (I don't really know, political policies in Alabama aren't really my specialty). And just to note, lets NOT make this into a political fight. I myself am liberal/left leaning, but regardless of that, just because this guy is a Republican, it does NOT mean that all right of center politicians are like this, so keep the judging and the generalized comments to a minimum everybody :). Edit: I thought that his sentence structure and vocabulary choice were also very simplistic, exemplifying the fact that he is NOT the sharpest tool in the shed. Edited by ruskivyetr on 29 April 2010 at 3:45am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| goosefrabbas Triglot Pro Member United States Joined 6372 days ago 393 posts - 475 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German, Italian Personal Language Map | Message 4 of 74 29 April 2010 at 3:54am | IP Logged | ||
I guess he wanted to make his message easier for non-native English speakers to understand! :p 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| ruskivyetr Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5485 days ago 769 posts - 962 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Spanish, Russian, Polish, Modern Hebrew | Message 5 of 74 29 April 2010 at 3:56am | IP Logged | ||
I think it's more because he himself can't speak English in more complex sentences, even though it's his native language. YOU LEARN English TIM JAMES. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Smart Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 5343 days ago 352 posts - 398 votes Speaks: Spanish, English*, Latin, French Studies: German | Message 6 of 74 29 April 2010 at 4:05am | IP Logged | ||
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Wow. that kind of material would never be tolerated here.
However, I support his decision to emphasize English... but to drop it from 12 languages to one? Why not limit it to 6? or even 3? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| datsunking1 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5589 days ago 1014 posts - 1533 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: German, Russian, Dutch, French | Message 7 of 74 29 April 2010 at 4:18am | IP Logged | ||
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I was JUST about to make a thread on this, no joke.
I agree with the emphasis on English actually, but I do not frown upon other languages. Many people come to the United States to LEARN English. I know probably 100 people that have. To place this into context, if I were in Germany, I would expect myself to make a dying effort to speak German, and learn it the best that I can. After all it is THEIR language, and I am in THEIR country. This is my outlook though. You know; "When in Rome, do as Romans do." When I took my permit test, there were 3 American/English speakers and probably 10 native Spanish speakers. I was the only English speaker to pass, the Spanish speakers took their test in Spanish and all of them passed (:D). Did I have a problem with it? Absolutely not. They were very kind and even said "What the hell is this?(jokingly)" during the test. It's pushing for tougher illegal immigration laws actually. Which I don't have a problem with. If you want to come to America, I'll welcome you with open arms, just please don't do it illegally :D I remember hearing also the Spanish because a state official language? (Not sure where) If anything, I would take the test down to three languages. English, French, and Spanish. (They are our closest neighbours.) Once again, If I were in any other country that didn't use English as an official language, I would expect myself to master their language. I feel it's proper. I mean at first when I arrive my skills may be horrible, but I'd definitely fight everyday to progress quickly. Edited by datsunking1 on 29 April 2010 at 4:19am 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| katilica Bilingual Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5475 days ago 70 posts - 109 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: French, Catalan | Message 8 of 74 29 April 2010 at 4:56am | IP Logged | ||
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Ah, these types of posts and conversations always make me uncomfortable. I have no idea
why, but I don't even like to read a lot of comments at the end of the articles on sites like Yahoo because even though many people make valid points, there are always idiots on there who are either racist or radically against these laws. Anyway, I trust that people here have an actual brain and won't resort to childish behavior. I believe that people should learn the language of the country they're living in at least to a conversational level. However it bothers me how many people make fun or look down on individuals whose English is less than perfect with remarks such as, 'Learn English', 'this is America', etc. These people do not seem to understand that English, or any language for that matter, takes a long time to learn. Learning a language can take years and even longer if the person has to work and take care of a family. You would think that more people would understand this especially after their years of learning languages like French or Spanish and maybe even spending time abroad without much results. I do not think that people will be lost reading traffic signs while driving since most are iconic and as for street names, they memorize them. This is not too hard to believe either since I have met plenty of illiterate individuals who get along just fine whilst doing these tasks. Yes English is important and I have gotten rather annoyed when people have asked me to make calls for them because they couldn't speak the language. The point is, if you don't speak English it might be cute and fascinating hearing your language for the first 10 minutes but then it just gets annoying and you should make the effort to learn at least the basics. I am by no means a supporter of these whole immigration laws or the one in Arizona where I live, but English will only help these people and I find it very hard to see a downside to learning a new language. Edited by katilica on 29 April 2010 at 5:01am 4 persons have voted this message useful |
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