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251 Comments
- aceg1357, on 10/12/2007, -50/+196There was a survey done on the parents of immigrants. Something like 95% of them wanted their kids education done in as much English as possible. But lefty white liberals think they know better. English is a big part of being successful in the US as well as the native language of any country you want to be successful in.
- RadiantBeing, on 10/12/2007, -14/+108Gingrich is right. Before I get dismissed as a racist, I have watched my own first generation immigrant relatives either succeed or fail based on their ability to learn English. People can speak whatever language they please at home, but in academia and business, it's English if you want to be successful. I don't see why people should be allowed to fall back on their native languages in public school. That is only setting them up for failure, alienation, and disappointment. It also dilutes America's culture and creates a "divide and conquer" style of race-based politics. Teaching immigrants our ways is how we welcome them into our society. It is only in the interests of separatists and politicians to create separate linguistic classes. Finally, it is simply impractical to accommodate the hundreds of foreign languages out there.
- Nudar, on 10/12/2007, -7/+67I wasn't aware that race had anything to do with it. English speakers consist of pretty much every ethnicity on the face of the planet.
- cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -17/+75"f you want people to speak English, then help them. Make friends with someone who speaks broken English."
I'm very ***** tired of every time somebody has an issue, somebody tries to come up with the "then YOU help" solution. Damn it, the issue here is whether the United Stated Government should be going out of its way to help non English speakers.
With this logic, I need to befriend a non English speaker and help him learn better English. Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (Ok, already do that). Begin a grass roots initiative against the RIAA. Etc., etc., etc. Guess I can tell my family and their hungry mouths to ***** OFF because I'm too busy being an activist...
Or...
Maybe the USA should help immigrants learn English the most successful way ever invented; TOTAL IMMERSION. If we hand enough aids out to non English speakers they won't learn the languange, can't blame them. But if they truly want to get along, if they are forced to learn a few hundred words, guess what? THEY ***** WILL. - hbweb500, on 10/12/2007, -8/+49The study aceg1357 was speaking of can be read here: http://www.crpc.rice.edu/newsArchive/nsl_11_16_97.html
Personally, I think school should prepare students for the working world. In the US, business is done in English, so in order to be competitive, these kids have to learn the language. That said, how are teachers supposed to teach English without speaking the foreign language of the foreign student? Bilingual education is necessary in early education, but it should be phased out later in the careers of the students. - PepeGSay, on 10/12/2007, -2/+38Being respectful but firm that a person must learn English and letting immersion be the teacher of a new language is the real path to success. This has been proven over and over again in the U.S. through multiple waves of immigrants. It's not because the rest of us are jerks, it is because there is a real and identifiable overwhelmingly dominate language in the U.S.: English. Immersion, and an understanding that it is the language you must learn for success, will allow people to learn it. Everything else is a crutch and a poor one at that.
- elebrio, on 10/12/2007, -2/+36Teaching english is about giving people a leg up to communicate in the language of commerce in the United States. It's common sense.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+38Accent is a different thing than language.
Who would you hire?
Chump #1 "Zupp pops, I decided to slide my ass into yo' corner to see if you could get gig, ya know, to assist ya' with the shiznit"
[ or ]
Chump #2 "Hello Mr. Williams, I thought I it would be a good idea to stop by to see if you have any job openings in your store, for customer service" - cliffzdude, on 10/12/2007, -4/+37CLAP - CLAP - CLAP
FOCUS PEOPLE! FOCUS!
The issue here isn't Newt getting some, or Clinton getting some, its about language.
Thanks... - aceg1357, on 10/12/2007, -19/+50Again I'm not exactly sure how his point is related to bilingual education but people with Bush derangement syndrome say the funniest things.
Clinton didn't get impeached for getting a blow job like the myth goes-google that.
He got impeached for perjury.
If you lie under oath for ANY reason, it is perjury.
Clinton lied under oath-check
Lying under oath is perjury-check
Perjury is a felony-check
A president should be impeached if there is evidence he or she committed a felony-check.
One of those people that plays a role in the impeachment process is the speaker of the house-check.
Person involved in the impeachment process cannot commit any amoral acts- not a check.
Again this has nothing to do with adultery. It is about perjury.
- donatj, on 10/12/2007, -4/+34Exactly, I wouldn't go to sweeden and expect my children to be taught in english
- 29Victor, on 10/12/2007, -18/+47Wow, what a well thought out argument. Now that's a head scratcher. Hmmmmm.
I am just so dumbfounded by your superior logic and eloquence. Golly gee. You really nailed it with that one. Your ability to debate is stunning. Yes, I am indeed in awe. - elebrio, on 10/12/2007, -7/+35Rep's were impeaching him for PERJURY. Not for having an affair. Nice try tho.
- joe122370, on 10/12/2007, -7/+34because not having a unified language was the beginning of the end for all of the great civilizations throughout history. The Roman empire being the most notable. If English were declared the national language it would save this country billions of dollars in all the forms and govt services that are now printed in 10 different languages, and hiring of translators. All of that because people love the US enough to come here legally and sneak in illegally but not enough to learn the language and fit in or assimilate
- foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -12/+38Agreed completely.
I dont understand the people who say that knowing a second language will help get a job.
If the person on the other end does NOT speak English, he will have an interpreter.
Nearly all educated people, especially those who deal in international affairs, know English. The exception is leftovers from the Soviet Union when it was equally important to know Russian as English. - guillermox, on 10/12/2007, -134/+159He's absolutely right.
Children whose parents speak a foreign language at home are never in danger of losing that language.
Their schooling should be 100% in English.
Bilingual education/government only serves to keep people divided (a goal of the liberals). - Y0tsuya, on 10/12/2007, -13/+36You white liberals just don't understand. We immigrants WANT to learn English. At the very least, we want our kids to speak fluent English so they won't be stuck in ethnic ghettos like we do. We recognize the opportunity presented by blending into society and we want our kids to have a piece of the pie. White guilt must have short circuited your liberal brains or something. FYI our family immigrated from Taiwan. I've lived in various low-income ethnic enclaves throughout childhood. Maybe things were different back then.
- CourtesyFlush, on 10/12/2007, -4/+27Please, let's NOT get into discussing a purposely mangled version of racially separatist English. Misspellings, slappin' hoes and calling everyone "*****" is ghetto. It comes from the ghetto. It is formulated to promote ghetto values. Anyone who says otherwise is in denial.
It is NOT an accent. Natural regional accents are not the issue. We are talking about knowing a language and speaking it properly. - Andrakon, on 10/12/2007, -8/+30thing is I am polish, do you see anything in the US printed in polish? no, you rarely see even manuals for the most popular things printed in polish, but with spanish you see it everywhere in raleigh here there are spanish signs everywhere! It's not fair for other countries, if they would allow spanish signs and documents they should have other lanuguages too! also my mom when she immagrated here she had to know english, but these spansish people when they come here they can't speak english and they get citizenship and an easy ride over here. and some of them even get dual citizenship! my mom had to give hers up! this is how it is they treat the spanish immagrants better then anyone else.
- consoneo, on 10/12/2007, -5/+22Yes, but you see, your argument still favors the Newt. Foreign countries DO teach a second language... but they still have their main language as the one and only. You don't see any country with a similar position to the US, except maybe Quebeq. They have French and English because that's how the population has evolved. EVERYTHING has to be in French and English. Do they teach both? You bet. Do they teach in both languages? You bet.
Spain, or France on the other hand, only have enough foreign languages in everyday society to make it so Tourists are not completely lost. They do teach foreign languages, but the reason they do, namely, is to better acquaint the populous with a more successful nation's language, AKA English is the number one second lagnuage in the world, as far as I know. USA on the other hand, has become almost Qebequois in a way, where we're going to have Spanish and English on EVERYTHING, even the signs that say the Speed Limit. This is a no go!
The problem with the US integrating second languages into schools is that no other language is as ubiquitous as English. Well... I take that back... the only exception is Mathematics.
What language would we make mandatory?
French? No, The benefit does not outweigh any other non-english language. Sure France has some nice stuff, but it's not a superpower or world financial leader (Anymore).
German? No, The benefit does not outweigh any other non-english language. Sure Germany has some nice stuff, but it's not a superpower or world financial leader (Anymore).
Russian? No, The benefit does not outweigh any other non-english language. Sure Russia has some nice stuff, but it's not a superpower or world financial leader (Anymore).
Chinese? Maybe, The benefit may come to outweigh other languages in the future seeing as how their population almost equals if not surpasses Europe + US (English Speaking Countries, through national language or education).
In conclusion... Sure, maybe we SHOULD learn a foreign language during our childhood education. But I do not believe any other language than English, at the moment, is going to be a dominant conversation tool in the near future. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15I'm a liberal and I agree. I don't get it. If you have to be a citizen to vote and you have to speak English to become a citizen, why should ballots be in any language other than English?
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14If I moved to Spain, I would learn Spanish. I wouldn't complain or expect the Spanish government to cater to my native language. I don't see why America should be any different.
- Birdoftruth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+15I never thought I would actually agree with Gingrich on something but he is right on this one.
- Wonderkind, on 10/12/2007, -6/+20A variety of languages is a stumbling block for the majority of people.
Why not have two or more alphabets? Because that would prevent many from understanding.
People with multiple languages can benefit by using them where they can.
One language unifies most everyone. - joe122370, on 10/12/2007, -5/+19this makes the point explicitly. If you do it for one then you have to do it for everybody mentality will run this country into the ground. Learn english when you come here and then there'll be no problems
- Cassius2117, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16I'm in a romanian community, and a lot of my friends came from Romania between the ages of 7-13 not speaking any english at all. They were put in school and were totally lost at first, but very quickly learned english because they needed to. Now they are all fluent in english and romanian. This seems to only be targeted at spanish speakers, but there are so many other languages that you can't find someone to translate for, and the kids just have to learn english the same way they learned their native languages growing up.... from hearing it. I agree that teaching in spanish is going to hinder the kids later in life, and is actually taking a great oppertunity away from them. It's so much easier for young people to learn languages and less of a burden on them to do it early rather than when they are out trying to work. So I agree teaching in public schools should be done only in english, with special programs to help those who can't speak it learn as quickly as possible.
- sbassin, on 10/12/2007, -5/+18I consider myself a liberal, but this is one issue on which I agree with the conservatives. Nobody's policing what language people speak at home. Please continue to speak in your ancestral tongue there if you like.
I think that a lot of multiculturalism policy ends up being a policy of segregation. Is anybody suggesting that we all start speaking both Spanish AND English? No. Kids who end up not speaking English will be effectively cut off from the rest of society. - thedpshow, on 10/12/2007, -4/+16Bilingualism is not a threat to the nation by any means. The real danger comes from only knowing one language other than English and living in the United States. There are no downsides to speaking multiple languages as an individual. Now, if the United States began to discourage non-English speaking immigrants from learning English by printing legal documents in multiple languages all the time and allowing public schools to be taught primarily in other languages besides English, then there's a problem. The article does not clearly specify whether Gingrich is against individual bilingualism or national bilingualism through holding two de facto official languages, but the difference is critical and the article is too ambiguous to draw any conclusions from.
- korvan504521, on 10/12/2007, -14/+26how is that not right? talking with the sort of accent your hear from rappers is not likely to get you a job as anything *other* than a rapper. and there aren't that many openings in that paticular job market.
- acdcfanbill, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14Me as well. I don't see what bilingual education has to do with official government language.
- pintomp3, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13i think everyone should learn at least another language early on. i was raised speaking only bengali at home, and took latin for 3 years in high school. it's amazing the insight you gain into your primary language. it makes you analyze the roots of words, context, and sentence structure. teaching students only the dominant language, cutting science education, teaching based solely to pass standardized tests, and focusing the curriculum only for the job market is very short sighted and will put our future generation at an even worse competitive disadvantage with respect to other countries.
- CogitatorX, on 10/12/2007, -3/+14A good place to start would be teaching so-called native English speakers to speak English as well.
- artificial001, on 10/12/2007, -6/+16you have to teach immigrants english. you have to walk before you can run.
- foolfromhell, on 10/12/2007, -9/+19Because they have no right to change the lingual structure of the country and make the English speaking citizens learn THEIR language when THEY are the people that come over.
They wish to come over, they need to learn the language. Not the other way around. We didnt ask them to come ever. - Detritus, on 10/12/2007, -51/+61Okay, I'm with you on it being pretty annoying to go to a store and not have the guys understand you and vice versa, but let's be constructive here. Getting uppity and angry isn't helping anyone, and neither is any of this crap Newt is on about. If you want people to speak English, then help them. Make friends with someone who speaks broken English. The reason they're not learning is because they aren't welcomed by most English speakers and so they stay in their own community.
If you can pull someone out of their community just a little bit and present them with a comfortable environment for them to learn to speak English without being judged they'll take it! No one wants to be in a land and not speak the language.
If you can't make friends with brown people, there are plenty of white people who could use your help too. Here in Chicagoland we have a lot of Latvian and Polish folks who are staying comfortably within their own communities without intigrating because Americans aren't trying to welcome and integrate them. When I'm in a Chinese restaurant I'll try to chat up the people behind the counter just to give them an opportunity to practice English beyond the mechanized "What you order? Ok, pickup or delivery?". They're usually very grateful for the opportunity, and I've seen a dramatic improvement in the accent of one such new found friend.
Don't go bitching on the internets, or persecuting people who are annoyed by the problem just as much as you are... solve the problem. - skew009, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13to donatj,
If you went to Sweden then you actually WOULD expect your children to learn English since it is required for all students there. - gabrielg01, on 10/12/2007, -5/+13The hypocrisy is that there is an immense number of native English speakers who graduate from high-school, yet they are illiterate or semi-literate.
The problems in our educational system are not caused by bilingual education. The problems are caused by ***** education, irrespective of the language used. So don't take it out on the Spanish, because nothing will improve. - PopcornDave, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10@HeavensBlade23
So what prevented you from taking a language in junior high or high school? That's what a lot of people do that want to learn a language. Besides that, usually there's a recreation department that offers some kind of language instruction at reasonable rates as well.
So why didn't you? - tech42er, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8An interesting thing is that this non bilingualism in commonly practiced in China where all children are taught only in Mandarin. Now, in China, there is an unbelievable amount of mutually unintelligible languages/dialects. All education is done in Mandarin, however, so that everyone can talk to one another. Many of the children still speak one language at home and one in school, but they all speak, learn, and think in Mandarin. Mandarin is the official language of China. Newt is proposing we do the same thing here in America. It seems to work in China. I am an English-speaking American,. by th way, who is learning Mandarin Chinese as a second language.
- Oracle95, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8I grew up with a family that spoke Italian, my husband, German. Technically, we're not quite bilingual, but if we were fluent, we still would not qualify as such in Texas. That's because for whatever reason, "Mexican" Spanish is considered superior to any other foreign language or culture. Amazingly many jobs here, including government work require fluency in Spanish, even though to be an American citizen, you need proficiency in English. This English requirement was to create a "melting pot" of culture where all people become equal. Requiring bilingualism means that some cultures are "more equal" than others. Anyone from a culture, not Hispanic, is actively discriminated against.
By the way, organizations like Lulac are by definition "bigots" because they are focused solely on the welfare of one race to the exclusion of all others. When their people get caught breaking the law, they scream "RACISM" rather than address the problem, which was breaking the law that everyone else in our society has no problem with complying with. - bizchris, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Immigrants have to learn english. They have to walk before they can run.
It's not our responsibility to teach them. - LeeSoong, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13English Only - or look forward to the total collapse and downfall of the United part of the USA.
Around Here, we got Asians, Polish, German, Russian, African, Spanish, Mexican, Indian.
The only way any work gets done is that EVERYBODY speaks english, and speaks fluently.
If biligual education is offered to young students, then a full range of choices should be required of the school district:
Japanese, Chinese, German, Russian, French, etc. etc. etc. - NoStoppingUs, on 10/12/2007, -7/+14one billion every ten days versus pelosi spending 28 billion in pork in one day.
hmmmmm. i - twoeyes, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10Learning a language in school is a joke - if they want people to be bilingual there needs to be a program for infants, instead of trying to shove spanish/french/german/latin down people's throats in schools where you're distracted by the girl in front of you with a nice ass or your best friend throwing paper balls at you.
You're kidding yourself if you think we learn multiple languages to "be smarterer", if that was the case, why can't I learn Italian instead of the big 4 that are taught in today's schools?
The fact is, the language programs in schools need serious reform, the actual percent of people who learn their language thoroughly in school is pathetic, the number of people that actually go on to use it and can remember it in 10 years is mind numbingly small, and it's just a waste of time that could be spent more on mathematics/science which are far more worthwhile subjects and will probably make you smarter then learning another language.
This guy may be going about it wrong but I'm glad he's at least bringing this to the table. - drmangrum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7@skyshock
The point Newt was making obviously went over your head. He's not saying that Americans shouldnt learn other languages, he's saying we shouldnt HAVE to learn other language to placate the migrant masses. America is about accepting other cultures, not bending our own to meet theirs. - mekongcola, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7"Peter Zamora, co-chair of the Washington-based Hispanic Education Coalition, which supports bilingual education, said, "The tone of his comments were very hateful."
Must these people ALWAYS turn to the race card? It makes me want to dismiss their comments out of hand as soon as I hear shiat like this...
He's simply stating a fact that most American speak English and its silly to try to accommodate a million other languages. Not to mention how hard it is trying to live and work in the US without being able to speak English... - Iktomi, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12@gabrielg01
Amazing how you left-leaning braniacs can't stay on the topic. It doesn't even matter what it is, rather than have a meaningful dialogue about something you always end up whining about politics and attacking someone or some group that doesn't believe the way you do. Here's a suggestion for you, when you have an intelligent thought - post it here, when you want to just rant - go visit Kos. - consoneo, on 10/12/2007, -4/+11DIgg me down, without reading my post, if you will, but take this into consideration as well...
What makes it so that Spanish is THAT one language? What about all of the other people in the nation that speak other languages? Are we going to have to do everything in every language, as well as speak it? - asian1, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Integration is the responsability of the immigrant, and not of society. Society can't be bending and contorting itself to accommodate each and every personal discrepancy. You want to be accepted, make an effort. The rest of the population aren't going to run their lives around keeping your special needs uppermost in their minds. Don't live in a dreamworld. The world is not going to stop for you, it's not going to revolve around you.
Why immigrate to a country whose language, culture and general environment you don't like? It's like moving to Antarctica while complaining you don't like cold weather, or moving to Death Valley while complaining you don't like the heat. Don't like it? Then don't go. Some people always want to have their cake and eat it too.
When you go to live in a particular country, it's pretty much a no-brainer that you have to learn the language there. Otherwise, you're not going to be able to function properly without being able to communicate. Learn how to communicate with others, rather than hoping the rest of society will have to stop and figure out how to communicate with you. It's all pretty simple and common sense.
This isn't rocket science. - rickpdx, on 10/12/2007, -5/+12As a bilingual speaker of English and Spanish (whose native language was Spanish), I couldn't agree more. I think Gingrich has this exactly right. My experience has shown that without strong competence in educated English, people are locked out of top rate jobs and work opportunities. I know people from Mexico who have been here 30 years and still know little English. Of course, they also work in low-paying manual labor. It angers me to see signage, government communications, etc., in any language other than English. To which country do these immigrants (legal and illegal) think they are coming? If you go to a country and wish to succeed, you learn its language and well. Except for refugees, no one should be admitted to this country who doesn't have the desire and ability to succeed and contribute. End of story.
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