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Restaurant wins challenge over 'speak English' signs

#43
I think that the issue of whether or not citizens can/should/will speak English is one thing - do you all think that such a sign would off-putting to someone on vacation from another country who was not fluent or "conversationally comfortable" in English?
 
#45
MakiSupaStar said:
We do spend a lot of money on teaching people who immigrated to US SAE (Standard American English). I'm a big advocate for bilingualism, but true balanced bilingualism. As much as this might seem like a contradiction, I'm also a big advocate of students learning how to speak English effectively. Most minority communities place importance on learning English, because they realize that it's necessary for survival because their world is too limited in this country without English. There is one community however that tends to not place a great deal of importance on learning English. This is Spanish speakers. The spanish speaking community is so large that a person can easily exist without having to speak English. It's hard for me as a teacher to convince parents that it's still important for their kids to learn English when my classroom is the only time their child is exposed to it.
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+1... that's unfortunately true. It's beginning to change, but in areas like the SF Bay Area and Los Angeles - both of which have very strong Latino communities, the change is slow.

My relatives have forced themselves into learning English both for their own sake and the sake of encouraging their children to master it as well. For a long time, however, they tried to skirt around it. Once my uncles found jobs with employers other than my dad, it became more obvious than ever that without English, their survival and rights would forever be at risk. My parents learned English the hard way, having come into this country from Mexico during their teenage years; as a result, they opted to raise me and my siblings with English over Spanish, to help us perform better in school and in life.

Even though more than a third of California is populated by Latinos (largely of Mexican origin), English is still the dominant language by far. It's everywhere - education, road signs, the law, the media, casual conversation, etc.. People of all minorities need to learn basic English - in the long run, it's difficult to survive in the United States without it, and even more difficult to advance oneself without it.

This is not an argument for minorities to surrender their native culture or heritage (that's a hot-button political issue that I don't want to go into here). It is simply necessary that they learn English in order to participate in American society, whether it be for something as simple as buying a sandwich or as complicated as urging the legislature to pass a new bill into law. It's not just our daily routine that hinges upon knowing the dominant language - our rights depend on it as well. After all, what language are all of our laws in the U.S. written in?

The problem, as Maki pointed out, is convincing them how important it is to learn the language, before they're too old to learn it easily and discover on their own that not mastering English was a mistake. The formative years are the best years to master new languages, without a doubt.

I'm reminded of that reality in regards to speaking Spanish. I can translate it decently into English, but it's been an uphill battle for me to speak it fluently. My parents regret not teaching me Spanish at the same time as English when I was a child, and I don't blame them. It would've been a lot easier back then to grab hold of the language.
 
#49
disenchant said:
Is putting up a sign that says "speak English" in English similar to having a sign that says "braille and picture menus available" at McDonalds--or having braille on the buttons of drive-up ATMs?
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That's a different type of accomodation. English can be taught to someone who can speak, but you can't teach a blind person to see.

Of course, braille on drive-through signs has always been rather perplexing. It makes me paranoid about the driver in the sunglasses behind me... :hmm:

There is one thing that does bug me about that sign in Philly - it seems a bit harsh. But then again, it's Philly. :D

:hiding:

MakiSupaStar said:
+1. I would argue that Southern California has the best Mexican food on the planet.
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You haven't been to NORTHERN California much, then. Or Mexico. :p
 
#52
But really, how many foreigners who move to... anywhere really, refuses to learn the language of the majority and expect others to accomodate them in their own language?

Like no one.

And as for asking patrons to order in English...if the menu is in English and they have the ability to tranlsate it to their own language and then ask for it...isn't that a bit silly? I don't think anyone does this either.

If he's asking for ALL conversations in the restaurant to be in English I think that's asking for a bit much. What if some poor grandmother is visiting her grandson and decided to have dinner and wanted to catch up but their native language is more comfortable for the both of them to communicate in?
 
#53
i agree with an owner's right to demand a certain level at his restaurants, but unless i missed something....did the article mention that the problem was with spanish speakers?
i imagine a landmark such as his would attract a lot of tourists from all over the world.

i will also say that IME, a lot of adult immigrants coming to the U.S do not necessarily have time or money to take a class. they come here to work. i used to teach ESL, so grain of salt and blah blah....

i am also a fan of bilingual education. when it works (as in canada), it is an awesome asset for kids....
 
#55
english-is-our-language.jpg
 
#59
HEIST said:
But really, how many foreigners who move to... anywhere really, refuses to learn the language of the majority and expect others to accomodate them in their own language?

Like no one.
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You need to spend some time in Southern California. I work with ppl who have been in the Navy for 20+ years who have difficulty with basic sentence structure. During my wife's US citizenship swearing in ceremony, the lady next to her had an INTERPRETER.
 

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