[paulmartin]

it's more practical to learn Spanish in school than French.

[bill1952]

Speaking of the word "vote" in Spanish, perhaps the people of Spain itself might wonder about the greater meaning of that word as it pertains to Iraq.

Also, what is the spanish word for "surrender?"

[My2Cents]

el polo loco

[AuH2ORepublican]

""Ocho billón.""

---

Geez, they can't even get *that* right. "Eight billion" would be "ocho billones" in Spanish, since one would need to use the plural.

Actually, if one wants to get technical, "eight billion" should be translated as "ocho mil millones" (literally, "eight thousand million") since in Spanish-speaking countries the word "billón" refers to "a million million," not "a thousand million." This is exactly like the traditional use of the word "billion" in Great Britain, in which "billion" was used for "a million million" and the word for "a thousand million" was "milliard."

[s_asher]

http://world.altavista.com/

vote = voto en español

[TheOtherOne]

Is this article really from the SacBee?

I found the same story on the ModBee:http://www.modbee.com/local/story/10063615p-10892229c.html

[seastay]

After 10 to 15 years in the United States, some 75 percent of all Hispanic immigrants are speaking English regularly, and virtually all their children will speak English. ( http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-9221/spanish.htm )

Therefore the majority of those who do speak Spanish, 10s of millions in the US then are for the most part 75% Mexican nationals visitors and not US citizens who would have the right to vote anyhow!

The money would be better spent on having these politicians learn how to communicate with their won constituency !

For example all the leading candidates for Los Angels mayor race endorse drivers licences for illegal immigrants and the use of Mexican ID, even though a new pol out to day suggest that the majority of people in California reject handing out state issued IDs, and paying taxes for services to the citizens of foreign countries such as Mexico.

[Wormwood]

I'd rather the phrase, "DON'T VOTE" was translated into Spanish.

[Piedra79]

My first language is English, I do however speak Spanish fluently but have only been able to do it for about 4 years now and that is due to study and travel. Even though I could live quite comfortably in a Spanish speaking country and have no real problems communicating or carrying on an in-depth conversation with someone, my language is still English. When I lived in Mexico, after a while it was nice to run into people who spoke English whom I could converse with. It is the language I grew up with and the language in which I have the deepest vocabulary. Four years of learning cannot equate to the entirety of my life in English. My point(finally!) is this....even when someone is able to speak a language fluently there is something to be said for hearing and speaking their native tongue to someone else. It is not necessarily someone who refuses to learn English in a case like this.