Alicia Alvarado presses two for Spanish. Nearly everything the 44-year-old janitor needs can be had in her mother tongue. She shops in Spanish, files police reports, talks to nurses and teachers and voice-mail systems. For 17 years, Alvarado has lived in a Spanish-speaking world, first in Los Angeles and now in Concord's Monument Corridor. Her continued monolingualism stems from cultural pride, a hectic life and the challenge of studying a foreign language.
Nathaniel Hoffman in the Contra Costa Times -- 3/25/06
Calcowgirl: Thanks for clarifying the situation in more eloquent terms than I was able to provide...
Ah, well, that sucks. Thanks for the info, calcg. As a daughter of two people who immigrated here legally, after waiting years and years to be admitted, and had to learn English prior to becoming citizens, I didn't realize there was an option for permanent green cards and not speaking English. I thought illegal aliens were the only ones not speaking English. So little does that word "immigrant" mean anymore, I guess.