“Why Aren’t You Speaking English?” A Texas Senator is receiving praise and criticism.

KTRH 740 ^ | Friday, June 17, 2011 | By KTRH STAFF

[tje]

During committee testimony this week in Austin, a Texas senator interrupted a Spanish speaker and telling him he should "be speaking in English" during a committee hearing.

Antolin Aguirre of the Austin Immigrant Rights Coalition was testifying against Senate Bill 9 that would help crack down on illegal immigrants in Texas. Aguirre spoke through an interpreter even though he had been in the U.S. since 1988.

Two minutes into Antolin Aguirre’s testimony, Sen. Chris Harris, a Republican from Arlington, interrupted asking Aguirre’s interrupter, "Did I understand him correctly that he has been here since 1988?" Harris asked. "Why aren’t you speaking in English then?"

[Elendur]

awesome post. great info !!!

[The Toll]

I FINALLY FOIND MY CANDIDATE!!!

NOMINATE HIM!

[Elendur]

yep. exactly like Mark Twain wrote about how almost nobody lived in Palestine back then.
(and Jews were the majority in Jerusalum for 3000 years, even under Muslim rule)
they only came in, when the Jews made the desert bloom,

just as Mexicans came to Texas in response to the prosperity.

[dcwusmc]

I remember Tripoli well. After decommissioning, she spent time at Mare Island, being worked over for some Army project. Got to wander around her a couple of times. Brought back a LOT of memories, for sure!

[Arrowhead1952]

Yes, I know and the same thing happens at trials. We have to pay for translators there too. I’m ticked off because he spoke well enough for the committee to understand and his testimony only lasted a few minutes.

[Cobra64]

Learn how to spell “English.”

[dennisw]

Third, is he an American citizen? >>>>>>>

I hope he is not an American citizen. We don’t need his bs attitude

[Old Teufel Hunden]

"I remember Tripoli well."

Semper Fi, she was a good ship. I never thought of myself as "old corps" but out of the five ships I did deployments on, there is only one still commisioned. The U.S.S. Dubuque. And I've read recently that it is supposed to be decommisioned sometime this year. That's making me feel old...

[Eaker]

I learned the no speak english trick years ago when my shop hired some illegals.

I learned many years ago working construction that illegals are just like cue balls.

The harder you hit them the more English you get out of them.

[justiceseeker93]

I, for one, can understand Sate Sen. Harris's frustration at the witness' choice to testify in Spanish, but, regrettably, unless and until there is some "English is the official language" law on the books, his demand on the witness lacks any legal authority. Furthermore, I'm sure that the lefty media will be on the senator's back for some time by calling him a "bigot", a "racist", or "insensitive," etc.

[MARKUSPRIME]

OMG a grammer nazi go jump off a cliff please.

[Polybius]

Then why are you speaking a European language like SPANISH instead of Incan or Mayan?

In the Yucatan, where there are plenty of pure Mayans left, they do speak Mayan. While on a trip to the Yucatan, an 8 year old girl and her 6 year old brother gave us a tour of a cenote (underground cavern sinkhole) in Spanish but argued among themselves in Mayan when they disagreed how the story should go.

The pure Aztecs, however, were bred out of existence long ago.

The protester in your photo complains that "We are here as the Indigenous people of this continent." Then they go on to bash the "Europeans".

Even if you accept that, the fact remains that, in 1491, if an Aztec or a Mayan had been caught as squatters on the lands that are now Texas and California, the local "Indigenous people" would have cut their throats.

The idea that the land extending from the Yucatan through California was all one common territory was not an "Indigenous" idea. It was a European Spanish idea.

[momtothree]

Oh, I agree. However, I think I have a better chance at growing a third eye before the U.S. declares English as the official language. Sometimes the truth is the truth and supported by many even when the media uses the tired, old terms of “bigot, racist, insensitive, blah/blah/blah”. LOL!

[freekitty]

Why give this Mexican any time? He has shown himself to be of the lowest common denominator. Odds are he knows English; but is way too stupid to speak it.

[Polybius]

Helmut Kohl, Germany's former chancellor, spoke excellent English. However, when speaking off script in English in a formal diplomatic setting he preferred to use German so that there could be no question of his meaning. He couldn't accidentally get some slight nuance or local meaning of English wrong and create an international incident. However, this isn't such a case, there's no danger of an international incident due to a misunderstanding.

In regards to misunderstanding of "local nuance", you are in danger of that even among speakers of your own language. In my first year of medical school, a British physical examination professor was teaching how to diagnose a "hydrocele" (fluid collection around the testicle) from a solid mass. You put a penlight up against the scrotum and see if the light shines through the water filled collection or does not shine through a solid mass ("trans-illumination").

< British accent> "You hold the scrotum of the patient and then you trans-illuminate it with a little torch." < /British accent>

OUCH!

The auditorium of 22 year old medical students exploded with laughter.

The angrier she became and the more she scolded the class about being childish and immature for laughing at the mention of "scrotum", the more the class roared with laughter. She had no clue why the class was laughing.

Finally, somebody had to explain to her that, in the U.S., a "torch" is not a "flashlight".

[dcwusmc]

Roger that. I think ALL the boats I deployed on are no longer in service, including New Orleans, which was almost brand new when she took my squadron from Phu Bai, RVN to Futenma, Oki. Plus Inchon, Guam, Guadalcanal, etc.

[stephenjohnbanker]

I told him he was worth his weight in gold...NOT dollars ;-)

[ROCKLOBSTER]

they speak english just fine, they just don’t speak it to you.

Sound like an open invitation to insult them on a daily basis in English, until they freak out and out themselves.

[rodguy911]

Multiple identities and gaming the system is a way of life in South Fla.