Spanish language joins U.S. culture

Washington Times ^ | 5/20/02 | Joyce Howard Price

[kattracks]

From ATMs to menus to football to politics, the Spanish language is creeping into American culture.

Patrons at bank machines in the Washington metropolitan area are routinely asked whether they want to conduct business in English or Spanish, which is not surprising, given that Hispanics represent nearly 8 percent of the District's population and nearly 5 percent of the populations of both Virginia and Maryland.

[Jeff Chandler]

¡ Aye, ay, ay !

[zarf]

It's about time average Americans started to stretch their mental muscles.....learning a second language is a GOOD thing....it gives insight into your native tongue too.

I encourage my kids to add as many lingos to their resume as possible!

[Ajnin]

I don't see the popularization of Spanish as a good thing. I live in Imperial Valley. It is the poorest county in California. Nobody has to speak English to get by. My mother-in-law has lived here in the US for 40 years and never learned English and she gets by. From my point of view, the expansion of accomodating Spanish speakers is going to create more poverty, more discontent and more crime in this country.

[Thundergod]

Yep. Turning America into a turd-world tower of babel.

[doc]

Thanks GW. This makes me puke!

[DoughtyOne]

Perhaps you should just go ahead and set them up for duel citizenship too. I mean, why not go all the way?

English is this nation's language. Support of learning alternate languages should be totally separate from this nation being flooded by immigrants. Every immigrant should lean English or go home. And your children's future jobs should not depend on their Spanish skills.

[The Cuban]

Boo hoo It makes you puke. Well just remember that Spanish was spoken here long before Queen Elizabeth I began her long history of self abuse. As well, Americans had no problem speaking Spanish when they named the Dollar "el dolar" and when they counted in spanish using pieces of eight (Why do you think the stick quotes were always in 1/8 increments). O well, not to get to intellectual (Way over your heads)--- ENGLISH HAS NEVER BEEN THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE!

[DoughtyOne]

Look, if you like Spanish, there are places all over the world that speak it as their first language. The language of this nation is English. Immigrants that come here should know how to speak it. Is that a problem for you?

We don't live in 1500 to 1800 America, or hadn't you noticed?

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

My biggest concern about languages on ATMs are the drive up ones set up with Braille keys. Nothing against the blind, I just don't think they should be driving to ATMs. Of course they could be set up for baseball umpires.

[csvset]

I wonder why Univision doesn't offer English translation for its programs the way that US networks provide Spanish translation?

Sometimes I really do wonder what those buxom Mexican chicks on those crazy game shows are saying.

[valkyrieanne]

This is America; the official language of government should be English.

[Flyer]

ENGLISH HAS NEVER BEEN THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE!

But it should be.

[tdadams]

De acuerdo!

[tdadams]

My biggest concern about languages on ATMs are the drive up ones set up with Braille keys.

LOL! Me too. When I first saw a a drive up ATM with Braille on it my first thought was, "OK, this PC crap has gone too far."

[tdadams]

Sometimes I really do wonder what those buxom Mexican chicks on those crazy game shows are saying.

You don't really want to know. Es muy loco.

[B Knotts]

Eventually, this can only result in a split of the United States of American into an English-speaking nation and a Spanish-speaking nation.

[FITZ]

Yes ---using language to divide the people ---and the people then become easier to control. Just like now, the middle class can have whatever portion of their wages and land confiscated so the non-working can have the same things. We are becoming a very divided society.

[Tauzero]

"If the Monday Night Football and the Simpsons are the two highest rated shows ( they are my highest rated shows too) amongst "Hispanics", it demonstrates that more than a few speak and understand English pretty damn well."

Oh really? Ever heard of SAP?

Try enabling it on your television.