BBC team make US Spanish journey

[Roco]

Last Updated: Saturday, 28 July 2007, 06:48 GMT 07:48 UK 

BBC team make US Spanish journey 

By Jose Baig

Hispanic affairs correspondent, BBC Mundo 

"This Saturday, I am setting off on a two-week long trip across the United States with a simple goal in mind: to only speak Spanish during the journey."

well there you have it guys ,I hope you give them a traditional all American wellcome !

full story

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6919360.stm

[tommie gorman]

Push button "1" for English. 

Ya'll come back now. 

[dn0]

Nice find Roco.

I just need my BP raised up a little more tonight, THANKS!!!!!!!!

Anyways, I hope I don't run into them, they won't get any help from me.

Unless you are an obvious tourist, THEN SPEAKA' FREAKIN' ENGLISH!!!!!! This is the USA, not Chihuahua.

If, God forbid, I ever find my dumb ass in Chihuahua, or whatever, then I will learn Spanish.

Until then, ENGLISH.

I know what this country was founded on, but we speak English damnit.

Roco, what do the good people in the UK think of foreigners moving in and working next to you but flat out refusing to learn English?

[resopalrabotnick]

it's funny. here in puerto rico the locals all speak spanish. schools (public) suck and if they do teach english the teachers barely speak it themselves. the funny thing is you are more likely to run into older people that are bilingual than kids since the older generation is better educated and knows the vlue of speaking english. they are all american citizens so when i have the time i will let them find someone that speaks english when i'm getting assistance in a store. i only use spanish if i absolutely have to.

[tommie gorman]

That I didn't know Reso. Thanks, really. Only been there as a tourist myself. 

[Roco]

Nice find Roco.

Roco, what do the good people in the UK think of foreigners moving in and working next to you but flat out refusing to learn English?

  dn0 , the first wave of immigration was from Asia about 35 years back ,

and they were keen to learn English , as there ambition was to own a small store ,

LOL every corner shop is now Asian , and their offspring are doing well ,

but now due  to the freedom to work anywhere in Europe , we have around 2 million legal immigrants form East Europe arriving in the past 4 years, and probably double that figure illegally This has caused much resentment in the UK, they are finding work in the less skilled areas , and lowering the wages in general , they seem to work and live in large groups and don't seem to care much about learning  English , apart from voicing their rights and benifits ,

the UK Gov.is claiming to be clamping  down on this immigration,

but the truth is, inflation is low in the UK , partly due to the large pool of immigrant workers  keeping wages and costs low , especially the illegal immigrants that work for less than the Min.wage agreement ,as  they can hardly complain and are being exploited ,

lol we have a new shopping mall being built locally , the immigration dept,and police

raided the site , over 300 site workers fled like lemmings through the town ,

leaving behind many vehicles that were found to be uninsured or stolen ,

I guess that is part of the reason for the huge increase of hit and run driving incident's we have now , some  unfortunately fatal ,

the incoming numbers are being matched by English middle class folks leaving for pastures new ,(France , Spain,  Portugal etc.

which I feel is not a healthy sign , give it another 50 years and there will be no English in England ,  , nor any Spanish in Spain for the same reason ,

it is now a normal option for 50+year old English folk to move out of England , taking the cash from selling their house , and taking  early retirement ,  to live abroad , as they can live well in a better climate ,some parts of Spain are now predominatly Engish speaking and annoying the native Spanish,  which is turning this issue full circle ,

I am getting on a rant .................again 

[dn0]

it's funny. here in puerto rico the locals all speak spanish. schools (public) suck and if they do teach english the teachers barely speak it themselves. the funny thing is you are more likely to run into older people that are bilingual than kids since the older generation is better educated and knows the vlue of speaking english. they are all american citizens so when i have the time i will let them find someone that speaks english when i'm getting assistance in a store. i only use spanish if i absolutely have to.

Rant Warning, again.

Thanks Reso, I agree with you. If one wants to advance then they should speak English in the USA (including Puerto Rico).

I used to live in Oregon, and there are numerous immigrants out there.

there were even a few Plaid Pantry's (convenient stores) owned by Chinese that had employees that did not speak English.

I do not know a single word in Chinese, so I was forced just to walk out. Very annoying.

These were in the suburbs, too, not the China Town area.

But rest assured, if I moved to a non English speaking country, I would learn the language, it would be my obligation as a guest in their land.

Roco, where I live there are a lot of meat processing plants.

Every so often the INS and State Police raid them and with the same result; hundreds arrested, and hundreds fleeing through the fields.

The last time there was a major bust, there were children left at schools with no parents to pick them up; let alone to go home with.

Many of the kids had been born here, so they are citizens, but the parents were illegals and therefore usually deported.

It was a huge mess, the children should not have been separated from their parents, but what else could be done?

Something needs to change.

If our democracy (US, Britain) is such a disgrace to the rest of the non-free world, then why all of the illegal immigration?

I'm sure there are examples out there, but I can't recall any US or British citizens illegally crossing into Mexico, or Russia or China for anything other then political or legal reasons.

Well enough on this subject - sorry everybody.

[Roco]

no prob for me Dno on your rant ,

and thanks for the head up on the children , most of the immigrant women seem to get pregnant shortly after arriving in the UK , we cannot repatriate the parents of a child born in the UK, or of one English parent ,

thats the reason I am stuck in the UK ,

if that law changes I will be the first on the list to go back to -

http://www.visitchannelislands.com/      ..........

[dn0]

thats the reason I am stuck in the UK ,

if that law changes I will be the first on the list to go back to -

http://www.visitchannelislands.com/      icon_thumright.......... Laughing

Looks like a beautiful place.

[Roco]

Looks like a beautiful place.

It is , I was born there, but I need to post $4million bond to be able to return ,

they sure  have immigration beat 

[resopalrabotnick]

the issue with english in puerto rico is not only one of americans not being able to speak english, but it seems to me it is a terrible disservice to the kids. i was in the park with my son and there was two about 15 yo girls that were fawning over the little tike. i understood when they said to each other (in spanish) that they should ask if they can go to the swings with him but they didn't know how to ask me (the big gringo looking guy) in english. so here you have two girls that have every possibility to move stateside to live if they so choose except the fact that they don't speak the language.

[tommie gorman]

Yeah, I remember the "is PR a state" thread. I learned quite a bit in there. But also I understand their wayof thinking. But it is sad they cannot see real advantages to getting along. I would prefer folks from PR to come here, rather than folks from Mexico. By a mile.

So maybe some day follks in Pr will finally settle on a solution to this delimma.