RE: How ready are you for Spanish?

RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (Full Version)

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seeksfemslave -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/6/2006 11:29:42 AM)
Lady E: and you an old trucker too. boom boom

LadyEllen -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/6/2006 1:05:09 PM)
Never been a trucker seeks - been in a few trucks with drivers, run them all my working life, but never driven one! What a tragedy, 38 and never trucked..... E

slavejlb -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 2:34:31 AM)
hello Lady Ellen i guess it is a good thing i am hetro sexual male but a very stright female, take care M Lady and be well Master Mawgan/slave java

Leonardo -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 10:12:39 AM)
A foreign language, I & II has been pretty much a standardized requirement for graduation since back in the days I was in high school. Spanish I & II is a much more logical choice and has been so throughout most of the country for ages, given our close proximity to Mexico. Likewise, French I & II should be logical choices for those living in the more northern regions. These are much more logical choices than Latin.

Leonardo -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 10:21:13 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Chaingang I speak Spanish (my first tongue), English (I hope rather fluently), some French, some Italian (less than my French). People in the states should make an effort to learn English and it should be required as the only official, legal language. Period. No argument with that here. I am fluent in Spanish and English, can decipher Italian and Portuguese, can handle myself pretty well in a Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant, and know some basic Polish, French, German, Russian. I also know some basic Latin from grade school (from back in the days that Catholic services were completely in Latin). It is nice to know and understand different languages, but a country needs to have 1 single official language. Leonardo

meatcleaver -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 10:29:09 AM)
Countries with two official languages appear to be very loose federally and/or unstable, especially in crisis'. I speak English, Dutch, with a very good working ability, though not fluent in German and French. Having read the proposed EU constitution that was rejected, in all four languages, though even in my native English it could have meant all things to all men, my belief was reinforced that a country has to have one legallly binding language. The EU constitution differed in nuance at various points. My belief for political reasons.

LotusSong -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 10:40:48 AM)
I studied French thoughout high school. I lived in the northern region of the country and Canada was the main influence for my decision. Yup- took my little high school formal, Parisian French up there and learned they had a whole different dialouge! But I could read the street signs and menus and was able to make myself understood. One place said, "That's ok..we speak English too" to end my torture of the language :) (This is shared to show I DO know the difficulties faced with being a 'foreigner' in a new place) I imagine I must have sounded like someone speaking British English (which is music to my ears) in the Smoky Mountians (which is music to my eyes). I found that one Romance Language was a good base to learn the others. I may not be able to speak Spanish.. but I can read and understand it. This came in handy when there was a conversation going on where the participants didn't realize that I could understand what they were saying. My mother did not teach us Hungarian because my father didn't know it. It's an extrememly hard language for me to learn..my mouth just doesn't go that way. Seems you use a whole different set of muscles. :) My German grandmother did not teach German to her children either. I want to learn Japanese. I think the writing and the challenge would be interesting. Why? I'd like to go to Japan someday.

Leonardo -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 10:43:21 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: BlueHnS quote: ORIGINAL: juliaoceania You are right, we should all speak Cherokee... it was very dsirepsectful to come into their home and kill them all and force them to speak English I absolutely agree that what happened to the Native Americans was not only disrespectful, but also abhorrent by todays standards. I can not honestly say that I would have the exact same feelings had I lived during that time, but I would like to think so. quote: ORIGINAL: juliaoceania I mean Americans go to countries all over the world and converse in the local tongue (yeah right, if they do not speak English we just talk louder and slower like the locals are retarded, that is how most Americans act when they go to Mexico or any other place) This may be your experience. As it happened for me spanish was my first language. I had to learn english to go to school. when I went to Mexico some years later I re-learned the language. Yes, sometimes I stumbled over words and the ranch hands had a good laugh, Yes, some of them spoke english or enough that I could convey my thought and they would help me translate. But the rule was inside the main house I spoke english, outside the door I spoke spanish. A sidenote that I find personally amusing; My daughter's father is Puerto Rican and she has his last name. I lived in California when she entered kindergarten. About a week before school started I recieved a letter from the school district, in english, asking if would require a english as a second language aide for my daughter. Another side note. I specifically selected the school my youngest is in based on it's theme. It's an African American Village Schule. They don't have the big work up in December for Christmas. There is mention of Christmas,Chanukkah, and the way different countries observe the holidays, but the main focus is on Kwanzaa. It's clearly listed in the school guideline thingy. If I were going to take exception to this, as a logical adult, it would probably be the wrong school to place my student in. To return to the original topic, because I'm really good in into sideline issues, being forced* to learn another language is wrong.* The comment about asking if your doughter needed an English-speaking aide was funny and it reminded me of a friend who is Boriqua. He went to the Post Office (US) and took a letter to send to Puerto Rico. The clerk at the USPS said that he needed additional postage since it was going to a foreign country. The clerk didn't even know that PR postage is the same as postage to anywhere else in the US. Perhaps instead of learning a foreign language, it may be a good idea if the schools here taught folks how to speak, read and write in English properly (you would be amazed at how many americans are functionally illiterate), develop some basic mathematical skills (go to the store or fast food chain and after the cashier tells you how much it is, give him/her a $20 and after s/he enters the amount tended into the register, come up with the pennies) and learn some basic geography (Jay Leno's 'Jaywalking' once asked college students in CA what foreign country they would like to visit... one of the responses was NY). Hmmm. Leonardo

seeksfemslave -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 10:53:11 AM)
Leonardo said quote: I am fluent in Spanish and English, can decipher Italian and Portuguese, can handle myself pretty well in a Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant, and know some basic Polish, French, German, Russian endquote Thats all very well Leonardo but can speak them all at the same time standing on your head and drinking a bottle of beer.? No seriously, I've had a go at German, French and Spanish, not any real success, No conversation, but I could order say a meal in a restaurant or a hotel room with breakfast, things like that.

LotusSong -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/7/2006 12:17:01 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: seeksfemslave Leonardo said quote: I am fluent in Spanish and English, can decipher Italian and Portuguese, can handle myself pretty well in a Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant, and know some basic Polish, French, German, Russian endquote Thats all very well Leonardo but can speak them all at the same time standing on your head and drinking a bottle of beer.? No seriously, I've had a go at German, French and Spanish, not any real success, No conversation, but I could order say a meal in a restaurant or a hotel room with breakfast, things like that. *Hey! Not EVERYONE* can be Charo!!!**

LadyEllen -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/8/2006 3:36:51 PM)
Sorry about dredging this one up, but there was an interesting programme on today which really illustrated why one has to have language unity if one is to have cultural pluralism. In the Austro-Hungarian fortress town of Przemysl in the first world war, the orders to the defenders had to be issued in 15 languages every day because of the number of peoples found within the empire. The defending troops were unable to communicate with one another between these 15 tongues, and the result was such disunity that by the time the Russians attacked, there was almost no resistance to them and the town fell. The Austro-Hungarian army, much like the empire itself was riven by the same disunity, brought about by rivalry, suspicion and distrust between the ethnic groups which it comprised. The clear message seems to be that whilst one can build a nation from diverse groups, one cannot hold it together unless there is some commonality between them, and a common language has to be the basis whereby communication overcomes suspicion and distrust. E

ExquisteLace -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (9/14/2006 1:28:26 AM)
I grew up speaking Spanish and for me it is as natural as English. Spanish was my language of choice from middle school through college. I love it. I use Spanish daily in my work and my clients appreciate the effort I make to communicate; I feel good helping others. However, I do encourage them to learn English for the betterment of their children's lives and not to be afraid or ashamed to speak English even when the pronuciation is not perfect. My clients help me when my Spanish isn't good. So though the adults may not speak English, the children do learn it in school and can easily comprehend both languages though interchanging them at times. Often times children are translators for the parents. I have no problem with people learning Spanish and it can only enrich you just like learning any else new. English the international language anyway. So I don't see how learning Spanish will change that. The thing is that many Spanish speaking people that I counsel are from poor countries and just have a grade school education. With priorities like supporting one's family, finding/getting a job, health care and housing, I don't see how learning English is #1 on that list. Some communities are not mobilized enough to provide affordable esl classes and some people could fear deportation, are not trusting of others not in their own community and because the communities are very close knit, many may not see a need for English because most of what they need is readily available. One thing that I do see often is my clients from other countries are more biligual than most of my Spanish speaking clients. So it could be that learning English begins in the person's own country and that depend on the educational system of that country. *Edited to add: My response is not to anyone in particula except the original poster. It's just my 2 cents. EQL

ExquisiteStings -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (2/28/2010 8:26:56 PM)
I took Spanish from a young age because I WANTED to know it. I WANTED to know how to speak foreign languages and so I started with Spanish. I think that American schools SHOULD enforce the kids to learn different languages, to enrich their brain-power as mentioned by Mistress Lorelai. But what totally irks me is the Hispanic people who move to this country, to live and work here and then get snotty with us if we don't speak their language. And a lot of the Hispanic crowd in Miami absolutely refuse to make an effort to learn English. They want everything translated for them. Down here in FL, the driving test is given in English, Spanish & Creole. Many places that you call up have menu options to have the call be conducted in English & Spanish & sometimes Creole. But this I can say for the Haitians, they make the effort to learn English. Unlike the Hispanics who move here and adamantly refuse, and the French-Canadians who are here for part of the year and are just as snotty to us down here as they are to us when we go up to Quebec to visit. If I go to foreign countries, I respect the citizens & I make an effort to learn their languages. It just really irks me that we have to give in to the hispanics not because it's enriching to learn it in school, but because they are TOO goddamn lazy to learn English. And this was not just an isolated case here and there. I've encountered quite a lot of this bullshit. To My way of thinking, if you can't be bothered to learn the language of the country in which you live and work, than maybe you should have stayed in your own country.

VideoAdminZeta -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (2/28/2010 8:30:13 PM)
This thread is four years old. Many of the posters on this thread are no longer members of CM. If you would like to start a discussion on this topic, please start a new thread, and post it in the appropriate forum. In general, we discourage "resurrection" of threads that are over six months old.

ExquisiteStings -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (2/28/2010 8:48:16 PM)
And in answer to what ExquisiteLace had to say about people being too bogged down with raising the kids and working, having a houseful of children and working did NOT prevent my Eastern European ancestors from learning the language and encouraging the kids to learn the language of the new country..and there's so many more ways to learn the language nowadays. Back in the times of my ancestors original arrival in this country, there were no esl classes or audio cd's to play to learn while working. They had to do it the old fashioned way; by seeing and hearing. ES

ExquisiteStings -> RE: How ready are you for Spanish? (2/28/2010 8:52:32 PM)
Oops; my bad adminzeta...I didnt look at the dates of the topic; just read the topic itself.

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