"Speak English"

Should the sign be taken down?

  • Yes

    Votes: 4 17.4%

  • No

    Votes: 19 82.6%
  • Total voters
    23
The Other Guy

The Other Guy

Spam King
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/speak-...p/20080320083809990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Well, this guy in Philadelphia has signs in his restauaunt that reads "This is America. When ordering please speak English" Well, someone threw a fit and took it to the city concil, who voted in favor of the sign.

I think I know what the majority is going to say, but what do you think? Should the sign remain up? Had the board decidied otherwise, would it be an example of political correctness gone too far? Any other thoughts?

I try to be politically correct, but I think this guy's doing the right thing. The majority of people in this country speak English. The minority should conform. I know that when the huge immigrations happened in the 1910s-20s, almost none of those people could speak English. But, unlike today, they had to learn it. Today immigrants seem to expect us to conform to them, as compared to the other way around. This sign is a win for waiters and English-speakers everywhere.
 
In America we speak English.

Don't like it? Leave.

Glad to hear someone isn't laying down and taking this crap. Good post.
 
Before I vote I have a question:

Does the USA have an official language (As he has used the term "America" we would be looking for a federal law here not a state one)?

- Obviously if the answer is yes and its English then he can keep the signs.
- If the answer is no then he should take them down because they would be incorrect.

The final answer has nothing to do with whats politically correct or incorrect but more about what is factually correct.
 
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It really comes down to a matter of manners. In my career as a Merchant seaman I went to many countries, and unfortunately there were many where I was not there long enough to learn more than one or two words.

But if I had time to go ashore, the first thing I did was to learn a few basic phrases of the local language. Good Morning, Afternoon, Evening, Hello, Goodbye, Please, Thank you, it's not hard.

I may have murdered their language, but I always tried to use it, usually in these cases the locals just dissolved into peals of laughter and they resorted to English. In many countries I became quite proficient, even if very limited.

If you are a tourist there is an excuse, but never the less you should try to speak the local language wherever you can, if you are resident, learn the language and use it.

It all comes down to good manners.
 
MontyB said:
Before I vote I have a question:

Does the USA have an official language (As he has used the term "America" we would be looking for a federal law here not a state one)?

- Obviously if the answer is yes and its English then he can keep the signs.
- If the answer is no then he should take them down because they would be incorrect.

The final answer has nothing to do with whats politically correct or incorrect but more about what is factually correct.
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We need another law for which know as common sense? Great. Maybe if they make it "official" we won't have to press "1" for English.

I personally support the following idea: "Press 1 for English, Press 2 to return to ****ing Mexico." I am all for immigrants. Legal ones. Conform, support; or deport, they have choice.
 
No you don't need a law to speak English but you do need one to make his sign correct.

For example he could put up a sign to say "This is my establishment and orders will only be taken in English"

But he can not make that claim for all of "America" unless it is your official language.

I am not arguing that people should not try and speak the language of the country they reside in I firmly believe that it is the responsibility to immigrants and visitors to assimilate to their chosen environment but that still does not make his sign correct (unless English is the official language).

Hell all you have to do to get me to vote that he can keep his signs is tell me that English is the official language of the country, I don't disagree with his sentiments or the point he is trying to make but without a law the sign is incorrect.
 
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No, it is not the official language, but there need not be a written law to make it so. Look at England, half of their laws are simply tradition, the Prime Minister as a formal position evolved without much, if any, written laws. All official documents are in English, when debating on the floor of Congress the members speak English, to become a US citizen a person is required to learn English. It is the official language in every way that matters, tradition matters as much as the written law in certain instances. If I go to France I don't expect every one there to speak English and if I go to Mexico I don't look forward to every person understanding me perfectly. This is America and we do speak English, we fought a war with France to make sure it stayed that way too.
 
As an immigrant myself I believe 100% that the sign should stay. I learned English when I came to the USA. Also it's a private business. The owner should be allowed to have said sign. It's a private enterprise and I think that the government should not step in this issue.

I understand that learning English is not an easy task. In fact, learning a new tongue is hard period. But it can be done. I speak two and I want to learn more.

Learn the local lingo, it's a sign of respect.
 
I don't understand why this is such a big issue...

If you go to France (or any country), obviously people prefer that you speak French, if however a person doesn't speak French people will speak English or Spanish or Whatever... Obviously its better for everybody that people speak the national language but frankly nobody else gives a damn if you cannot.

I travel a lot in the world and I can tell you that this fanaticism about ONLY speaking English exists only in America. The government in Quebec tried imposing a rule that French be only spoken in Quebec and most Quebecois scoffed at it.

Obviously its better people speak English in America, but we dont need to act like there is a burr up our rear end because someone doesn't (or in most cases cannot).
This strikes me of xenophobia than anything else...
 
I do NOT want to even have to THINK about learning a new language. I've tried years of Spanish and German already and my brain is simply incompatible with the concept.

If someone speaks to me in another language, I say EN INGLES!
 
mmarsh said:
I travel a lot in the world and I can tell you that this fanaticism about ONLY speaking English exists only in America.
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Well, USA can afford it since English is international language...
5.56X45mm said:
I understand that learning English is not an easy task.
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In fact English is not one of the most difficult languages to learn :wink:
 
I'm with Monty.
All orders will be taken in English.
People have the right to speak another language if they want to but to say business will be conducted only in English is the right of the company.
Imagine I wanted to sit down with my friend from the US for a beer and every shop had "Speak Korean Only" written. We'd have to buy beer at 7-11 and drink and talk on some kind of friggin' sidewalk.
 
the_13th_redneck said:
I'm with Monty.
All orders will be taken in English.
People have the right to speak another language if they want to but to say business will be conducted only in English is the right of the company.
Imagine I wanted to sit down with my friend from the US for a beer and every shop had "Speak Korean Only" written. We'd have to buy beer at 7-11 and drink and talk on some kind of friggin' sidewalk.
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And what if the opposite were true?

What if I went to Seoul and there was a sign that said "ORDERS IN KOREAN ONLY". I don't speak Korean, not a single word. What am I supposed to do starve? Or not have come at all? Somehow I dont think the Korean Tourism board would be pleased with a "Korean-only" rule, seems like an excellent method of discouraging people from visiting.

Let me tell you this, there are thousands of Americans (both businessmen and tourists) that visit Paris every year and only a few actually speak French and yet they are NOT denied service.
 
So what, you think it should be mandatory to be bilingual? Because no matter how much a business wants to serve you, they can't unless they speak your language...

Though I suppose you could just point at what you want on the menu - assuming you can read English.
 
Mandatory? No. Tolerant of those who cannot speak English? Yes.

BTW. One reason I got hired at one job was BECAUSE I spoke a foreign language, not because i didn't.
 
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