Quote:
Originally Posted by roseylovestosho  I'm from South Florida too and I don't think the problem is adapting, it's more an artifact of convenience. Where I grew up, there was not a single place that I would go where everyone didn't speak Spanish. The grocery store workers, your local Wal-Mart, even the DMV etc. When my mother and father first moved here they both had different "career paths" so to speak. My mother was mostly a stay at home mom because raising her children was her top priority while my dad worked as a mechanical engineer for a company. To run errands my mother never needed to learn English. Also, because all of the teachers at my schools were mostly Spanish speakers, she did not need to learn English in order to communicate with my teachers about my performance in school. My father on the other hand because of the nature of his work and the clients, was forced into a situation where he needed to know English in order to communicate. When times were more difficult and my mom wasn't able to stay at home, she worked in factories, cleaning hospitals, etc all jobs that did not require English speaking skills. So, I now have two parents one who speaks English pretty well (my father) and a mother who partially understands English but does not speak it well. My mother is an extremely hardworking woman in the sense that when she couldn't afford to stay at home with me, she would work one or two jobs if necessary and gave it her all, but given the circumstances (and quite frankly lack of time and transportation) she did not have a chance to devote her time into learning English. Especially since she never struggled with not knowing it. So, what I'm trying to say is that I think most people are rational and will do what is necessary to thrive. Because Miami has such a large Spanish speaking community they do not find it to be necessary to speak the language. I think that given the choice if learning the language was costless (in other words you were exposed to the language on a daily basis in your surrounding area) most South Floridians would speak English fluently. I don't think not knowing speaking English is a way to reject American culture, it's just an artifact of the neighborhood and surrounding communities. If my family had moved to another city I'm pretty sure that both my mother and father would speak English well. |
I agree and disagree. I am glad to see your perspective.. and I really and truly did not mean any offensive in my post. I often wonder what would happen to me if we moved to an non English speaking country. I think when you are older it is harder to learn a second language. I agree it is human nature to gravitate to people who speak your language and are similar- I could see myself being like your mother - but I do love foods of other cultures and like to learn how to prepare. I also think many families moved to usa BECAUSE it was what they either needed to do or HAD to do for their families not because they wanted to leave their homes. I admire families like yours - I hope you feel you have a better life because of your parent's choices.
BUT... there is another side... I have had people rude to me because I don't speak Spanish. I used to apologize.. I really don't know what to feel anymore. I have been told I should learn Spanish. I agree to the point it would make me a more "learned" person. It would help me when traveling. Otherwise I find that a bit offensive. I get by.. most people help each other.. I commutate with neighbors with my limited Spanish and their English we have a lot of fun!!
Sadly .. I am not very good at learning languages and even worst is learning the "slang" One time I asked a male student (remember I teach food production) if he washed his Huevo -- not a good day
I find by the second or third generation it is not an issue anymore. For example... my dh is second generation Swedish .. only words he knows is "jummin Jimminey" (don't ask ?>????)
Like I said before... we all can trace our roots back to another country.
But I guess I got a bit off the subject of the op
I think there are three issues in this thread
A.) What the girl is saying - her message
B.) Her right to say what she is saying
C.) How she is getting her message across
lol-- we could have three different heated threads
My friends alway said I should have been in debate... I can think of several arguments or supportive fact pro and con on each of the above.
Sadly some of the subjects are too heated and people get upset if you don't share their views.
I alway say three things you should be careful about if you want to keep friends:
A.) NEVER tell a woman how to raise her children (or maybe yorkies
)
B.) Religion
C.) Politics