53% of LA doesn't speak english @ home

[BeyGon]

I just saw this on the news this morning, like it should be a surprise. With a Mexican population second only to Mexico City, how can this be a surprise?

[Mule]

Heaven on Earth.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

I speak only Jive.

[id10t]

My wife's best friend's brother in law is an ambassador, and he/his wife and his kids all speak English, Spanish, French and Dutch. Their home rule is that in the house they don't speak whatever language is predominantly used in the country they are in at the moment...

Unfortunately I don't think the news item mentioned was about the same type of policy...

[Dan in Pasadena]

So what?

[The Gaijin]

I would imagine it is about the same in New York City, but it is a polyglot and not dominated by any one group.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

So what?

I think the issue here is that such a huge number of people speaking Spanish at home means a lot of them can't speak any other language, which creates all kinds of problems for public schools, courts, police, EMS workers and failure to learn English if living in the US will certainly reduce one's chances of upward mobility.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

I speak only Jive.

Awesome. Can we adopt that as our national language?


No english = roofer for life. Pity so many Mexicans don't seem to realize this.

[island911]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

No english = roofer for life. Pity so many Mexicans don't seem to realize this.

Mexico must have a lot of roofers. ...OH, you mean Illegal Mexicans living in the US. --My bad.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

why are conservatives always so interested, and outraged, about what people do in the privacy of their own homes?

[island911]

Good one Shaun.

That IS the big issue here.

[Mo_Gearhead]

I thought (hoped!) we in the mid-west would be immune from this 'invasion' for some years. Nope.

Hadn't been in Home Depot from several months, on a recent visit ...EVERY large aisle sign changed ...now in English and Spanish!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I think the issue here is that such a huge number of people speaking Spanish at home means a lot of them can't speak any other language, which creates all kinds of problems for public schools, courts, police, EMS workers and failure to learn English if living in the US will certainly reduce one's chances of upward mobility.

Rick, I agree it limits one's upward mobility - couldn't agree more. It creates a sort of permanent second class sititzenship. I'll come back to that in a minute.

My comment was more in the vein of why does anyone care what people speak in their home? My parents spoke predominantly Spanish in the home as my 6 and 8 year older-than-I sisters were growing up, and more and more English as I grew up. We ALL speak the King's English flawlessly including my living parent (okay we speak well, not flawlessly:). We do not speak with a Spanish accent - no really, etc. Both my parents were born here. So the fact that people speak a language in their house does NOT mean they can't master and speak English well outside the home. Perhaps white, English-only speakers suspect that, but it is not the case.

Here's my "deal" with English as a second language, etc. My mother had to be the spokesperson for her parents growing up because in those days (1930's) NO documents were printed in anything but English. No advertising, no governmental forms, nothing. Here was this 5, 6, 7 year old little girl trying to translate for her parents. I feel terrible thinking about that situation for BOTH her and my grandparents. Now, just because some "empathetic soul" here will undoubtedly chime in with a nasty comment, they WERE here legally and both became citizens eventually.

Switch to today. We print governmental forms in a variety of languages, advertising is in English and Spanish and other languages too. This is well intended and in the case of advertisers, smart. There is money to be gained. But it has the unintended result of reinforcing this permanent second class citizenship for hispanics that do not HAVE to learn English.

I struggle with what is the right approach. No question, if you live here you should learn the predominant language (in my opinion) but my grandparents never did. It is well and good to say "they should and if they don't well, Eff them". But back in real life it is VERY hard to do for some and takes a toll on people's lives. Yet it is hard (for me) to say, just require them to use English and let them flounder. I don't have a satisfacotry answer for this issue.

[Rick Lee]

I don't think the most right-wing nut cares in the least what language people speak at home. But 53% of LA is pretty indicative of a HUGE number of people who cannot speak any other language, which means they are gonna (going out on a limb here) use way more social services than they pay for in taxes.

[MRM]

Big deal. Until my father in law died a few years ago 3/4th of my household did not speak English at home.

In 1900 how much of New York City spoke English at home? I grew up in rural Wisconsin where the towns were built by the railroads and were settled by immigrant labor. As late as the late 1970s there were kids in my elementry school who started school with slight Italian accents. Their parents spoke English with clear Italian accents, even though it was their parents or grandparents who were the immigrants because they spoke Italian at home and whenever they talked with the older generation. As late as the early 1980s I knew of at least one family that had a grandmother who was still alive that never learned English and spoke nothing but Italian. The family spoke Italian to her.

I don't care what people speak at home as long as they are able to function in English in the rest of the world. It's a drawback to speak another language at home if you are trying to learn English, but as you get older it is a huge advantage to speak another language at home and learn English at school and in the rest of society.

[sammyg2]

I'd have thought the percentage was higher.
I know it is when standing in line behind someone chatting loudly on a cell phone.
I know the percentage is higher when trying to watch the ball game at a pizza parlor with your friends. I know it is much higher at the donut shop where I buy a cup of coffe every morning.

I know that according to the California public education system, 25% of all students in the public school system is are "english learners". 1 in 4.

You ask so what? here's what.
This country is called the United States of America. It has a great cuture and great history, although relatively short. It is a sucessful country, It is a powerful country. It is not a third world country and I for one would prefer that is stays that way.
Our culture is eroding quicky and will soon be replaced with a culture from a third world country. We are not talking about immigrants who come to this country at a controlled rate who assimilate and and contribute to the culture. we are talking about ILLEGAL immigrants flooding into this country at an uncontrolled rate and that are REPLACING our culture, not contributing to it. We are also not talking about the elite or sophisticated from other countries. we are talking about the poorest, most uneducated, most unsophisticated from that country. Not excactly a formula for success.
No problem if the culture they are bringing is the same as yours. BIG problem if you are paret of the culture that is being replaced and like the existing culture. A culture of your country, not that of another country.
This is not diversity. This is not assimilation. This is not influence from a global community. It is an invasion. It is a systematic overthrow and replacement of a culture and IT IS WRONG!

If someone prefers the culture that is flooding across our borders they are free to go live in that culture, somewhere else.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

But 53% of LA is pretty indicative of a HUGE number of people who cannot speak any other language,....

Here's where our opinions diverge. I am saying because they speak it in the home is definitely NOT "indicative" they CAN'T speak another language. Lots and LOTS of hispanics speak two languages. Hell, we speak THREE! English, Spanish and Spanglish! (Board - that's joke, Chillax) Are there a lot of people who ONLY speak Spanish? Undoubtedly and more all the time if immigration isn't slowed but believe me, if they are answering a poll those are NOT the typical illegal. The typical illegal would not participate in any poll.

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

...which means they are gonna (going out on a limb here) use way more social services than they pay for in taxes.

I disagree that if they do not speak English they are going to use "way more" social services. I get where you're coming from but it isn't a direct connection. If you don't speak English in the home - then you don't speak another language - then you MUST be using welfare/social service. It ain't that pat. (Did I say I spoke flawlessly?)

[GO DAWG GO]

Spanish = Democrat 80+% of the time..

Where do you think LA's fine mayor got his following..?

[onewhippedpuppy]

I doubt if anyone takes issue with what is spoken behind closed doors, but the obvious assumption is that english is not being spoken at all. I think that's where the issue is.

As Dan stated, Mexicans that are not able to speak english fit into a kind of second class society. It makes for a vicious cycle, because there is a strong correlation between lack of opportunity and crime/drugs/welfare/etc. The children are damaged the most, because if spanish is the only language they hear, obviously it is the language that is learned. Additional effort is required by both the kids and adults in order for them to learn english, and in many cases this effort is not being made. I recently heard on the news that 75% of the kids in the Dodge City, KS school district speak poor or no english. Many classes are conducted entirely in spanish. How backwards is that?

Obviously, this is a complex issue, strongly tied to illegal immigration. If we secured the borders and made speaking english a requirement of legal citizenship, this would quickly take care of itself. Unfortunately, thanks to political correctness, we probably won't see any of this actually happen. It's a real shame, because those who do not learn english miss out on the opportunities that makes this country great.

[dd74]

Blame media. If you got rid of Spanish-speaking TV, radio, newspapers and advertising, that 53% would speak the real language of L.A.: Armenian.