"If you can't speak English, and have no willingness to learn, then you should not be living in America." Thoughts on this statement?

[Kingofkings1992]

Agree

Disagree

Other ( I'll explain more in comments)

[loveslongnails]

I don't care if you don't speak or want to learn English, but 1) Carry a translator with you if you want to communicate, 2) Have someone with you who can translate for you, and 3) DO NOT expect me to accommodate your language and learn it, or provide my own translations so you can understand it.

Let's be clear, I think it's in poor taste to not try and learn the language of the country you're residing in, but if that's your choice, just expect very little in the way of help and understanding from those who can't speak your language.

[LC75LC71]

Huh? No speako. Really to be technical and boring and most likely annoying, America relates at least to the north as The United States, Canada, and Mexico. With that said in the states English is the language and people need to fucking speak it, no matter the horrible slang that's worse than mine. Even with that out of the way, tech has grown by leaps and bounds to where anyone can hold their goddamn smartphone up to someone else and instantly translate their language in audio form to one's own liking. Gotta suck for translators, should have gotten a real job like being a Youtube uploader.

[lilBigPotato]

I do believe that if you want to live permanently in a place, you should learn the official language that is spoken there.

So yes for the US that would be generally English with some exceptions.

[4ngelic]

Agree. Why wouldn't you learn the language of the country you live in, especially if you want permanent residency or citizenship

[OlderAndWiser]

Same goes for any other country. E. g., don't live in Spain if you don't want to learn Spanish.

[kitty91996]

That’s what I was thinking

[Zack-Bann]

I agree to the general idea.
Any country you go to has an official language.
As a tourist you can get away with pointing at things but if you live there you should be learning it.


But most Americans who travel to other places never bother to learn other languages.


So there’s also a bit of hypocrisy in the outrage about immigrants not beginning bilingual fresh off the boat.

[Kingofkings1992]

I never said that they should be bilingual the second they arrive. I said that they be putting in some amount of effort towards learning English if they want to reside in the US. I'm not demanding to be as fluent as me, only that they make some sense of effort.

[Staglioni]

You've got to at least be willing to learn. When I moved to Germany I spoke almost no German, and with a bit of effort I'm now fairly fluent, but given that I have no special knack for languages and had no help, I also now have no sympathy for someone that moves to a new country and can't be bothered to at least try.

[Chazmatazz269]

I couldn’t care less. Nobody is obligated to accommodate people in the US who don’t speak, read and write in English. This makes their lives here significantly more challenging, and mine only mildly frustrating. Especially since i can just walk away when i am frustrated.

[indissoluble]

Yep it's the language of the land. You should learn to speak it to integrate into the society of the nation and be able to function within the country. You can speak as many languages as you like to those who will understand you, but if you want to be part of the USA, English needs to be one of those. Our founding documents are in English. Our laws are in English. You need to learn it.

[msc545]

It's a rather ugly sentiment. Do you think the original settlers who came over here from Europe and weren't from the UK could speak English? Do you think the German troops who helped keep the UK from winning the Revolutionary War could all speak English?

[Kingofkings1992]

Why would you not learn English if you planned on living in the US? Just give me one valid reason why this is excusable. This goes for any and every country in the world and its native tongue. If you don't have any interest in learning mandarin, then don't bother with moving to China. If you don't have any interest in learning German, then don't move to Germany. This is just basic decency and common respect that the overwhelming majority of the population has. I think it's in very poor taste to move somewhere where English is the native language, and show a total disregard towards making any effort to be able to communicate in English.

[Kvass]

Who cares if someone doesn't speak the language, they're only making their own life harder not yours. As long as they adapt to the laws and culture, it's fine.

[Kingofkings1992]

They're making their own life harder AND the lives of English speaking Americans harder as well

[ThisSiteSux]

The declaration of independence and the ratification of the constitution were first read in public in Dutch. Because Dutch was the primary language of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia, where this country was founded. If you don't speak Dutch they should deport your un American ass!!.

[EveryDayIsPretzelDay]

@ThisSiteSux I found an article on the first public reading of the declaration of Independence. It doesn't say anything about the document being translated into Dutch. It doesn't say specifically that the document was read in English, but it does make reference to Thomas Jefferson's prose, which heavily implies that it was read in English.

The article also says that after the public reading, copies of the Declaration of Independence were printed and distributed throughout the colonies, again with no reference to the document being translated into Dutch or any other language.

See for yourself: civicsforlife.org/.../

So, do you have a source that you can cite for your claim that the declaration of Independence was first read in public in Dutch?

[ThisSiteSux]

Your article is wrong. All of my ancestors were born and raised in Philadelphia, as was I. It was read in Dutch because that was the language of Pennsylvania and Philadelphia. It's not up for debate.

[EveryDayIsPretzelDay]

@ThisSiteSux So cite a source. Should be easy enough.

[ThisSiteSux]

You need me to source that The original nations capitol was Pennsylvania Dutch? No. If you want to be ignorant in the age of information then that on you faqqot

[EveryDayIsPretzelDay]

@ThisSiteSux Cite a source that says Dutch was the primary language of Philadephia, PA in 1776.

[ThisSiteSux]

Google. Google it retard.

[EveryDayIsPretzelDay]

@ThisSiteSux I actually did an AI search on "was English the primary language of philadelphia PA in 1776?", and this is what I got back:

"Yes, English was the primary language of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1776. The city also had a significant population of German speakers, known as Pennsylvania Dutch, but English was the dominant language used in government and daily life."

Then just to be safe, I asked the AI "", and this is what I got back:

"was dutch the primary language of philadelphia PA in 1776?"

No, Dutch was not the primary language of Philadelphia in 1776. The main language spoken was English, although a significant portion of the population, particularly among the Pennsylvania Dutch, spoke German."

Now, AI isn't foolproof. It does get some things wrong. But the fact that it contradicts your claim, and the fact that you don't seem to have any evidence for your claim, does strongly imply that you're wrong.

[EveryDayIsPretzelDay]

OOPS, then just to be safe I asked the AI "was dutch the primary language of philadelphia PA in 1776?" and this is what I got back:

[AviatorTom]

Every country has its default language, and it's best if everyone communicates in that language. An immigrant can keep their own language, use it at home, for example, but should try to learn the language of the country they are in.

[AMS700CX4u2]

Unwilling to learn communication skills. Bad sign, it means that you will misunderstand many things. No man is an island.

[DonaldDarko]

Or just get the fuck out. there's no valid reason for anyone that's not us to be in our country. Get the fuck out you don't belong here.

[Anonymous]

you can't blame them for not learning English when you chose to let these types of lazy people in, in the first place.

Cut off the free benefits, then you will see more ambition coming from them.

[MrChinaski]

I think it's fair to decline migrants that do not intend to engage broadly in the community, for which language is one requirement.

[ohsheeT]

Just because you have a voice doesn't mean you can tell people what they can and can not do..

[katiesmuff]

Learning our language should be part of the immigration process!

[Nihilist__]

What else shoulf be part of the process? Just say it. I will listen

[katiesmuff]

@Nihilist__ First of all nobody should even get that far unless they legally came to the US either by applying first, getting approval, then coming in or if you were let in under emergency life reasons you immediately began the proper process to stay and earn the right to apply for permanent citizenship. In the beginning it should be a vary narrow path, first by staying out of trouble, secondly beginning to show your full support for our system of government (doesn't mean you have to like the immediate group in power) but believe in the system. Once here each person or family should have a US citizen sponsor who would work with them to understand the system.

[FreyaRed]

Agree. Knowing language of host country a person wants to live in is minimum requirement

[Anonymous]

The English language originally comes from England. Not the USA.

[Kingofkings1992]

And?

[exitseven]

Why should taxpayers have to pay for translators and ESL classes.

[Friendlybro79]

I think this is a silly thing to worry about.

[Smegskull]

Americans can't speak English so that would leave the place pretty empty.

[Kingofkings1992]

You must be brain damaged

[Smegskull]

Just English and pedantic.

[andreasderjuengere]

Yo! Wassaaaap. Sumpen ayen raaadh with your idea.

[Shy_Steve]

We have the same problem in Australia.

[kitty91996]

Don’t go to a non English speaking country.

[DryGermanGuy]

¿Qué? 🤔

[Iron_Man]

I agree