Should road signs be bilingual in the U.S.? (Mexican, borders, illegal immigration)
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Just a matter of time before you become officially bi-lingual. Hell you can't pick anything up in a store without it having two language on it with instructions also printed in multiples.
Give it another five years of unrelenting illegal entry and amnesties and they'll be running the country anyway. At that time spanish might be the only official language and you can do away with english altogether. Haar!
That's because they print one instruction booklet and it goes in all products. That way they don't have to worry which market its shipped to. The really bad ones are the ones where the English needs a translation.
And I think not. For one thing, most english speakers aren't interested in speaking Spanish. And Americans are not good language students since its not a common practice. It's much easier for Eurpeans to pick up another language since they customarily are raised knowing more than one. School taught language is valuable, but not that it teaches the foreign language but it makes students learn the grammar of English so they can understand the grammar of the other language.
When someone would address me in Spanish, I'd reply, Es tut meir leit. Ich kann nicht das verstechen.
Should road signs be bi- or trilingual in the United States?
English is the most common spoken language in the U.S. and is currently the only language posted on road signs.
Spanish is the second most common spoken and taught language.
French is the third most common and second most taught language.
All three are the main languages of North America. French is an official language in Canada along with English, but sole official language in the huge province of Quebec. Spanish is the official language of Mexico, Central America and almost 50% of the continent of South America.
Hmmmm where I live it would need to be in Hindi. No street signs should be in English only.
Well in order for someone to be able to drive in the US, I think they have to take an exam to get their license, so in that case, they should be familiar with the signs. I think English is fine. I do think it's good to have them in other languages in certain ethnic neighborhoods though where English is not the dominating language.
For everyone who is saying no, if the new signs don't cost any more, what logical reason do you have to not want a bilingual sign?
I am not trying to start a fight, I just honestly don't see a good reason not to throw a few more languages on a sign.
They do it in (some) other countries, so I agree - why not? I'm not saying it should be a nationwide cost-heavy project, but if they were phased into certain regions I don't see a problem with that. But I think we all know why some folks oppose this idea, and it has little/nothing to do with costs.
I do hope most people driving know the internationally-accepted picture signs, but there are some directional signs that don't have associated pictures (i.e. exit here, next services xx miles). I know whenever I've traveled in a foreign country, even as a pedestrian the bi/multilingual signs were very helpful! I only expect to see them in touristy areas, though, and do my best with translations whenever I go off the beaten path. I have some funny Amsterdam stories regarding that, LOL.
Well in order for someone to be able to drive in the US, I think they have to take an exam to get their license, so in that case, they should be familiar with the signs. I think English is fine. I do think it's good to have them in other languages in certain ethnic neighborhoods though where English is not the dominating language.
Actually, tourists and temporary workers are allowed to drive... you just need a driver's license from YOUR country, and some kind of contract if you're renting a car. My family traveled in Australia for a summer once, and my parents rented a minivan while we were in Melbourne. Thankfully there was no language barrier there, but my father did struggle with the "left side of the road" (with steering wheel on the left too) driving, especially whenever he'd make a turn. Whoopsie.
P.S. There are many neighborhoods around here where bilingual (sometimes only non-English) signs exist - usually in Asian languages, particularly Chinese & Vietnamese. Has anyone here been to San Francisco? You can go from one neighborhood where they're all in Chinese, and five blocks away, they'll all be in Japanese. One of the things I love about this region, you can feel like you've traveled internationally without even leaving the city!
Just a matter of time before you become officially bi-lingual. Hell you can't pick anything up in a store without it having two language on it with instructions also printed in multiples.
Give it another five years of unrelenting illegal entry and amnesties and they'll be running the country anyway. At that time spanish might be the only official language and you can do away with english altogether. Haar!
First of all, this isn't just about Spanish or illegal immigrants - but thanks for proving my implied point above! And these products of which you speak, were they all made in the USA?
Second of all, it would do us some good to adopt bilingualism IMO... almost EVERY other country raises their children bi/multilingual, but Americans are so spoiled (with English being the "international language") and stubborn we just can't wrap our heads around that. I speak Spanish almost fluently, btw, and have a basic understanding of Hebrew too. Strangely it hasn't been a negative thing at all, in fact it's only been a benefit to my life. I'll be laughing my way to the bank, if I beat out an English-only speaker for a job because of my language skills. Probably has happened, come to think of it.
First of all, this isn't just about Spanish or illegal immigrants - but thanks for proving my implied point above! And these products of which you speak, were they all made in the USA?
Second of all, it would do us some good to adopt bilingualism IMO... almost EVERY other country raises their children bi/multilingual, but Americans are so spoiled (with English being the "international language") and stubborn we just can't wrap our heads around that. I speak Spanish almost fluently, btw, and have a basic understanding of Hebrew too. Strangely it hasn't been a negative thing at all, in fact it's only been a benefit to my life. I'll be laughing my way to the bank, if I beat out an English-only speaker for a job because of my language skills. Probably has happened, come to think of it.
Till there's a NEED for it: most of us Americans ain't learning any other language will living in the US. It'd make more sense to learn Chinese than Spanish cause most Hispanics here working, going to school or visiting legally speak English; it's the illegal aliens who think we owe them something.
IF I wanted to live some place where the main language ain't English like maybe Germany, I make damn sure to learn and speak German. LatAm: there's NO way I'd live there.
Why is that foreigners want so much to come to America, to become American citizens, but refuse to learn the language?
I believe it is an insult to America and Americans every time I hear another language being spoken in public. I grew up in a highly ethnic area with people who spoke a variety of languages but spoke in english. We had a corner store owned by a Polish family and they even sold Polish newspapers. Several times I can recall the store owner talking to a customer and the customer would break into speaking Polish. The store owner would say, "english please, we are in America now."
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Just a matter of time before you become officially bi-lingual. Hell you can't pick anything up in a store without it having two language on it with instructions also printed in multiples.
