The fact is that “immigrants not learning English” is only a problem for people who are offended by the stray sounds of Spanish. The children of immigrants do learn English. There just is no identifiable “problem” here. Sure older immigrants may not become fluent in The President’s English, but who cares?
The “problem” people usually cite is the use of “their tax dollars” to produce forms and signs and such in government offices that translate the rules of the road and other such info into Spanish. Which would be funny if it wasn’t vaguely sick that what people are bascially saying is that if you don’t speak English as an immigrant here, we’d like to keep you ignorant of our laws and regulations so that when you break them, we can deport your ass.
It’s crap, basically, as they never consider the benefit of people who don’t immediately have access to ESL courses and/or language lessons being able to communicate and function in American society. If somebody comes here, can get around, participate in government (for which they pay their taxes too, so shut up about your tax dollars) and generally be good citizens, that benefits me, as it benefits me when anyone can prosper. Less alienation makes the whole society better, so if you want to be completely selfish about it, you’re better off shelling out the $20 or so it takes to run off some stationery in Espanol than you would be if you continue to act like a crabby old miser.
Though for the life of me I’ll never understand why hearing somebody speak another language makes you automatically assume the person doesn’t speak your own. I shop at a strip mall in a “changing” neighborhood a lot, and the muttering of the tight-permed be-housecoated longtime residents who sometimes frequent it about the language of “those people” never fails to make me want to hit something. Just because she’s talking to her kid in her native language doesn’t mean the nice lady in line ahead of you doesn’t understand what a bitch you’re being, Marge. Unlike you, she’s just too polite to mention it to your face.
A.