In my travels I have visited four other countries, Canada, Mexico, England, and Scotland. I did not need to know any language other than English to visit these countries. In Mexico I was on guided tours and the hotel staff spoke good enough English for me to get by. In London and Edinburgh I heard a few shockingly thick accents and one man who sounded like he was suffering from some kind of severe congestive disorder when he spoke, but by and large, I could make out what was being said. The phrasing was often a bit confusing, but not so much the words themselves.
I have been taking portraits for about 12 years now and I have gotten pretty good at pantomime in order to get people who don’t speak English to turn this way and that way and smile. It is still a bit shocking that so many people move to America and can’t be bothered to learn to speak English. At least the Mexicans encourage their kids to speak English, and most of the time the small children in the family act as interpreters for the English speaking parts of America.
I have been taking portraits in a Vietnamese church recently, and they all seem to know a handful of English words-Thank You, Yes, Ok, Bye. So that you can be tricked into believing that they understand what you are saying. Ask them any question you like and they will very likely smile and say-Yes. It is not that they are dumb, they just don’t want to learn what to them must be a very confusing language-as their own language sounds to me very much like a series of random oohs and aahs and dows. Like the language of clicks and pops that the little Bushman in The Gods Must Be Crazy speaks, you have the feeling that this isn’t a real language, they are just pulling your leg.
The Wife is one of those people that thinks we need laws to make everyone living in America speak English. I am not so sure, but then, they still print newspaper and books in English and broadcast TV Shows in English-when that changes, well, then I will be very unhappy. I have tried to learn other languages from time to time and not been very successful at it. Then there is the question of which language to learn-Spanish is popular, but by no means is it the only language people in America speak besides English. Like religion, there are infinite flavors in this great country of ours and everyone wants to stick with what they know.
I am all for everyone in the world moving to America, so long as they bring their food with them. I love Vietnamese sandwiches, which are basically modified French sandwiches. Wow. Great stuff. But it would be nice if the people selling the Bubble Tea put up a few more signs in English.
I don’t like getting phone calls from people who speak to me in Spanish, but then, I don’t like sales calls or bill collectors in any language. I just toss mail that is in Spanish and I don’t spend a lot of time watching Telemundo. I eat a lot of Mexican food and really appreciate a good tamale, which not as easy to find as you might think.
I also have a lot of fun wandering around Mexican Markets and Chinese Markets-the mind boggles at some of the stuff on the shelves. What is up with all the damned dried fish and seaweed? And why do they both need giant tanks filled with life catfish?
And I would have no place to stay on my travels if it were not for Indian families running damn near every motel in America that cost less than fifty dollars a night to stay at. Though I must admit that I can get a bit tired of the smell of curry when I walk in the door.
I love accents, and all these people speak their own brands of English that is thick and spicy in it’s own rights. When I was in London a few years back I very quickly found myself talking with a bit of an accent, not unlike Madonna. There is something so wonderful about the way the British speak. There was an Irish girl selling guidebooks that I would have paid to read the phone book aloud. Oh my, she had an amazing voice.
Should English be the official language of the United States of America? Sure, why not. They would enforce it as much as they guard the boarder, as much as they stop people using cell phones while they drive, and as much as they stop drunk drivers from killing people. As with most silly ideas, no one bothers with the laws we have, so why would one more matter? You can still drive without a driver’s license and you can still stalk someone who has a restraining order against you. But maybe it is just the idea that some people like.
The United States has changed a lot since a group of British Citizens committed treason and started their own country. I’m sure it will continue to change-no matter what languages it’s people speak.
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