Learn Our Language | Teen Ink

Learn Our Language

December 30, 2008
By Dsmit BRONZE, Luna Pier, Michigan
Dsmit BRONZE, Luna Pier, Michigan
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
"God hath not given me a spirit of fear, but that of power, love, and of a sound mind."


This is a headline story right here! It has to be one of the top issues in the country today. I am referring to the "Press two for Spanish" issue. Why is this even an option? If someone wants to become an American badly enough, they should take the initiative to learn the language that is spoken here: English. I mean, does the government not know that by allowing a language barrier to exist inside our country, they are potenially limiting the progression of the country. There should not be a need for any type of translator in our country. How can we be called the top country in the world if the citizens within it are not able to communicate freely? "Press two for Spanish" is also one of the most annoying statements that can be uttered over the phone. Spanish is not the only problem either. It is all the gibberish and nonsense that has to be endured before actually having the opportunity to speak to a customer service officer or telephone operator. I believe that Americans need to keep it simple. Diversity is grand, but when it pertains to the language, there is a problem. I have a simple solution that will unify our country and tear down the language barrier: Learn our language or go home!


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This article has 201 comments.


on Jan. 6 2014 at 5:52 pm
Ms.Alice BRONZE, Barrie, Other
1 article 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
Resistance- because if we fight we might lose; but if we don't fight we've already lost.

First of all i don't really find this a comprehensive article as much as it is just a rant fueled by a deep frustration of costumer service operators. Second of all you have to realise that a lot of the poeple going to America are doing it because the conditions in their own country are horrible. I think that they're a little more concerned about their families safety then learning the language. Although it is important to an extent, the statment "learn our language or go home" is not only ignorant but just downwright nasty. 

Luifie said...
on Jan. 4 2014 at 1:58 am
Luifie, Caucasian/White, Washington
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
Love is Louder than the Pressure to be Perfect ~ Demi Lovato.

Although I do agree with you that learning the english language should be important if a person is considering moving or visiting the U.S., I definitely do not agree with your closing statement about "going home" if you do not learn the english language. I do not wish to be rude or negative, but have you considered that even if some people do learn the english language but are hispanic, that they maybe they feel more comfortable speaking to somebody over the phone in their native language? Also, being a translator/intreprator for any language is a great job because of the number of immigrants that are in this country who's native language is not english?  I believe that people who come to the U.S. speaking a lanuge other an english such as japanese, russian, or somali bring diversity to our country. They beautify this country with their culture and language, and I feel that is important to a country that wants to be called "the land of the free." Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, including you. I am not bad mouthing, but simply expressing my opinion about this topic.

Chans247 GOLD said...
on Oct. 17 2013 at 10:11 pm
Chans247 GOLD, Rosthern, Other
12 articles 6 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
"You could say this advice is priceless. Now...if you trust in yourself...believe in your dreams...and follow your star...you'll still get beaten by people who spend their time working hard and learning things and weren't so lazy." ~Discworld

DID you even read this again? I thought that America was supposed to take "your tired, your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" What happened to that! If language is a clause in that statement, then America is going downhill more than I thought.

on Oct. 17 2013 at 3:36 pm
JustinNelson BRONZE, Woodbury, Minnesota
4 articles 0 photos 7 comments

Favorite Quote:
Human life without knowledge of history is nothing other than a perpetual childhood, nay, a permanent obscurity and darkness.

Very interesting opinion, I certainly agree. Immigrants are essentially separate from the rest of society by all these government barriers, but hey obama says we gotta drone Syria so don't worry about it!

on Sep. 20 2013 at 7:40 am
blythebaird BRONZE, Palatine, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
“I want to live in an honest house
where the motion detector is so sharp
it knows when my thoughts leave the room.

I want a clap on lamp that works as a polygraph;
when you swear you still love me, the lights flicker.”
― Megan Falley

Are you actually being serious right now? Did you even read this at all before you submitted it?

on Aug. 19 2013 at 11:57 am
stellamaare BRONZE, Moskow, Other
2 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
We can be heroes just for one day.

Here too live many natons, but i understand them in 85% of cases. I think that people have right to speak with accent, or in free time speaking on their native language.

ajg1022 BRONZE said...
on Jul. 18 2013 at 11:08 pm
ajg1022 BRONZE, Cazenovia, New York
4 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Our prime purpose in life is to help others, and if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them." - Dalai Lama

America is a place for people with a dream to go. People that are in such extreme forms of poverity come here because they believe that they will have a better life in America. I'm proud that they think that of our country. And I'm more than happy to open our doors to those less fortunate. One more thing, I'm a Democrat. Are you a Republican?

on May. 22 2013 at 12:26 am
I_Bleed_Acrylic_Paint, Metairie, Louisiana
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
Yes, because people immigrating to escape poverty, violence, instability, and/or war have time to learn English from scratch. Honestly. Not everyone has the opportunity to learn before immigrating. The lucky, yes, but not enough people.

on May. 18 2013 at 8:04 pm
plathfanatic GOLD, Elmont, New York
10 articles 0 photos 8 comments

Favorite Quote:
"If there is a god, I bet he looks down at us and laughs at our foolish ways."

You're kidding me, right? First of all, there is no official language here in the U.S. People have the right to speak in any lingua franca they desire. Learning a new language isnt easy either. And for those of you who are commenting about how they also hate when they call customer service and the person on the other end of the call has a "foreign accent".. its called outsourcing. American companies transfer certain jobs to other countries in order to reduce costs and provide jobs to highly populated third world countries and such. Those people have "foreign accents" because they are sitting in an office, in front of a computer in some place like Delhi, India. They arent American, and English is not their first language. I'm sure people hate when we go on vacation and speak the native vernacular terribly. Think about what you're really saying or agreeing too, before you post it guys. I respect your right to an opinion, but i do not think you've given it much thought. Lot's of brilliant people in this world speak "gibberish and nonsense."

d124816d said...
on Apr. 11 2013 at 4:48 pm
English is not the official language of America and the entire southwest used to be Mexico. So yes, to press two for Spanish.

Posh101 BRONZE said...
on Apr. 2 2013 at 5:14 pm
Posh101 BRONZE, Jacksonville, Florida
1 article 0 photos 1 comment
Divirsity is great in all forms. You are expecting to much of people who left their home countries-some to escape prejudice like the kind your piece is about.

AJH99 said...
on Mar. 26 2013 at 10:26 am
I agree completely!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

on Feb. 18 2013 at 11:18 pm
MaccabeePreiss, Blasdell, New York
0 articles 0 photos 4 comments
Yet what would happen if another language seemingly takes over English as the linga franca? If the Subcontinent and Far East continue their influence on buisness and global commerce - enough so that during the next span of decades Hindi or Manadarin becomes more beneficial to learn, would you continue this stubborness? Now it does bother me to some extent over the amount of immigrants who do not speak English in the United States, lingual diversity helps promote tolerance, respect, and understanding.

patricia216 said...
on Feb. 18 2013 at 4:30 pm
patricia216, Middletown, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration
-Thomas Edison

You're doing a great job with English right now. Continue to learn grammar and read as much as you can and I promise that you will improve!

on Feb. 17 2013 at 10:04 am
DreamAngel BRONZE, Charlotte, North Carolina
4 articles 0 photos 17 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Without my mind and without my dreams, never will I truly be."

Though you do bring up a point, I have to disagree with you. America is a country made up of immigrants. Because it is a society made of immigrants, I think that we should actually want the immigrants to keep their language and tradition. However, that is not at all the same as not integrating themselves into society. Though they should integrate themselves into this country, they should do it in a way that they still keep their roots, because that's what made this country in the first place. Also, it takes a really long time to leanr a new language, so to have facilities that cater to people still learning English is actually more of a blessing than a curse, I believe.

AisuP SILVER said...
on Jan. 16 2013 at 10:22 pm
AisuP SILVER, Los Angeles, California
6 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
I broke the shackles that I built myself, because I didn't feel like wearing them anymore.

Well, the issue of Americans not knowing proper English is a completely different story, but it's not like they don't know enough to order food at a restaurant or talk to a receptionist on the phone. The problem with American English is, well... let's not go there... My views on America are so self-contradictory...

on Jan. 14 2013 at 2:23 pm
kaceykat SILVER, McGuire AFB, New Jersey
5 articles 5 photos 9 comments
Some people may know our language, but they may have an easier time understanding their first language.

on Jan. 14 2013 at 2:20 pm
kaceykat SILVER, McGuire AFB, New Jersey
5 articles 5 photos 9 comments
I understand what you are saying, and yes in the beginning, it may be hard to learn to read Chinese or Japanese... but, in the English language we have many rules and exceptions to the rules that can be confusing to those who don't know our language. And, even the adults who have lived in America all their life, are still learning new words.

on Jan. 14 2013 at 2:18 pm
kaceykat SILVER, McGuire AFB, New Jersey
5 articles 5 photos 9 comments
I understand what you are saying, and yes in the beginning, it may be hard to learn to read Chinese or Japanese... but, in the English language we have many rules and exceptions to the rules that can be confusing to those who don't know our language. And, even the adults who have lived in America all thier life, are still learning new words.

AisuP SILVER said...
on Jan. 13 2013 at 2:58 pm
AisuP SILVER, Los Angeles, California
6 articles 0 photos 13 comments

Favorite Quote:
I broke the shackles that I built myself, because I didn't feel like wearing them anymore.

Actually, I have to say Chinese is the hardest because its alphabet is COMPLETELY hieroglyphic, and has all of the different tones and just makes me feel like fainting. To go from Spanish to English is much easier, you don't have to learn a completely different alphabet than your own, like trying to learn Japanese if your first language was English (I've tried this and it's hard, especially if you're teaching yourself). And a lot of words in English have similar roots to those in Spanish (part of the reason why both languages use the same alphabet), so it's not too different. Yes, English is different from the romance languages because of the verb conjugation and where the adjectives go and the whole "X of Y" thing that is "Y's X" in English, but maybe I'm biased because languages come easier to me.