Dont you dare to speak Spanish at school in the US

[fernando]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10372148

Yankees are mad!

[Ownthink]

Kids at my school have never been allowed to speak their native tongues for fear of them doing or planning or saying something that is potentially against the "rules".

Fucking Fascists.

[bolshevik butcher]

While this is stupid and repressive it also seems practically imposible to enforce.

[Wanted Man]

Wow, this shines a whole new light upon rightits(yes, right TITS) *****ing about how evil Mexican immigrants are forcing them to speak Spanish or some bullshit like that.

[timbaly]

In New York no rules like that are never enforced. It would be an impossible struggle.

[LSD]

If you think being suspended for using a certain language is bad, try being arrested for it!

Seriously, any "language laws" you've got down in the states are nothing compared to what we've got up here. Our government spends 50 million dollars a year funding a police force who's sole function is to hunt down "language offenders". Isolated Kansas high school regulations don't even compare.

But who knows, in a couple of years, y'all might "catch up"! :lol:

[fernando]

Where are you from then?

[Purple]

I live in Toronto, I got a slip when I was starting here that 30% (myself included) had a different first-language than English, and 60% of the school wasnt born in Canada. How are you supposed to enforce such a policy in that kind of a envoirment? The school really doesnt seem to have any grounds to stand on, so it will probably be a short process.

[ÑóẊîöʼn]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2005, 05:27 PM
If you think being suspended for using a certain language is bad, try being arrested for it!

Seriously, any "language laws" you've got down in the states are nothing compared to what we've got up here. Our government spends 50 million dollars a year funding a police force who's sole function is to hunt down "language offenders". Isolated Kansas high school regulations don't even compare.

But who knows, in a couple of years, y'all might "catch up"! :lol:
I thought you lived in Canada - surely they aren't mad enough to try anything like that there... are they? :o

[LSD]

I thought you lived in Canada - surely they aren't mad enough to try anything like that there... are they?

They are.

Quebec Office of the French Language (http://www.olf.gouv.qc.ca/english/charter/index.html)

[The Grey Blur]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2005, 06:02 PM
They are.

Quebec Office of the French Language (http://www.olf.gouv.qc.ca/english/charter/index.html)
Oh right; you are saying that you are forced to speak French whereas your first language would be English, I was confused.

[LSD]

Oh right; you are saying that you are forced to speak French whereas your first language would be English, I was confused.

Whereas your first language would be anything other than french. It's actually most hurtful to immigrants from the third world who are legally required to speak french but don't.

[Karl Marx's Camel]

Same thing in Norway. Well, this is in elementary school. If you speak your non-scandinavian native toungue, you will be criticized by the teachers, and the students are "encouraged" to remind them of the rule, and also to tell the teachers if they speak another language.

[The Grey Blur]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2005, 06:09 PM
Whereas your first language would be anything other than french. It's actually most hurtful to immigrants from the third world who are legally required to speak french but don't.
That's cool, I mean, people (if they are in a situation to do so) should at least make some kind of effort to speak French but they shouldn't be forced to do so and neither should whatever language they speak take precedence over their bigger problems i.e social injustice, poverty, etc.

[Correa]

I think this one is worth the fight. Speak what ever languages you want. I understand that some of the more backwards states in the United States might have these kind of rules, but I say press on! I mean what are they going to do? Remove you from school? If so one should attempt to bring national attention to the issue at hand in order to bring support from areas like California and New York. I know New Yorkers would think this is dumb.

[PRC-UTE]

Originally posted by [email protected] 10 2005, 05:27 PM
If you think being suspended for using a certain language is bad, try being arrested for it!
I agree, it wasn't that uncommon to be arrested in the six counties of norn iron for speaking as Gaeilge. There were even children arrested for it. :huh: The situation is a bit better now though. I didn't realise that Quebec was so extreme.

[Clutch]

The same thing went on in Wales in the 19th and 20th centuries, although the policy was a bit more brutal and nearly destroyed the Welsh language.

From Wikipedia:

Welsh in education

In the 19th century virtually all teaching in the schools of Wales was in English, even in areas where the pupils barely understood English. Some schools used the Welsh Not, a piece of wood, often bearing the letters "W.N.", which was hung around the neck of any pupil caught speaking Welsh. The pupil could pass it on to any schoolmate heard speaking Welsh, with the pupil wearing it at the end of the day being given a beating. Towards the beginning of the 20th century this policy slowly began to change, partly owing to the efforts of Owen Morgan Edwards when he became chief inspector of schools for Wales in 1907.

Welsh is now widely used in education. All Welsh universities teach some courses in Welsh (most notably the University of Wales, Bangor and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth) but are primarily English language.

Under the National Curriculum, school children in Wales must study Welsh up to the age of 16. According to the Welsh Language Board, over a quarter of children in Wales attend schools which teach predominantly through the medium of Welsh. The remainder study Welsh as a second language in English-medium schools. Specialist teachers of Welsh called Athrawon Bro support the teaching of Welsh in the National Curriculum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_language

[Correa]

I'm not sure what is behind the tactic of forcing people to speak a certain language. Although it is oppresive I do not see what else it could do other than "attempt" to strip someone of their heritage. Not that this is a good thing because it is rather a horrible one, but it seems its just to "fuck" around with people.

[danny android]

I've seen kids get yelled at for speaking spanish at my school. But those are usually the really up tight teachers/staff there. Most of the poeple at my school however are really laid back and don't care.

[Morpheus]

This kind of stuff has been going on for centuries. Control of language is a way for the state to impose, maintain & control national identity. That's useful to the state because nationalism obscures hierarchy, decreasing rebellion.

[Atlas Swallowed]

Wow that is idiotic. Most highschools in the USA teach the Spanish language. The doinks are probably just jealous because they are not intelligent enough to be bilingual :) This stinks of fear, ignorance and racism.

[Simotix]

Kids at my school speaking spanish don't get in trouble or frowned upon because we have ESL (English as a Second Language ) classes. I live in Jersey.

However, wouldn't that be a violation against free speech and like some sort of discrimination to not let people speak other languages? (America)

[Guerrilla22]

People in the US are mad when anything has to be put into another language. Even thought there is no official language in the uS. There have been movements to ban street signs in California and Florida from being posted in both languages. There also is currently a bill on the house floor that would ban voting instructions from being printed in any language but English.

[Amusing Scrotum]

The same thing went on in Wales in the 19th and 20th centuries, although the policy was a bit more brutal and nearly destroyed the Welsh language.

I say good riddance. The Welsh language is possibly the most ugly language in the world.


In the 19th century virtually all teaching in the schools of Wales was in English, even in areas where the pupils barely understood English. Some schools used the Welsh Not, a piece of wood, often bearing the letters "W.N.", which was hung around the neck of any pupil caught speaking Welsh. The pupil could pass it on to any schoolmate heard speaking Welsh, with the pupil wearing it at the end of the day being given a beating. Towards the beginning of the 20th century this policy slowly began to change, partly owing to the efforts of Owen Morgan Edwards when he became chief inspector of schools for Wales in 1907.

That sounds like bullshit to me.

I very much doubt that this policy was ever followed that well and anyway, within a generation there would have been absolutely no need of it. Everyone would be speaking English.

Also the Welsh Chapels did everything in Welsh, so there was no substantial persecution of the Welsh language. If there was Plaid Cymru would bang on about it more.


Welsh is now widely used in education. All Welsh universities teach some courses in Welsh (most notably the University of Wales, Bangor and the University of Wales, Aberystwyth) but are primarily English language.

What the article fails to mention is that those Universities are "poop."

Law courses in the Aberystwyth University for instance, focus on Welsh law from a thousand years ago. Which is completely different in structure from English law.

"Welsh" Universities are merely places where people learn about the ancient history of a really boring country.


Under the National Curriculum, school children in Wales must study Welsh up to the age of 16.

Yeah that really benefited me as well. :lol:

I spent hundreds of hours learning a language which has no relevance in the modern world. Three cheers for Welsh nationalism. :angry:


According to the Welsh Language Board, over a quarter of children in Wales attend schools which teach predominantly through the medium of Welsh.

Yes and when these children enter the real world, you find they are at a tremendous disadvantage. They can't speak or write in English properly and their job opportunities are severely limited as a consequence.


The remainder study Welsh as a second language in English-medium schools. Specialist teachers of Welsh called Athrawon Bro support the teaching of Welsh in the National Curriculum.

....and the "Athrawon Bro" are a bunch of fools who deserve our full scorn.

Welsh nationalism and Welsh independence is a crock of shit.

[perdido]

As a Mexican-American, ugh i hate saying that, fuck labels. I understand the feeling you get from other people when you speak spanish around them. It's almost like a look of disgust. Other countries teach their kids to speak more than one so why does the U.S. think learning two languages is such a huge challenge. the white U.S. citizens yell at us to learn english and say its an easy language to learn yet they wont even attempt to try and understand spanish. why don't we all just learn latin? it seems that most languages are derived from it so why not just go back to the roots.