I’ve hears stories of some Americans telling other people who are speaking a non-English language “This is America, speak English!” even if the conversation has nothing to do with them. Why do they do this?
RACISM!
That’s a myth.
This is a myth as far as I know. I’ve never seen it happen.
They are ignorant, taught hate, and told incorrectly that English is the official language of the United States, but in reality the United States doesn’t have an official language. In fact before WW1 there where so many German speaking Americans that spme cities had German spelled street names, and German festivals.
A different perspective - my grandparents grew up speaking French. Then the state passed a law saying only English in schools when they were young children. They would get hit on the hands with rulers for speaking French.
This was of course passed down to my parents and myself. But my mom still bitches about kids where I currently live being in school and unable to speak English because they’re new immigrants.
She doesn’t see the hypocrisy and it’s sad.
I god, obey! Chauvinism, pure chauvinism. Tho … english … is a melting pot of languages. As many other languages were before. So it might as well be the laziness of Americans. Forget where they or their ancestors came from and forget about politeness.
Americans aren’t saying that because they forgot that they were once immigrants. They’re saying it because they remember, and they remember how they themselves immigrated, then scrambled to learn and speak English.
This happens in other countries as well. I’ve been told to speak the local (non-English) language when visiting friends overseas when having a private conversation.
Generally, it seems to be nosy old people who are upset about not being able to eavesdrop
I love hearing other languages in the US. It reminds me of the lofty ideals that were taught to me as a child. The Great Melting Pot, Give me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses, E Pluribus Unum and all that.
I hate that there is a significant portion of the population here that violently believes that English is the only language here.
Fear… At the bottom of it is always fear
Because in America we believe strongly in our rights: specifically the right to tell people they don’t have the right to speak any language they want. It’s called freedom man!
Well, ya see, it’s cuz America=/=the World.
But those Americans think the opposite.
Uh, if there’s a “rest of the world” why haven’t I seen it?
Very few people have that opinion.
I thought this first too. But then I remembered an interaction where one colleague of mine told another pair who were speaking another language that “secrets don’t make friends” or some such. I think it was intended as a jokey way to express that he was uncomfortable with the conversation that he couldn’t understand. He also joked that they were probably talking poorly of him. I noticed this person was normalizing controlling the discussion by throwing negative or secretive intentions onto the others’ discussions. In reality, they’re just friends discussing something in their primary language.
Anyway, long story long, I don’t think this colleague would tell us he has a problem with others speaking a language besides English, but then he’d probably follow that up with a bunch of clarifiers that indicate he does in fact have a problem with it.
I used to work with Croatians and Slovenians that spoke English fluently but switch to their language abruptly as I was standing there. I thought that rude of them
Yeah, pretty rude if they do that to exclude you specifically, for sure. Im sorry you had colleagues do this to you. Work is much better with good people.
Many people presume that if someone is speaking a different language, they are talking shit. I’ve regretably been one of them, but sometimes you aren’t wrong (RE Chinese people who speak Chinese and the "ABC"s who don’t)
Racism
I remember smoking outside a pub near Chinatown with a mate something like ten years ago when two Chinese people went by speaking Chinese, and he said “they should be speaking English; this is Britain,” so I asked why, and he couldn’t explain why. Just on a vague principle.
