Lo siento, no hablo español

R12RTee wrote:

rockhillmanor wrote:

TomG2 wrote:
I listed my RV on the McAllen, Texas Craigslist but left off the above words. Three calls today and all hung up when I could not reply to their questions in Spanish. I really don't know, and won't know, if they were serious shoppers or not. I am not complaining, that is just the way of the world in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

It's not just Texas.
This happened to me too when I listed some items on craigslist while I was in Florida. I just asked them why they were calling if they couldn't speak or understand English?:R

I dunno I am old school. If you move to a different country 'learn the language'.

I have traveled abroad and USA is the only country that encourages/caters to foreigner speaking people to NOT learn English. I think it's sad.

My grandparent emigrated from Germany and Poland and they learned the language as did all of the immigrants of years gone by. They didn't demand that all informational items and signs be printed in both English and their language....they learned the main language of the country they moved to. Just saying "I" don't have the tolerance.

I think the statement that "they learned the language as did all of the immigrants of years gone by" may be a bit of an over statement. Most immigrants that I have met spoke very little English. They also tended to cluster in communities that they are comfortable with and didn't need to learn another language. The second and third generations are the ones that make the transition.

Agreed. But I think it depends on the language as well. In the case of my parents language (Dutch) the community was small and it made sense to become more proficient in English. Their business depended on it. But the US is the second biggest spanish speaking nation in the world (depending on your stat sources) and entire communities speak the language. The need to speak English outside the home is much less in these communities. Official languages of countries are important from the point of view of publication costs etc but have little effect on the actual society and culture of communities. This is an ever changing landscapes. Right now I can't imagine any superviser, manager or business owner not filing job applications from monolingual applicants at the bottom of the pile, at least in the Spanish speaking parts of the USA...including Puerto Rico. :).