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Trucker ticketed $500 for poor English

LittlePinky82

Well-Known Member
I once took a business trip to the deep south, which put me in a place to speak with working class people. I listened to a gentleman speak for about 10 minutes and could only understand about 20% of what he said. Maybe he should get a ticket? Or, should I get a ticket?

I live in the south and even I know that is true! :angel2: I've been living in this area since 1987 even.... (Before I was in NC)
 

NoahideHiker

Religious Headbanger
Why are we worried about truckers?
Has anyone taken a New York cab recently?

I love the taxi drivers in NYC and new immigrants in general. I had a great discussion with a taxi driver from Africa. We spoke about his schooling and his love of the founding fathers and why we wanted to come here.

When it comes to speaking English I'm kind of on the fence. Look at all the other countries which adopt English as the official language. I don't feel they are racist. As far as Spanish I think it is incumbent upon the immigrant to learn the majority language rather than expecting the whole country to learn their visiting language.
 

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
As far as Spanish I think it is incumbent upon the immigrant to learn the majority language rather than expecting the whole country to learn their visiting language.
So when you are in Miami, please expect to use some Spanish. It really won't kill you to learn the language of the majority down there.

Just reading this guy's response in the OP, it appears that his command of the English language is just fine. The USA has existed for over two centuries without an official language, why do we need one now? We don't.
 

Panda

42?
Premium Member
If a driver can do their job just as well as someone who does know English well what difference does it matter? It has to do with their job performance. If he can do the job and communicate with their boss fine than it shouldn't be a problem.

I don't think he deserves to be fined. I just think that when you live in another country you should be able to speak their language. It is stupid not to.
 

Laughing Man

1337 |-|4(|<3R
I will agree that anybody who wishes to drive in the United States should have to at least understand English well enough to read the traffic signs. It does become a safety concern if somebody could not read a “one way only” or a “do not enter" sign. And as for this trooper, if the driver was able to answer his questions in English then no matter how bad the accent is he should have not been ticketed.
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
So when you are in Miami, please expect to use some Spanish. It really won't kill you to learn the language of the majority down there.

You do realize that Spanish is only so prevalent there because people moved there without learning the language spoken by the people already living there, right?

Just reading this guy's response in the OP, it appears that his command of the English language is just fine. The USA has existed for over two centuries without an official language, why do we need one now? We don't.

I don't know about this particular case. It might have been a case of the officer being in the wrong. I couldn't say without more details.

What I can say is that you're right, we don't need an official language. It would be helpful, though, and it would make sense. I think this is a perfect example of why we need one. Police officers can't be expected to speak every language they might encounter on the road. They do need to communicate with people, though. I think being able to speak English well enough to communicate with an officer is perfectly justified. As I said, this may have been a case of it being used incorrectly, I don't know, but as a general rule it just makes sense.

And, BTW, your "We haven't needed an official language yet, so why would we now?" can be said differently: "Up until the Civil War, the U.S. did fine with slavery. Why did they need to change?" Just because something hasn't been a problem until a certain point doesn't mean it can't be now. Also, it's not about us just getting by, it's about the best way to do things.
 

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
You do realize that Spanish is only so prevalent there because people moved there without learning the language spoken by the people already living there, right?
Yeah... just like the REST of the country. There is a little town just south of Ocala Florida that if you want to work, you had best know Polish. Good for them! In America, we call this immigration. :D
I don't know about this particular case. It might have been a case of the officer being in the wrong. I couldn't say without more details.
Hate and bigotry often go unheralded because of this.
I think this is a perfect example of why we need one. Police officers can't be expected to speak every language they might encounter on the road.
There are lots of interpreters here in America and most every police force has a list of local ones. It's really not an issue unless you are too lazy to care.
And, BTW, your "We haven't needed an official language yet, so why would we now?" can be said differently: "Up until the Civil War, the U.S. did fine with slavery. Why did they need to change?" Just because something hasn't been a problem until a certain point doesn't mean it can't be now. Also, it's not about us just getting by, it's about the best way to do things.
So, we need to introduce grounds for bigotry rather than eliminate them? That just sounds so hinky to me.
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
Yeah... just like the REST of the country. There is a little town just south of Ocala Florida that if you want to work, you had best know Polish. Good for them! In America, we call this immigration. :D

Actually, what we call immigration is people moving here from other countries. It has nothing to do with whether or not they speak English. There are plenty of people who move here the correct way, by learning English to be able to communicate with the majority. :D

Hate and bigotry often go unheralded because of this. There are lots of interpreters here in America and most every police force has a list of local ones. It's really not an issue unless you are too lazy to care. So, we need to introduce grounds for bigotry rather than eliminate them? That just sounds so hinky to me.

Here's the deal. The unofficial language of America is English. It is all but official. That means that people here communicate in English. If you want to live here, you should be able to communicate in English for whatever you need to. If you're a grandmother who can manage everything through your children without speaking English, fine. If you plan to do something like drive, then you need to be able to communicate with the officer.

We're not introducing grounds for bigotry. That's always there. Cops have a lot of power. They don't need something like this to give them the opportunity to show bigotry. They will find other ways. This doesn't help them be bigots.

The problem is that people with your view on the subject think it's discrimination or racism to want people to speak English here. It's not. I love other cultures, and like diversity in general. That's why I majored in French. There is absolutely nothing wrong, though, with creating a common ground so that everyone can easily communicate with each other. That's all that asking people to learn English does.
 

LittlePinky82

Well-Known Member
I love the taxi drivers in NYC and new immigrants in general. I had a great discussion with a taxi driver from Africa. We spoke about his schooling and his love of the founding fathers and why we wanted to come here.

When it comes to speaking English I'm kind of on the fence. Look at all the other countries which adopt English as the official language. I don't feel they are racist. As far as Spanish I think it is incumbent upon the immigrant to learn the majority language rather than expecting the whole country to learn their visiting language.

Why shouldn't you learn another language? It's good for your brain and you never know when you'd need it. Especially if you plan on going into business or law enforcement of some type. In Japan for example they have to learn English however in their country English isn't even considered a major language and very little people there actually speak it in their every day life. So why do they need to learn English? Not every school student is going into business or some type of citizen work (law enforcement, nursing, dr etc).
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
Why shouldn't you learn another language? It's good for your brain and you never know when you'd need it. Especially if you plan on going into business or law enforcement of some type. In Japan for example they have to learn English however in their country English isn't even considered a major language and very little people there actually speak it in their every day life. So why do they need to learn English? Not every school student is going into business or some type of citizen work (law enforcement, nursing, dr etc).

I agree that it would be great for more people to learn another language. I plan to raise my kids as bilingually as possible. But, by that reasoning, why is so much to ask someone to learn English when they move here?
 

LittlePinky82

Well-Known Member
So when you are in Miami, please expect to use some Spanish. It really won't kill you to learn the language of the majority down there.

Just reading this guy's response in the OP, it appears that his command of the English language is just fine. The USA has existed for over two centuries without an official language, why do we need one now? We don't.

Exactly. The founding fathers knew things would progress and change throughout time. However if you go back and look through records you can see when some founding fathers were for having an official language. Benjamin Franklin often spoke out against German immigrants. For whatever reason he didn't like them very much. So people wanting English as an official language isn't new.
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
Exactly. The founding fathers knew things would progress and change throughout time. However if you go back and look through records you can see when some founding fathers were for having an official language. Benjamin Franklin often spoke out against German immigrants. For whatever reason he didn't like them very much. So people wanting English as an official language isn't new.

I don't think it's fair to paint anyone who wants an official language as someone who has something against another group of people.
 

LittlePinky82

Well-Known Member
I don't think he deserves to be fined. I just think that when you live in another country you should be able to speak their language. It is stupid not to.

Except hon there's no law for you to do so. He did nothing illegal so why should he get a fine?
 

LittlePinky82

Well-Known Member
I will agree that anybody who wishes to drive in the United States should have to at least understand English well enough to read the traffic signs. It does become a safety concern if somebody could not read a “one way only” or a “do not enter" sign. And as for this trooper, if the driver was able to answer his questions in English then no matter how bad the accent is he should have not been ticketed.

Exactly. I wonder if he thought he didn't speak English well because of a thick accent?
 

Scuba Pete

Le plongeur avec attitude...
Actually, what we call immigration is people moving here from other countries. It has nothing to do with whether or not they speak English.
Let's keep it that way! :D
Here's the deal. The unofficial language of America is English. It is all but official. That means that people here communicate in English. If you want to live here, you should be able to communicate in English for whatever you need to.
Next you'll be telling me that Christianity is "all but official" as the state religion. Diversity is what made this nation STRONG. The best and the brightest moved here. If you are going to make ANY language official, then use one from one of the Native American Tribes.

So I have to ask, if/when Spanish becomes more popular in the USA than English, are you going to switch? How about Russian or Chinese?
 

Magic Man

Reaper of Conversation
So why are you proposing something for the United States if you don't live here?

Because it makes sense. Because that's the way it's done in many other countries including his.

Except hon there's no law for you to do so. He did nothing illegal so why should he get a fine?

He already said that the driver here shouldn't be fined. He was accused of doing something illegal, though. There apparently is a law about it, as the article said.
 

LittlePinky82

Well-Known Member
I agree that it would be great for more people to learn another language. I plan to raise my kids as bilingually as possible. But, by that reasoning, why is so much to ask someone to learn English when they move here?

Maybe because they see no purpose or have no way to?
 
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