Discussion on:

Tennessee passes law allowing English-only workplaces

I'm sure you don't have any pressing issues to legislate.

What if the purpose of the work place is to teach foreign languages? How about the Latin in fields like law and medicine? Could a consultant be arrested for cashing a per diem check?

In Quebec the official language of the workplace is French. So software, documentation, memos, invoices etc etc. All must be in French, or if they are bilingual, French must be predominant.

The details though don't preclude English from being used at calls centres for example. Or service agents can work with someone in English, if that is the preference of the person seeking service.

One funny example that happened to me was when I got a speeding ticket in Quebec. I forgot to pay it on time, and they sent a bilingual notice. On the english side, they said my only option was to go to a government office in person during business hours (in the province of Quebec, which is hundreds of miles from me). On the French side they also offered the option of going to a website and paying by credit card. Years of French classes came in handy. I wondered whether it was an error or a deliberate snub to Anglophones.

James

a deliberate snub.

them there queerbecers gots no respect for anyone not in queerbec.

lazy drug addicted bums in that province.[ at least, with the lazy drug addicted bums living on the streets here from there, that's he only thing in quebec, drug addicts and bums that expect the entire world to kiss their asses and speak quebecese. ]

Can you be more of a bigot please?

What the hell have I done to you to be called such things?



TCB

the majority of the "kids" on the streets on the west coast, are from Quebec, and when they get here [ and for years after-wards ] can only speak Canadian French.
Since no-one but these "kids" ever makes it to the west coast, they are the example of the people in Quebec that we have to work with.
You want the rest of Canada to NOT have a poor opinion of Quebec, send something other than drug addicts and bums to the rest of Canada. The Quebec citizens that we see do nothing to give Quebec a good reputation. The insanity of the leader of the Bloc calling the PROVINCE of Quebec the NATION of Quebec on National TV also doesn't help.
[ the leaders debate for the last federal election he did exactly that, and it rubs every resident of the other provinces and territories the wrong way to hear comments like that. ]

First of all, the winter Olympics just finished in your town. You cannot say that the Quebec Athletes where all druggies who refuse to speak English. I saw them on English TV and Radio and they did quite well thank you.

You cannot take a few bad examples and generalize the whole population based on those "bad apples". That's bigotry and its beneath you. You are an educated, intelligent individual and you should know better.

I do not generalize the English Canadian population based on your actions right now, because I know you better and I know that you don't represent the whole country.

As far as the Bloc is concerned, they're extremist with which I don't agree. Quebec is a Province within Canada, period. Their rhetoric is based on antiquated facts that are irrelevant today. But there will always be extremist in everything. Again, don't judge the whole tribe by what the chief does. Like English Canada, our leaders are not always the brightest bunch.

In Conclusion, I did not send those "kids" out West. Its not my fault you guys have a great Pot reputation. But bottom line, don't think because you see some potheads from Quebec, that all Quebecers are potheads.

Thank you



TCB

It allows employers to dictate when only English will be used. Obviously, if the goal of the workplace is to teach foreign languages, the employer would not mandate that only English be spoken.

So, it's okay to say y'all or it's Yankee equivellent, you'se-guys.

When you're on his dime, you'll do as he wants, or you won't be on his dime.

Good enuf fer me

I am guessing that you were being sarcastic? It is doubtful that Jesus ever existed. If he did exist he would have spoken Aramaic.

Not many people know that. His name would have been Yeshua btw.

Its funny how we believe what one person may write about it a book, such as Darwin who says we came from monkeys (and there is no proof), yet there were hundreds of witnesses who saw Jesus and the book about his life has withstood the test of time (over 2500 years or so and distributed in many languages) but some folks just seem to want to conveniently dismiss it because it may cramp their self absorbed lifestyle.

Its funny how we interpret what one person may write about in a book. Darwin did not say that we come from monkeys, he wrote that through the theory of evolution it is quite conceivable that we and the monkeys share a common ancestor. And yes, we have proof of that. Its called DNA, you should look it up.

What we don't have, is any proof of the existence of a man named Jesus that lived approximately 2000 years ago (where did you get 2500???) and if it wasn't for the religion that grew from it, the books, that were not written by the apostles by the way because we know they were written in the second century, wouldn't of stood the test of time.

Mass belief does not make truths.

I don't dismiss the book and the religion because it cramps my lifestyle. I live my life according to the same principles as the catholic religion. I just don't believe I need to "thank" and "worship" a deity in order to do it. Especially since we have proof that nature started all on its own.




TCB

in the New American Bible, St. Joseph Edition, all of the "principal" books of the New Testament were "redacted" by the end of the first century A.D..

I suppose they use the term "redacted" because some of the books are collections of shorter texts which were written at different times, and subsequently recorded as if they were a single work (e.g., on a single scroll).

read Tacitus and Josephus. We know there was a guy named Jesus living then, but what we do not have is a test for divinity.

I once heard a Baptist preacher (talking about making/breaking promises, I think)say, "Jesus never said, 'Verily, verily, I say unto thee...' "
The congregation was aghast at this blasphemy against The Word, until he followed it up with, "Jesus didn't even speak English!"

... can force me to speak VB, then where's the hardship in having to speak English?

I'm not in the English-only camp, but I can readily see the business need to speak one language in the workplace.

we need that law up here.
in a big way.

It is sad that the reality of this law is to protect companies from being sued for having English only policies. Good to see a legislature support business though.

I am glad to see this happening. The large flood of European immigrants in the late 1800's and early 1900's made sure that their children learned English in school. And then taught English to the rest of the family.

They tried to fit in and meld into the communities they moved into.

I wish the law went even further and forbid state and local governments from having bilingual policies.

If immigrants do not want to learn to read and speak English, they should stay where they came from.

Chas

It would never occur to me to permanently relocate to a non-English-speaking country and make no attempt to learn to speak and read the local language.

Unless as an occupying force. Then, it's the other way around, or else.

Funny thing how so many Native American languages are now lost.

It's what happens when you lose the wars.

I doubt that is true - the British were famous for moving to countries and not learning the language - I bet Americans are just as bad. When in a strange place we are drawn to people similar to ourselves - people who speak English often don't need to learn the local language so don't bother.

Seen that a bunch, American tourist who will just speak slower and louder, as that will make English understandable to all

of towns and communities in the USA in which English is not "the local language".

If you don't speak Spanish, then you must find an interpreter to do some things, such as have your car repaired. I've been in such a town where a Chinese restaurant had the menu written in Spanish on the left-hand page and in Chinese on the right-hand page. Fortunately, one of my companions spoke Cantonese fluently (as did the waitress), and he could read Chinese well enough to understand the menu.

But most governments still employ people who speak English and some who are bilingual, and the medical staff of hospitals and most clinics are primarily English-speaking, whether many also speak Spanish.

No es muy a menudo cuando lo hacemos.

Cuando en Roma, haz lo que vieres.

I guess I will never know what you have posted to this thread.

I turned strong anti bi-lingual many years ago when a friend related that he had to be careful where he worked because some words have very different meanings in the different spanish dialects spoken by the factory workers at the plant he was working at.

Chas

http://translate.google.com/#

100%

....and also Aviation. Bottom line--if you want to get ahead, learn English here. If you want to REALLY be ahead, though, I would suggest English and Chinese or Hindi.

"In English and German
I know how to count down.
And I'm learning Chinese!"
said Werner von Braun.

...the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettyburg Address, Shakespeare's works, the Articles of Confederation, the Federalist Papers and many other great things.

They should pass this on to federal

See my other post.

What sad people you sound - let's hope you stay in your pure little ghettos and don't bother the real world.

Since you're from the UK, I'll assume things may not work exactly the same over there. The reality is, this kind of law needs to be passed in the US because we live in such a litigious society. There are jobs where everyone needs to speak the same language, and be clear on communication, or someone gets hurt or killed. However, I can guarantee you there will be some slip-and-fall lawyer who will file a lawsuit against a company who forces its workers to communicate in English only, because it's discriminatory. This law is merely protection for employers who need to enforce clear communications among employees. It's not a law to force people to forget their native language if it's not English or lose their heritage, it's just a common-sense law that has to be passed because in America, common-sense does not rule the day.

That political correctness has gotten out of hand. We are catering to a group that pays no taxes (ie illegals) yet the hard working folks have to pay MORE taxes to have bilingual documentation, signage, etc in addition to free healthcare, assistance, etc. We will not allow illegal immigrants to take over our country. We will emerge from our little ghettos and protect it.

They pay the same sales tax as everyone else who buys taxable goods and services.

When they pay the rent, they're paying a part of the taxes that are levied on the property, usually by the county, city, utility district, and/or the school district. Or are you one of those people who believe that only the landlords "pay property taxes" when, in fact, they just collect them from their tenants and forward the amount to the tax collector. A landlord only pays the tax on vacant units, perhaps an empty house.

Many illegal immigrants also pay annual auto registration fees, even if it is usually not for a new or recently-new vehicle.

Employers withhold income taxes from their paychecks. But the vast majority of illegal immigrants never file a tax return to claim the refund which they are due, for fear of being deported. And employers always deduct the worker's FICA (Social Security) tax from their paychecks, regardless of whether the employer actually pays it to the SSA along with their half of the contribution. Not doing that is, of course, one reason that the employer hires illegal immigrants instead of established US citizens.

You are saying that employers are hiring illegals with fake SS numbers?
That is illegal. But evidently, many people do not understand the definition of illegal, even our so called president. So illegal is relative, based on whether or not we think it should apply to certain individuals or situations. No wonder this country is going down the toilet, on its way to 3rd world status.

yes, we have been hearing all about how well your current immigrant status in the UK is working out so wonderfully. Too bad you don't clean your own backyard before looking over the fence and crying at your neighbors.

Once you take away borders, language or culture, you have another Tower of Babel.

As far as I am concerned anyone wishing to live and work in the US should have to learn English. Some would call me racist but we are the only country I know of that does not require this of immigrants anymore.