82 replies to this topic

[viejomalogato]

I frequent a grocery store in San Juan where the staff refuses to speak any English, Whether this is from pride, obstenancy or plain stupidity is hard to say. I am 78 and try hard to speak spanish, but some things do escape me especially if they are the least bit techinical. I accepted this situation until I received a notice from the Monterey County voting information service, which is also in Spanish. It would seem that a place of business which receives a large portion of their patronage from the English speaking populus would avail themselves of speaking another language even a little bit.
Thank You
R

[More Liana]

Pride, obstinacy, or plain stupidity? Would you say that those are also your reasons for not understanding and speaking enough Spanish to get along in Mexico?

I didn't think so.

It's possible that the staff of the store where you shop doesn't speak or understand English. You are, after all, in a very small town in the middle of Mexico. Not everyone in Mexico studies English.

I suspect that there are many thousands more Mexicans living in Monterey County, California than there are English-speaking foreigners living in San Juan Cosalá, Jalisco. The population of the State of California is increasingly Hispanic--read this: http://www.city-jour...hics.html.  The population of the State of Jalisco is not concomitantly or proportionately English-speaking foreigners.

Monterey County has decided to prepare its government documents in both English and Spanish. To date, that sort of decision has not been made in Mexico.
Really, it is your job to learn the language of the country where you live and not expect others to accommodate to you.

[viejomalogato]

It is indeed comforting to read your less than positive reply. I do not wish to explain myself to such a display of self-righteous indignation and forth-right a##ho## opinion. If you are capable, please unerstand that it was merely an observation on my part. Whether or not you agree is of little matter.
Thank You
R.

[Mainecoons]

Viejo, Mexico has an official language and that language is Spanish. There are many places here where you can shop where there is at least some English spoken. We find that to be more the case here than not, even the very nice people at the INS office in Chapala will speak English with us old folks if necessary. Happily, we were able to get our renewals using Spanish this year, which pleased us, and I think them, greatly.

The U.S. has no official language. Half the population of California are hispanic. I would guess that your county in California gives out information in both languages because they have many people there who understand Spanish better.

For older folks for which learning a new language is pretty challenging, this is a great place in Mexico to live precisely because so much English is spoken here. OTOH, it becomes somewhat of a crutch which does slow learning down.

[bmh]

Many workers in Monterrey countey do not speak English and this true all over California. It is also true for the Chinese in California , I once happen to be sitting next to a chinese man who made me understand he could not fill out th entry form to get in the country. I started doing it and when I asked him his nationality I found out he was a US citizen. It made me wonder how he had passed th citizenship test...Here I was a French citizen helping a US citizen filling out his form...Life is funny sometimes.

[Alex]

Viejo, I'm also from California and very proud of the fact that my state makes the effort to disseminate information of public importance in many different languages, including Spanish. I am also very appreciative of the many Mexicans who have learned to speak English. I find the locals to be equally appreciative of my having learned to speak Spanish. Afterall, I do not want a bunch of Mexicans thinking that I am either too stupid, too lazy or too arrogant to learn their language.

[bigd]

Pride, obstinacy, or plain stupidity? Would you say that those are also your reasons for not understanding and speaking enough Spanish to get along in Mexico?

I didn't think so.

It's possible that the staff of the store where you shop doesn't speak or understand English. You are, after all, in a very small town in the middle of Mexico. Not everyone in Mexico studies English.

I suspect that there are many thousands more Mexicans living in Monterey County, California than there are English-speaking foreigners living in San Juan Cosalá, Jalisco. The population of the State of California is increasingly Hispanic--read this: http://www.city-jour...hics.html. The population of the State of Jalisco is not concomitantly or proportionately English-speaking foreigners.

Monterey County has decided to prepare its government documents in both English and Spanish. To date, that sort of decision has not been made in Mexico.
Really, it is your job to learn the language of the country where you live and not expect others to accommodate to you.

Then why in the hell do we need to accomodate the millions of mexicans in the usa WHO

[bigd]

Then why in the hell do we need to accomodate the millions of mexicans in the USA who dont speak english!!

[bmh]

Maybe because many of them vote ?

[Mainecoons]

BigD that was explained in the thread. If you lived here, you'd know that there is a great deal of accomodation of english speakers in this country. And I can bet you and win that there is a much greater percent of the population here who speak at least some english than there is of the population there who speak ANY language other than English.

[Alex]

bigd, on 18 July 2012 - 02:38 PM, said:

Then why in the hell do we need to accomodate the millions of mexicans in the USA who dont speak english!!


In the instance being discussed here, we're actually accommodating our own citizens so they may be better informed when they vote. Passing the basic English literacy test in order to become a citizen is one thing...comprehending a California ballot proposition is quite something else.

[grc]

We hope to live in San Juan very soon. Part of the reason is to be able to force myself to speak Spanish. I know how hard it is to stumble through using another language, but I really feel as if it's our obligation to try. I work with Google translate and an English/Spanish dictionay. I've created some "cheat cards" with common Spanish words/phrases/sentences that I use in different places. It's not great Spanish, but it gets me through my contact with smiles and laughs from the Mexican people dealing with me. Plus I've gotten much better at pantomime!

Carol

[elbelgicano]

We hope to live in San Juan very soon. Part of the reason is to be able to force myself to speak Spanish. I know how hard it is to stumble through using another language, but I really feel as if it's our obligation to try. I work with Google translate and an English/Spanish dictionay. I've created some "cheat cards" with common Spanish words/phrases/sentences that I use in different places. It's not great Spanish, but it gets me through my contact with smiles and laughs from the Mexican people dealing with me. Plus I've gotten much better at pantomime!

Carol

Carol, your cheat cards are a great idea. They could also be an excellent tool for people who have a very hard time learning the language.

Rony

[elbelgicano]

And.... I suggest that everybody learns Dutch all over the world. Problem solved. I will teach you.

[oregonduck]

And.... I suggest that everybody learns Dutch all over the world. Problem solved. I will teach you.

Wasn't that tried in the 17th Century? Never really caught on.

[elbelgicano]

Wasn't that tried in the 17th Century? Never really caught on.

Spijtig (what a pity).... but...on a positive note, there a are a lot of Dutch words in the English language (hamac, yankee, ... )

[phxfunguy]

And my favorite, Rony, snotneus = snot nosed kid.

For those who want to learn at their own pace and find flashcards work well, LiveMocha.com is a good free online source as there are literally hundreds of sets of flashcards there you can practice with all arranged by topic, theme, or grammatical parts of speech.

[manny]

a person in their late 70s should not have to learn a language. (its disrespectful the way some people treated this member, but these people disrespect themselves). a grocery clerk in san juan should not be expected to know english. torittos has 2 english speakers, quite good. others a little. superlake has none except the owner.

[elbelgicano]

And my favorite, Rony, snotneus = snot nosed kid.

For those who want to learn at their own pace and find flashcards work well, LiveMocha.com is a good free online source as there are literally hundreds of sets of flashcards there you can practice with all arranged by topic, theme, or grammatical parts of speech.

Just added to my favourites, bedankt snotneus !

[Alex]

Medical research indicates that learning a new language late in life actually helps forestall the onset of Alzheimer's disease. All mental exercise seems to help in this regard, including reading and doing crossword puzzles. However, learning a new language was found to be the single most valuable form of mental exercise for aging people.