new immigrants

i am no linguist.

i will compliment myself when i say i have a great gift with one language, and one only: english.

i have never tried very hard to learn other languages, certainly not those of my ancestors (spanish, german, gaelic, welsh, etc.) I never learned any language besides english, because I was born and raised in the united states.

when you look at the geography of my birth, it should make sense to anyone reading this why i chose to never concentrate on learning another language- what need have i for that, since i don’t plan to become a diplomat, or to travel overseas at any point in time?

certainly, if i travel to mexico, france, portugal, germany- then i should learn a few key phrases.

but for a native raised on home soil? i have no need.

until, it seems, i clock into work, and i’m expected to translate every language known to man via sign language, and (painful to me) pidgin english.

it may well be that i am predjudiced against immigrantsm having had a dreadful experience with a weasel from across the border some time ago. it may even be that i despise accents, since it inconveniences me to have to translate their pidgin english to something we can both understand.

but i’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again:

the new immigrants have taken the idea of what it is to be an american totally out of context. the idea of “becoming an american” used to be just that. yes, we held on to our old ideas and traditions, but we also melted into the great conglomeration that is american society.

the new immigrants seem to think it’s we, who were born here, we, who know exactly what it is to be one of us, should cater to the entire world.

i agree, to some extent, that we should help others, that we should welcome foreigners seeking a better life with open arms- but to say “Oh, don’t bother to learn English like the rest of us, we can pay a translator in any world language,” it just really irks me.

my dad is a second generation mexican american, from a family that spoke predominantly spanish at home, but he saw no need to teach me because it just wasn’t important. What point was there in teaching me spanish, when i’d only use it at home?

but now, i’m harassed on a weekly basis by new immigrants, who demand that america cater to them and their staunch refusal to blend in the way their forefathers would have.

correct me if i’m wrong but… i thought this was america.

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