Most of our words are from Latin, although (which is a Gaelic word, you can tell by the “ough”) we have many words from other languages.
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Outside of introduced scientific and legal terms, most Latinate words came to English via Norman French. Usually, but not always, there is a Germanic equivalent, i.e arrive (Latin) come (Germanic). It is possible, though not easy, to write and/or speak using only words of Germanic origin.
The word although is Germanic in origin. all - theoh as it was in Old Norse.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Instead of bitching about people you can’t understand why don’t you lend a hand and be part of the solution. I am so sick of uppity Americans who forget their roots. I am guessing you come from English speaking ancestry so you are forgiven for your ignorance of reality…dick. [/quote]
You’d make a great point if it weren’t for companies listing American products in both English and Spanish. I know it’s to attract business and take advantage of the growing Spanish speaking population, where is the incentive to learn English then? There seems to be a lot of accomodations made for Spanish speakers, and that language is the only one being favored. One could speculate it’s from immigrants coming from south of the border. But this trend is pretty new. It used to be that immigrants moved here and learned English at least to conduct business and understand the laws and their rights, because their wasn’t much that wasn’t expressed in English, with the exceptions of airport terminal signs for travelers. They needed to learn English to build the life they hoped for when they came. Now they can get anything in writing in Spanish. This is fine, but they should not expect people to know Spanish.
If you want to be a citizen, take the initiative and learn to speak the popular language at least in public. You have the right to speak what you want at home, and in public as well, but don’t expect everyone you meet to know your native language.
[quote]BigRagoo wrote:
If you want to be a citizen, take the initiative and learn to speak the popular language at least in public. You have the right to speak what you want at home, and in public as well, but don’t expect everyone you meet to know your native language.[/quote]
I do not know any immigrants that cannot at least say and understand a handful of expressions to get by on a daily basis. Many of the immigrants I meet are not educated and have never had the opportunity to speak English before coming here. As a person who lives in a country with all the necessary tools and resources at my disposal, learning Hmong, though difficult, is not impossible. Many Hmong, for example, because of where they are coming from, wouldn’t even know the English language if they heard it spoken or saw it written.
Also, I have never met an immigrant that ever expected me to understand their particular language. Many act surprised when I can say the requisite, “hello, how are you,” in their language and become more motivated to learn when they can be related to. Often, when giving a lesson with someone informally I ask them how to say something in their language; this fosters diplomacy and trust.
First generation immigrants must be given some slack and that is why we have multiple language documents, for example. I guarantee you, as long as second generation Americans are made to go to school there will be no language barrier. Very young first generation immigrants also will not have a problem if they are forced to go to school.
I do believe we need to change our way of teaching English to non-English speakers. We should integrate all nationalities into one classroom and not target individual languages by using teachers that speak a particular language.
In the classes I teach I have many different nationalities and I do not speak any of those languages fluently. This forces me to teach language concepts from the beginning as if I was teaching preschool kids how to talk for the first time. This is called “total immersion” and it works. This is the way many children learn in Europe which is why they speak so well at an early age.
[quote]BigRagoo wrote:
You’d make a great point if it weren’t for companies listing American products in both English and Spanish.
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The Spanish speaking community is a large untapped source of income in the marketplace. CEOs don’t discriminate when taking people’s money and never will.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
BigRagoo wrote:
You’d make a great point if it weren’t for companies listing American products in both English and Spanish.
The Spanish speaking community is a large untapped source of income in the marketplace. CEOs don’t discriminate when taking people’s money and never will.
[/quote]
One of the beauties of capitalism and I am not joking.
Trade has always united people.
Which is of course why merchants and money lenders have allways been despised.