I'm working on a project and need a little help so to speak. I need to know your opinions of the disadvantages of either speaking no English or very poor English while living in the U.S. Also what advantages would those people gain from learning to speak English at least to the point they can be easily understood.
Disadvantages of speaking no or little english in the US
I think it really depends on what language you do speak and where you are in the US. Cionsider two cases:
1) You speak only Spanish, and are located in Laredo, Miami, LA, etc. I think you'd fit right in.
2) You speak only !Kung, Basque, etc., and you find yourself in the rural Northeast (Hardenburgh, NY, for example). In this case, you'd be unable to comunicate verbally at all.
1) You speak only Spanish, and are located in Laredo, Miami, LA, etc. I think you'd fit right in.
2) You speak only !Kung, Basque, etc., and you find yourself in the rural Northeast (Hardenburgh, NY, for example). In this case, you'd be unable to comunicate verbally at all.
If you speak Spanish in a major city, you'll end up being fine (and learning English along the way, certainly) other than that you're probably going to need to learn English. Unless you're in New Braunfels, TX (German) or Acadiana (French) then you need to know English or, at the absolute least, Spanish. This isn't Europe where we everyone is from a city that's a one hour radius from 4 countries with different official languages...
The problem with not being able to speak English in the US is that you will not be able to integrate yourself into the American mainstream. While this may not be an issues from a cultural perspective, it is extremely limiting from an income-earning point of view. People who can't communicate in English will likely remain permanant members of the barrio class and will have to do hard manual labor jobs. The rub here is that carrying lumber and clearing away debris from construction sites is a young man's job. It gets more difficult as you age. You can go to many places in the American Southwest and see guys that are in their late 50s standing around with nothing to do because they can no longer do the work they were able to do when they were 20 years old. Unemployment and not being able to earn a living leads to alcoholism and earlier death.
Pretty grim isn't it?
Pretty grim isn't it?
<<Pretty grim isn't it? >>
There must be some less demanding work they could do:
- Bagboy at grocery store
- Night watchman
- Charity bellringer (in Spanish neighborhood)
- Trash picker-upper in a park
- Department store santa (in Spanish neighborhood)
- Go back to their native country and do whatever jobs old unskilled people do there
Of course, these are probably all minimum wage jobs.
There must be some less demanding work they could do:
- Bagboy at grocery store
- Night watchman
- Charity bellringer (in Spanish neighborhood)
- Trash picker-upper in a park
- Department store santa (in Spanish neighborhood)
- Go back to their native country and do whatever jobs old unskilled people do there
Of course, these are probably all minimum wage jobs.
And they all require at least some knowledge of English... Training will still be in English, customers will probably speak English, etc.
"People who can't communicate in English will likely remain permanant members of the barrio class and will have to do hard manual labor jobs."
Amen, brother.
Spanish-only speaking immigrants are doomed to cleaning toilets the rest of their lives.
Amen, brother.
Spanish-only speaking immigrants are doomed to cleaning toilets the rest of their lives.
haha I know a couple of uneducated kinda off spanish-only inmmigrants who made big bugs in the Construction business, they have their offices and subcontract people with more English-Skills that them to do the hard-working stuff , hahhaaha, go figure !!!
So depending on how ambitious you are , you only need to know to do something really good, market those skills, maybe opening several stores/businness in the barrios all over L.A, and who cares if you do not speak English you will not need to, just see the Chinese FOB, after a 3-4 years they own their Restaurant.
So, few words for making Money in the U.S you DO NOT need to SPEAK GOOD english.
So depending on how ambitious you are , you only need to know to do something really good, market those skills, maybe opening several stores/businness in the barrios all over L.A, and who cares if you do not speak English you will not need to, just see the Chinese FOB, after a 3-4 years they own their Restaurant.
So, few words for making Money in the U.S you DO NOT need to SPEAK GOOD english.
Big bugs? Do you mean "bucks"?
I think you can do with Spanish in Miami and in LA to some extent. It depends where you are. If you want to be stuck in one area or with your own group, you may be able to do it.
Why be limited?
I think you can do with Spanish in Miami and in LA to some extent. It depends where you are. If you want to be stuck in one area or with your own group, you may be able to do it.
Why be limited?
"haha I know a couple of uneducated kinda off spanish-only inmmigrants who made big bugs in the Construction business, they have their offices and subcontract people with more English-Skills that them to do the hard-working stuff , hahhaaha, go figure !!! "
Your own English skills leave a lot to be desired. I noticed five or six mistakes right away.
Your own English skills leave a lot to be desired. I noticed five or six mistakes right away.
Well, my great-grandparents lived in the US for 50 years or so speaking little or no English, so it can be done. My maid speaks no real English and drives a brand new Ford Expedition. All of these people, of course, lived or live in areas with large ethnic enclaves of their own linguistic groups, so they were able to find work and even success in those areas. If they had lived in Wisconsin or Tennessee, probably not. So it just depends on where you live.
K.T why get limited ?
Depends on what you are loooking for. If other people ( In this case English-only People) have nothing to offer you, why would to try to make the effort to learn well their Language?
If someone argue you need to to get more jobs opportunities, life is still very difficult even for those who speak english natively.
Cities like LA,NY,Dallas,Miami,etc are where the most likely immigrants with no English skills would go to live. They would not go to some White-only states o cities only to be treated like a second-class citizen.
Depends on what you are loooking for. If other people ( In this case English-only People) have nothing to offer you, why would to try to make the effort to learn well their Language?
If someone argue you need to to get more jobs opportunities, life is still very difficult even for those who speak english natively.
Cities like LA,NY,Dallas,Miami,etc are where the most likely immigrants with no English skills would go to live. They would not go to some White-only states o cities only to be treated like a second-class citizen.
Pimpope, there is no such things as a white only state or city in the United States. I grew up in a town of two-thousand people and there were Native Americans, Latinos, Asians, and African Americans as well as Caucasians. It is obvious by your statement that you really do not know much at all about the United States and what it is like. This is still a country where hard work and efforts get you places no matter who you are. Certainly, it may be a little more difficult based upon your background, but there are many people who have managed to over come this. And this is also true for any Nation in the world.
Yeah, I've lived all over the US, and I have yet to find a white-only state.