Saturday, July 4, 2009

Press One for English

20 comments:

Unknown said...

Until congress grows a pair and makes English our "official" language we will have to put up with press 1 for English. :(

GL said...

Official language?

I suppose that is a good plan because everyone whose first language is English speaks, "good English well."

I suppose Europe should arrest or execute American tourists when they visit since they can't speak the local tongue but demand the natives speak American English.

Anonymous said...

HOw offensive to me as an American, born and bred.

Anonymous said...

Call or write to the elected officials. Tell them we don't want to press 1 for english! Remind them we pull the little bar in the voting booth.

Anonymous said...

"I suppose Europe should arrest or execute American tourists when they visit since they can't speak the local tongue but demand the natives speak American English."

When your business is tourism, you speak the language of the tourists. They aren't staying permanently. However, those who aren't in the tourism industry shouldn't have to foot the bill for translating everything into 12 languages to benefit those who come here seeking "to make money to send back home." Those who want to be American learn English, as generations past and present have proven.

Anonymous said...

For 311, you press 2 for English. What the hell is that?

Juan Inamillion said...

No comprendo.

Snake Plissskin said...

What, and deny ethic idenity which keeps people apart, lets you play them off against each other, and makes tweeding so easy?

Anonymous said...

I suppose that is a good plan because everyone whose first language is English speaks, "good English well."
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If I can understand what they are saying, then their English is good enough for me. I wonder how many foreign language speaking people aren't very polished in the "proper" way to speak their language. I bet you would NEVER goof on them!

CJ said...

Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?
This verbal class distinction by now should be antique.
If you spoke as she does, sir, Instead of the way you do,
Why, you might be selling flowers, too.
An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him,
The moment he talks he makes some other
Englishman despise him.
One common language I'm afraid we'll never get.
Oh, why can't the English learn to set
A good example to people whose
English is painful to your ears?
The Scotch and the Irish leave you close to tears.
There even are places where English completely
disappears. In America, they haven't used it for years!
Why can't the English teach their children how to speak?
Norwegians learn Norwegian; the Greeks have taught their
Greek. In France every Frenchman knows
his language fro "A" to "Zed"
The French never care what they do, actually,
as long as they pronounce in properly.
Arabians learn Arabian with the speed of summer lightning.
And Hebrews learn it backwards,
which is absolutely frightening.
But use proper English you're regarded as a freak.
Why can't the English,
Why can't the English learn to speak?

Respects to George Bernard Shaw Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe

Anonymous said...

I like the way she says "LANGWEEGE."

We don't need an "official language" because:

(1) All you social Darwinists that post here would agree that you can't advance in society without learning English. It's our de facto "official language," so if you don't learn it you deserve to fail.

(2) It's an attack on states' rights. Say you have a state in which a significant portion of the population speaks a "foreign language" because the border crossed them (Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico). Where in the Constitution can the Federal Government come into a state and tell its people that they can no longer use the language they've been using for generations IN AMERICA? Quebec almost seceded from Canada because of language rights.

(3) There is no standard for the English language. English doesn't have a regulatory body like the RAE for Spanish and the Académie Française for French. Until you codify it, you can't have English as an "official language." And then we'd have to deal with the word police. "Kimonos" would become "Japanese bathrobes."

(4) It's just more profit-eating regulation for businesses. The government would be telling me to whom I can and cannot market.

As long as I have to option to press 1 for English, I don't mind. When my only option is to press 2 for Spanish, Mandarin, Norwegian, or Kreyòl, I'll complain.

Charles Barron said...

Where da white wimmin at?

Anonymous said...

If we allow our country to be carved into various lingual ghettos it will cost a fortune. Requiring new immigrants to learn English is just common sense, and Americans who think those outside America should speak English instead of their native tongue are idiots. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Nimrod said...

Bloomturd won't be happy unless NYC has the world's tallest Tower Of Babel.

PizzaBagel said...

For 311, you press 2 for English. What the hell is that?

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WTF! Never having called 311, I did not know that. I blame Bloomberg. (Apparently on his direction, in full pandering mode.) After all, doesn't he claim to have "created" 311, like Al Gore created the Internet?

And whether or not there is an official English language, formally defined and approved by some organization, there is something understood to be English, admittedly containing words and expressions from other languages. Otherwise, "Press 1 (or 2, as the case may be) for English" itself wouldn't make sense. Even the masters of 311 and other phone menus realize that.

Smooth Operator said...

What happens if you push all of the buttons?

PizzaBagel said...

What happens if you push all of the buttons?

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You get connected to the United Nations.

Anonymous said...

Ik moet iets hebben gemist, ik dacht dat we allemaal Nederlands sprak.

Anonymous said...

Language spoken:
English 82.1%
Spanish 10.7%
other Indo-European 3.8%
Asian and Pacific island 2.7%
other 0.7% (2000 census)

In a Democratic Republic, majority rules.

Anonymous said...

the song is dumb