My take: Sarah Palin has been just desperate for attention lately, what with Donald Trump stealing all of her wingnut thunder. Plus, President Obama visited to Alaska, a visit in which no Palin was invited onto the president’s schedule at any point. So of course Sarah Palin agreed to a “lamestream media” interview with CNN and of course it was an unholy word salad, like always. During the interview, Palin said she would love to be President Donald Trump’s Energy Secretary, just so she could eliminate the Department of Energy. Her Secret Service code name was once “Denali” and she’s made references to “Denali” (the mountain) before, but just because she’s 4 years old and can’t like anything that Pres. Obama likes (because “Obama cooties”), she now claims that she prefers to call the mountain “Mt. McKinley.”
And what else? Of course CNN asked her about the recent non-controversy where Jeb Bush made some public remarks in Spanish, his second language. Jeb answered some questions from Spanish-language media last week, and he spoke Spanish fluently and well. Donald Trump criticized Bush for it, and so of course Sarah Palin had to chime in as well. This is what she said:
“It’s a benefit of Bush to be able to be so fluent, because we have a large and wonderful Hispanic population building America, and that’s a great connection he has with them… On the other hand, I think we can send a message and say, ‘You want to be in America, A, you’d better be here legally or you’re out of here. B, when you’re here, let’s speak American. Let’s speak English, and that’s a kind of a unifying aspect of the nation is the language that is understood by all.”
Dear Sarah Palin: YOU FIRST. Learn how to speak “American” properly so you don’t sound like a malfunctioning fembot, then maybe you can pass judgment on people who do not, remarkably, SPEAK AMERICAN. How ignorant. How… classic Palin.
Photos courtesy of Sarah Palin’s Facebook, WENN.
She certainly speaks fluent moron
And so do a lot of other people, aparently. A few days ago I read a story about Vanessa Ruiz, a news anchor who grew up hearing both Spanish and English, who answered to criticism for pronouncing Spanish words with an accent during her news cast (I would link but I’m incompetent, sorry). And now Jeb Bush is being criticized for speaking Spanish?! Are you serious? The truly nasty side of our American people is being thrust into the light. It’s depressing how bigoted some people are, and how blatantly they are showing it these days. But I guess it’s better that way, since we know who the a$$holes are as soon as they open their mouths.
Actually I didn’t know Jeb Bush was bilingual until I read this. And I think it’s pretty cool and WTF is the matter with this woman?!
If you didn’t know “Jeb!” was bilingual you probably don’t know he’s married to a Latina and his father used to refer to their kids “the little brown ones.”
Joan: Really? “The little brown ones”? Why am I surprised… I can relate, though. I married a man who’d been married before. (It was never discussed, but I think his mum was very close to his ex wife.) He was from NZ, but lived here in Oz. We used to travel frequently to see his family in NZ. One Christmas, we arrived from the airport to his brother’s house, where the welcoming party was in full swing. His mum, who’d already started on the Scotch, completely ignored me and said to him, “And who’s this one?” (As she cocked her thumb in my direction. He told her and she replied, “Oh, that’s right – she’s the *eye-tie*. And there’s an eye-tie kid, too?” – using the really derogatory name for an Italian. She was an ignorant, bigoted and rude piece of work, but I felt sorry because she was so uneducated and bitter. Water under the bridge, since they’re now both the dear departed.
Yes, what is wrong with this Palin woman? Eh, probably the same things as are wrong with many of our own politicians… Someone please tell her that the frosted lippy is doing her absolutely no favours.
I wonder if Palin knows that this country has no official language…
…probably not.
‘The truly nasty side of our American people is being thrust into the light. It’s depressing how bigoted some people are, and how blatantly they are showing it these days.’
Shambles, The same is happening here in the UK, I don’t recognise this country these days. The media have a lot of influence…so basically I blame Rupert Murdoch, he has far to much power in the western world.
Canada’s been going through its neocon moment, but not because voters want it that way — well, maybe they do, participation is pathetic — but because having more political parties center and left allowed the neocons to drive right up the middle. We also have a PM who said we wouldn’t recognize Canada when he was through with it … hope that’s not true.
As for Murdoch, yes. Forget which Bond movie — Pierce Brosnan and Terri Hatcher — always thought the crazed megalomaniac media mogul was based on Murdoch.
English is THE first language of the Untied States of America….
Yes, Ally M, I agree with your sentiments about Murdoch. He left Australia years ago, became an American citizen (no criticism normally, but it was purely for business purposes), yet can’t shut up about Australians and how our country is “ungovernable”. He has far too much power and influence and, sorry, but I can’t wait until he carks it. His mum lived to over 100, so it might be a while yet…
The USA has no official language. At least one state, New Mexico, has two official languages, Spanish and English (and a lot of really irritated Indians). All ballots, laws, and official government documents are printed in both languages. Doesn’t seem to bother anybody.
Annaliese–technically, NM has NO official language. But the original treaty handing the territory over to the US and the Constitution first drawn up for the state had some built in protections for Spanish speakers: a wise move considering how many former Mexican nationals were now suddenly US citizens.
The regulations requiring all documents be in both languages have to a certain degree expired (they had time limits) but in their place a protection for non- English speakers beyond Spanish has also grown up. Though granted, Spanish and English are the two languages election materials MUST be printed in, the NM Supreme court has affirmed this state policy:
“The Constitution says the right of any citizen to vote, hold office or serve on juries shall not be restricted by “inability to speak, read or write the English or Spanish languages.””
The New Mexico Supreme Court has ruled “we have a robust right to access, regardless of language skills,” and said potential jurors could not be disqualified just because they don’t speak English.
(The justices denied a request from Governor Susana Martinez, who was then District Attorney in LC, to overturn a Las Cruces judge’s ruling that non-English-speaking people could not be kept off juries. Yay!)
BUT this is my favourite ruling (because, yes, there have been various native peoples with good reason to be annoyed re language support):
In 2002, regarding Navajo native speakers, the Supreme Court ruled trials must be postponed when no interpreter is available for potential jurors who have difficulty speaking English.
Also, in 1989 the NM state Legislature in 1989 passed a nonbinding “English Plus” resolution, advocates the teaching of languages other than English and says proficiency in more than one language “is to the economic and cultural benefit of our state and the nation.”
There’s a great article in the Albuquerque Journal that was my primary source for this info:
http://www.abqjournal.com/208492/news/spanish-not-enshrined-as-official-nm-language.html
I knew Spanish wasn’t official, but was pretty sure English wasn’t either.
And she should teach her daughter about birth control.
Maybe that’s what happened, she got things all jumbled up telling her kids about the birds and the bees.
Ain’t that the truth!!! And I guess Trump is fluent in moron too.
Dumb as rocks
That was my comment exactly..
“YOU FIRST. Learn how to speak “American” properly so you don’t sound like a malfunctioning fembot”
*wipes tears of laughter*
Oh Kaiser, never change. In fact, Sarah Palin, never change, because trying to parse her ridiculous gibberish is like one of those brain-training games where you have the word “blue” written in green and you have to say the colour. It must be good for the neurons somehow.
“Tonight’s the night I shall be talking about of flu the subject of word association football. This is a technique out a living much used in the practice makes perfect of psychoanalysister and brother and one that has occupied piper the majority rule of my attention squad by the right number one two three four the last five years to the memory. It is quite remarkable baker charlie how much the miller’s son this so-called while you were out word association immigrants’ problems influences the manner from heaven in which we sleekit cowering timrous beasties all-American Speke, the famous explorer. And the really well that is surprising partner in crime is that a lot and his wife of the lions feeding time we may be c d e effectively quite unaware of the fact or fiction section of the Watford Public Library that we are even doing it is a far, far better thing that I do now then, now then, what’s going onward Christian Barnaard the famous hearty part of the lettuce now praise famous mental homes for loonies like me. So on the button, my contention causing all the headaches, is that unless we take into account of Monte Cristo in our thinking George the Fifth this phenomenon the other hand we shall not be able satisfact or fiction section of the Watford Public Library againily to understand to attention when I’m talking to you and stop laughing, about human nature, man’s psychological make-up some story the wife’ll believe and hence the very meaning of life itselfish bastard, I’ll kick him in the Ball’s Pond Road.”
It’s actually Monty Python, but if you didn’t know, it would just sound like a classic Sarah Palin word salad, wouldn’t it? And that IS alarming.
That is my favourite bit of Monty Python ever, ever ever.
“psychoanalysister and brother” – complete genius.
It can’t be pasted often enough!
“My hovercraft is full of eels in many languages.”
Best laugh of the day Sauvage. Brought back some lovely memories of Monty P. Eric Idle was always my favourite. Also, I used to live just around the corner from the Balls Pond Road, in Stoke Newington, but that was in my long ago salad days! (See what I did there)?
*psst* I also have a thing for Eric Idle ca. 40 years ago…
And poor Michael Palin….It must kill him to have to share his illustrious Monty Python-famous last name with Governor Quittypants. And he was my favorite too.
As for Sarah Palin…Oh for a truck load of tomatoes …. a good throwing arm.
I almost posted that I THINK I saw him on the streets of London once, and yet it never ocurred to me that they share the same family name, not even on this very post! LALALA…
EDIT: Now I kind of want them to be like sixth cousins removed or something, and I want another mini MP reunion for a sketch on how you cannot choose your relatives, the others making fun of Michael Palin (Jesus, he also shares his initials with the group, today is a day of revelations for Sauvage Scatterbrain…)
Eric Idle: You know this TV series on ancestry that they do in the US?
Terry Gilliam: You mean the one to reveal that Ben Affleck once owned slaves?
Eric Idle: Yes, the very one.
Terry Jones: Oh, I was on that show once. It revealed that I was married to Madonna. I sued them.
Michael Palin: Do you HAVE to tell the world why we split up?
Eric Idle: Stop it, you band of rascals! This is serious. The show revealed… No, I can’t say it.
John Cleese: Yes you can. It can’t be worse than MY ancestry!
Terry Jones: What about you ancestry?
John Cleese: I am second cousins with Tony Blair.
All of them: NOOOOO!
Eric Idle: I swear, my story is worse. I am Charles Manson’s stepson.
Terry Jones: That’s not an actual relation, you know.
Michael Palin: So what. I’m related to Sarah Palin of Denali.
All of them: HAHAHA!
@ Embertine : Yes, the malfunctioning fembot comment was just one symbol of the witty heights to which this website aspires to. AND THAT is why I keep coming back 🙂
Yes. And I liked “YOU FIRST” but I’m so basic.
The most shocking thing about this woman is that there are people who vote(d) for her. They must be even dumber than her and there are A LOT of them.
So, she favors independence for Puerto Rico? Or doesn’t she realize that they’re Americans too?
Puerto Rico is a territory of the United States but also has it’s own constitution. Citizens of PR, even with status as American citizens, are considered Puerto Rican. Puerto Rico has it’s own Olympic team, separate from the U.S. There is a rumor that Cuba would like to represent PR at the United Nations.
I think Sarah Palin meant that people who come to the United States and wish to claim all the benefits of citizenship should make an attempt to at least have the mindset of a citizen. It’s o.k. to hold on to one’s history but it is disrespectful to expect all the benefits but refuse to accept the culture. Speak American means speak with the mindset of an American. Not a Canadian or a Mexican or a German.
The United States has citizens who originated from every nation on earth and most learn the language and integrate. In order to become a citizen one must a lengthy background check, prove a reasonable handle on the language and pass a test most native born citizens would flunk. It is inexcusable to move to this country, especially by bypassing the legal method that millions of other hopefuls must endure, and demand to be accepted while expecting millions of people to bend to your will.
I understand this website has a leftist bent but sometimes, in an attempt to be funny, some posters really sound more obnoxious than the individuals they are attempting to mock.
I consider myself progressive and am a visitor to this site less and less, because the stories chosen are increasingly more political (or else politicized), the taglines are increasingly baiting and the comments section is increasingly offensive.
The conservative set certainly isn’t the sole domain of the narrow-minded, ignorant, stupid or hypocritical.
Jolene – you are so right. I’m glad I’m not the only one feeling that way. It’s a shame to see some of the knee-jerk responses here to various stories. It doesn’t seem like some people are being discerning or paying attention to nuance. Or even giving other human beings credit for being decent human beings even if you disagree with them politically. Or paint whole groups of people as bigots – note the irony.
Refuse to accept the culture? There is no one culture here in the US, one of the things that makes the country rich. If you qualify for and can pass the citizenship test, you can become a US citizen – no culture test required. There are groups here that are US citizens and live in relatively secluded communities, and no one is complaining about that just because they happen to be born here. I think your “culture” assimilation requirement ignores the enormous cultural differences that exist in this country. And I don’t think that’s what she meant anyway – I think she was complaining about people who don’t speak English fluently, which is absurd. Most countries have people who speak multiple languages, and that’s never a bad thing.Trump is immigrant bashing in the most simple terms, and she seems to be gleefully adding on.
You do realize that immigrant groups influenced American culture right?
Like, American culture is a mish mash of quite a few cultures and is not always the same in every state.
I am a born and bred NYer. My New York City culture is not the same as someone from a little town in Montana….so does that make one of us less American than the other?
How odd that you spend time on a site that bothers you so much. You have every right to, of course, but I wouldn’t waste my time if I felt the way you did.
Poor Alaska. Such a beautiful area and they’re stuck with her lowering the average IQ of the entire state.
Ha ha ha!
What exactly is “American ” language? Why is she still so popular?
She’s not, really. She’ll always have her fans–horny old Republcan men, and of course dumb teabaggers–but people have moved on from her. And I’m sure that drives her crazy.
But English isn’t the official language in the US, is ti? I think I read that somewhere.
You’re correct, Franca. The US has no official language.
And no official religion. So, don’t tell me what language to speak or what things to believe. Don’t impose on my freedom to practice my speech or to to understand that scientific fact TRUMPS religious beliefs.
(Not “you” literally. You know what I mean.)
That’s right – no religion, and the right to freedom FROM (government-imposed) religion not freedom OF religion (though the latter is possible due to the former).
Spanish was the first European language spoken in North America.
I’d like to know what the hell an “American” mindset is.
I imagine she’s attempting to refer to “American English”, which is the generally accepted language in the USA, as opposed to “British English”. There are some differences in spelling of certain words and different terms for certain things between the two. Generally American English speakers employ simpler phrasing and more direct statements than British English speakers, but that’s an effect of the myriad cultures that have come together to form America.
But yes, I believe Franca is right, we do not have an official language. This is because of America’s inclusionary nature (at least until recently it seems) and so there can be no outlawed language. No language can be made illegal to use.
Pretty sure Palin is just referring to the language of ‘Murica, as in the language of red blooded teabag flag waving white folks.
But you are right, American English is far superior than Britisherly English and should me made the official international language post haste.
Thanks, I’ve wondered about this as Canadian English seems to be a hybrid of the two, British and American (as in so many things). Even the newspaper articles are more indirect and I find myself wondering, “What exactly HAPPENED?” Things are a bit more formal as well as understated.
Side note : Noah Webster (re: the originator of the Webster’s Dictionary) started writing his dictionary in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s because he felt that Americans were always looking to the British for cultural leadership. So he wanted them to have a reference book that looked at the way Americans used the english language in a way that was distinct for America. But I don’t think this is what Palin means or if she even knows the background for the dictionary. Sigh.
Dictionary? She’s played Dictionary. It was lots of fun.
“Let’s speak American.” Sarah never lets me down.
I read something the other day:
Overheard at a grocery store by someone waiting in line behind a woman speaking on her cellphone in another language.
Man: I didn’t want to say anything while you were on the phone, but you’re in America now. You need to speak English.
Woman: Excuse me?
Man (very slowly): If you want to speak Mexican, go back to Mexico. In America, we speak English.
Woman: Sir, I was speaking in Navajo. If you insist on everybody speaking English, go back to England.
Oh wow.. great answer…
Yes I’ve seen memes like this ion Facebook pretty brilliant!
Brilliant response! As someone already mentioned, America has no official language.
There is a saying in Europe: if you speak three languages, you’re trilingual; if you speak two languages, you’re bilingual; if you speak one language, you’re American. Funny, but sad as well…
Honeybee Blues
Bigotry is sad – not the fact that most Americans aren’t multilingual. And bigotry is everywhere not just in America. America is an enormous country and unlike European nations we aren’t cheek to cheek with other languages and cultures. Americans don’t have as much access to other languages. Languages are taught in school but without immersion it is impossible to attain fluency. Many Americans are very interested in and fascinated by other languages. But without exposure, opportunity or the finances to travel it is difficult to become multilingual. Americans who ridicule those who don’t speak English are in the minority.
Nanea,
Fantastic story. That’s brilliant.
@Imo
That’s what frustrates me!!!! I babysat for this Finish woman who spoke four languages, simply because it was taught to her in school, starting in second grade. Where I went to school, they don’t start languages until you’re in high school. There’s only one school in the area that starts teaching Spanish in first grade. It’s ridic.
Vc
It is not doing us any favors, I tell you. Partly because so many people around the world are eager to learn English. Where is our incentive?
And speaking Mexican? Wow, yet ANOTHER new language. How do the linguists keep up?
Very impressive answer and of course the Navajo code-talkers were instrumental in aiding the military in WWII.
In the USA it seemed as if in upper-class schools, Chinese was taught for future making money and Spanish was taught for communicating with the help. : (
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
My first thought on reading this was Cher from Clueless:
“Lucy, you know I don’t speak Mexican!”
Most European countries require new arrivals to learn the local language as a condition of citizenship or, sometimes, residency. The idea that a country should have a single language with which to communicate isn’t all that weird.
It’s another thing to learn the country’s language in order to work and fit in easily and another thing to discriminate against a person if he speaks his first language. That’s what Sara Palin does.
I am european,I speak English (or American) and if I moved to America I wouldn’t be able to speak my country’s language at all?
I listen to NPR and when they interview average citizens of other counties who speak English, I pause in awe, wondering how many of our citizens can speak the languages of Syria, of Hungary, of China, etc. Many, like Sarah, can’t even speak proper ‘Murican.
To be fair I live in Europe and have lived in a few countries on Visas, and never once have been asked to learn the language. I did, but unfortunately local registries often times speak dialects which even when you learn a language formally, like German, the dialect is what will get you.
No, it’s not weird at all. The difference is that those countries want people to speak a language that actually exists and also know the correct name of it.
Discrimination is never okay but I have been treated very rudely when I venture into an establishment in NYC where English is barely spoken. There is a deference for other customers who do speak that particular language and the lack of knowledge becomes a tool with which to judge/patronize.
I’ve never mistreated a non-English speaking American but I’ve observed the ridicule they sometimes receive. They must feel 95% of the time how I’ve felt maybe 1% of the time when a lack of proficiency is apparent. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
Not saying this is the case, but did the French used to have a reputation for being a bit, um, superior to those who didn’t speak French?
In Europe you do have to pass a basic language test to become a citizen and get a passport etc but you dont have to speak the language to live here. Its obviously helpful but its not a requirement.
Canadian immigration requires fluency in English OR French (or both), as the country is officially bilingual. Though of course Francophones are primarily (though not exclusively) in Quebec and Anglophones are most other places, so it depends on where people go. French immersion schools are now the rage. It’s cool to hear politicians alternate between English and French whilst campaigning. They’re expected to speak well in both.
Who – my best friend’s daughter is starting school tomorrow in French immersion (in Alberta). I am so excited for her! My French is pitiful (although my husband is mostly fluent in it).
In the United States, you also need to be able to speak and read English to pass the citizenship test. You don’t need to speak English to be a resident, and while that practice may differ elsewhere, it’s our tradition to gradually assimilate immigrants. Moreover, I don’t think there are many European countries that require only their native language be spoken within their borders – or at least I’ve never been asked to leave when visiting despite only knowing English!
The difference is that English and Spanish are both native languages in the US or both are not. Depends on how far back you look. Both languages came from Europe with the colonisation. Southern parts like California were occupied by the Spanish, eastern parts by the British. The US is a huge country and with its history it seems pretty normal to me to have several languages.
As for immigrants or people with long-term visas, I think they should make an effort to learn the language. I always do. But everyone should remember how difficult it is to learn a new language.
What must be remembered is that 2nd generation rapidly becomes English speaking, and 1st-generation parents are often too busy laboring to make ends meet to get even to night school.
There’s also a gendered component to it. Adults who work outside the home will often pick up at least some English, but there’s often a mother a grandmother in a family who’s primarily responsible for household tasks and childcare. She has less opportunity and incentive to learn English than her family members, but her efforts are part of what allows the younger people in the family to thrive.
Learning a country’s common language is an understandable and pragmatic expectation. Discriminating against people who struggle to acquire fluency (English is a bitch of a language to learn) or implying that their American citizenship is less valid or non-existent for it is not. Jeb Bush talking to his Hispanic base in Spanish isn’t anti-American – it’s being sensibly empathetic. You can be passable in a language and still have difficulty with the nuances in translation simply because it’s not your first language.
What amazes me is that this woman still has a platform to speak from, and that the media continues to support it. I think that says more about us than her.
THANK YOU. I can’t even tell you how much I loathe CNN right now for putting this woman back on television. I really thought I’d never have to hear from her again after FOX dumped her.
I saw the interview Sunday morning on CNN. Both Daddy and I were taking bets on how long Jake Tapper could continue his interview with Palin without cracking up. Tapper’s crumbling gravitas was the only redeeming aspect of the ten minutes of my life I’ll never get back again. For shame, CNN (and shame on me, too.)
I agree. Such a waste of space, this woman.
SMCOLLINS x eleventy billion!
She’s like an irradiated cockroach – she just does NOT go away! Why oh why do people keep covering her?
Ratings. Ad revenue. Craven irresponsibility.
I just read the title… What is American language??? Is it a new language I never heard of before?? I suppose it’s like Brazilian or Mexican?? Maybe Canadian??
*shakes head… so much ignorance in just 3 tiny words…*
American language ?
Actually, I always have to emphasize to clients that I can translate only into US English. There are real differences between the different flavors of English, and translators typically specify which flavors they can handle (US, Canadian, UK, Australian, etc.). I personally know two translators who offer translation services between UK and U.S. English. It’s not just a matter of choosing a different spellchecker, as I patiently have to remind project managers. There are grammatical differences (e.g., in the use of prepositions) and big differences in punctuation as well as general vocabulary.. I Americanized a short e-book for a British colleague and offered to give him a big bucket of commas. I feel out of breath just reading UK English… Fortunately, scientists generally have a passive knowledge of the other flavors of English and so it doesn’t really matter which one is used in my usual work. But for business, legal, marketing, general translation it is crucial to get the right one. The same is true for other languages. I’ve been asked to back-translate (for quality control) patient information labeled as Puerto Rican Spanish, Argentinian Spanish, etc. for international clinical trials, for instance.
Anyway, many countries have more than one official language. Money spent dealing with the different languages is certainly a better use of resources than bombs and missiles and nuclear weapons and military bases all over the world and a huge standing military. We actually almost ended up with German in the 1700s, because there were so many German speakers in the colonies. Spanish is a good second language for US citizens because so many of us already speak it at home and so many of our direct neighbors speak it.
But a sizable number of Americans actively dislike the idea of politicians and others being fluent in a language other than English. President George W. Bush mocked a US reporter who asked his French counterpart (during his visit to France) on the stage a question in French. This baffled my European colleagues, but we had to explain that Bush was playing to the folks back home, many of whom felt speaking anything but English was “putting on airs”, acting superior, etc. unless talking in broken Spanish to give orders to your workers… Bush’s opponent in a Presidential election was smeared for being fluent in French. Obama likewise has been smeared for actually spending time in schools outside the U.S. when he was a child, although he has been wise enough to not mention any linguistic skills he may have acquired. I think it’s part of the prevalent anti-intellectualism here- kids often learn to hide their intelligence and abilities pretty early in our schools.
UK English is dumb. Way too many U’s and they don’t even know how to spell donut right.
Donut even start with me mimif.
It’s doughnut mimif.. 😀
I just croissant with you guys today.
Humm.. croissants.. speaking of food (I just had lunch), the apfel struddel is calling for me.. Just a tiny slice…
DOUGHNUT. It’s the new HODOR.
jwoolman – same here (when editing rather than translating). You offer up bucketloads of commas, while I add in bucketloads of prepositions – it’s a couple OF dozens, Yankers, not a couple dozen – and spend hours removing full stops (not periods) after initials and abbreviations. We in Britland dropped those years ago.
If I had to choose between several candidates I liked/disliked equally and one was bilingual, I admit I would choose the bilingual one. Not that s/he would necessarily end up being a better president or a kinder person, but to me a bilingual education shows someone that is more likely to have a better understanding of our culture and other culture(s) and how they can relate to each other. Also, (in my mind) such a person would be better able to avoid missteps in international relations, which are extremely important to the nation’s well-being whether it is popular to say that or not.
So very true. I read many UK English novels, and the differences between UK English and US English are marked. So yes, you could say ‘American’ as well as you could say ‘Australian’. But certainly not in the snotty patronizing way that is is said and used by Palin.
I got a new pair of glasses once, and styled my hair straigh’ish just for fun. To my horror, I looked just like Sarah Palin (I also have a square jaw and we are about the same age). I couldn’t redo my hair and makeup fast enough.
Thank you! Your comment totally explained why I always get confused while writing in English. Canadian English is such a mix of British and American English that I’m never sure about which rules I should follow (should I use a “z” or a “s”? With or without a “u”? Doughnut or donut?). The fact that there isn’t a big emphasis on grammar in school (at least in ESL) doesn’t help learning which rules to abide to. People tend to say that French is difficult (and it is, I guess: so many rules that don’t seem to make sense), but at least the same rules apply everywhere.
That being said, Palin’s comment is ridiculous but not very surprising considering how she seems proud to be uneducated.
I’m definitely not a professional, but as an Aussie, I’ve often found myself clearing up confusion on random internet sites by translating Yank into Pom and vice-versa.
Unfortunately, I spend so much time on the internet – where spelling and punctuation is predominantly American (or just plain BAD) – that I’m losing my grip on the correct Aussie way to do it.
@ Crumpet – don’t feel *too* bad … objectively speaking, Palin really is quite pretty. I’m sure any negative connotations would be dispelled once you opened your mouth.
And yet Sixer, don’t Brits go to hospital, not THE hospital? It’s confusing when a language decides to add words here or drop words there.
There has been quite a bit of academic research around the cognitive benefits of multilingualism, as well. Critical thinking, empathy, multidimensional thinking and perspectives are some of the areas that benefit from exposure to another language. It’s a super interesting field of study.
That’s such a shame, in Portugal, students must learn (yes MUST), a minimum of 2 foreign languages. Br English is compulsory at the age of 8, then, at 12, they choose another from Spanish, German or French. In high school, they can choose a 3rd language (add to the French, German and Spanish, the Mandarin) or continue with one of the previous 2.
By the time you graduate from high school, you have to speak 3 languages, Portuguese and 2 foreign ones, English and another, at least..
In School, I had English, German and French, at University I also learnt Spanish and Italian (though Italian was just for 2 years)..
In Croatia one foreign language is compulsory from the age of 7, but most kids learn 2, and then in most high schools you have to learn at least two ( and Latin, but not conversational). I think around 80% of the people speak at least one foreign language ( which isn’t that much but older generations are the ones that don’t speak foreign languages). Pretty much everyone under 50 speaks English. I speak English and German and just started learning Spanish. It does help that most of the films and series on our TV are foreign.
To my fellow Europans, how do you pronounce English? Because here, in schools we learn British English, so I spell most things the British way, but most of the English in the media is American so we say things the american way. But I’ve noticed that people from Scandinavia tend to have a British accent.
Here it depends on the teacher you have at school, I teach Br accent to my students, but some colleagues have more difficulty and end up mixing Br and Am accent, which is funny though…
In the United States, states set their own bare minimum requirements for graduation and the states allow the cities and towns to run their own schools. The bare minimums can be extremely low, such as one year of US history, two years of mathematics of some sort, and four years of English. The study of a language other than English is not required. Some school districts offer other languages but that can be extremely limited as language studies are not valued in this country. Colleges used to require that an applicant have studied a foreign language for at least two years but that is no longer a requirement or they count computer languages.
One year History, 2 Maths and 4 English? Ok, that’s terrible…
In Portugal kids undergo a lot to graduate. In Primary school, you have Maths, Portuguese, Arts, English 3rd and 4th graders), PE, Study of the Environment (it comprises Sciences, Geography, History etc)
At the end, you have Maths and Portuguese national exams,
In 5th and 6th grades, you’ll have music, PE, Geography, History, Portuguese, English, Arts, Sciences (Painting and Drawing), Computers, and other optionals… 2 more exams- Port. and Maths.
7th to 9th grade- Port ( Language and Lit), English, 2nd Foreign Lang, History, Geography, Sciences, Physics, Chemistry, Arts, PE, Computer, Music and other optionals – At the end of the 9th grade, Portuguese English and Maths national exams..
High School is divided in professional courses and regular ones. The professional courses, well you’re studying to be a mechanic, electrician, technician of some sort, so it depends.
Regular courses: divided in 4 areas: Human Sciences, Scientific Sciences, Arts or Physical Ed.
All have Portuguese (language and Lit 3 years), Philosophy (2 years), PE (3 years), foreign Language – 2 more years.. The rest of the subjects depend on the area chosen- 2nd Foreign Languages, Geometrical Drawing, Anatomy, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Geology,etc,..
National exams to all subjects in 11th and 12th grades..
Let’s imagine you chose Sciences: National exams: Pt, Philosophy, English (or other language) – these 2 years , Maths (3 years) Chemistry (3 years) Physics (3 years) and so on…
There is standardized testing now but it is in the core subjects. Sciences, languages, more in-depth history are all electives.
In Alabama they’re still bitching about Common Core. You know, those damn Feds, blah, blah, blah. As if AL kids need to be less educated than those from Connecticut or Minnesota.
My uncle said many decades ago that US schools should teach Mandarin just because it was so different from English, so it would help develop a more flexible brain. This was before it was clear that Mandarin would be useful for other reasons.
Many years ago, I read about an elementary school in the US that experimented with teaching regular school subjects in three different languages: English, Spanish, and Vietnamese if I recall correctly. They chose these because there were large enough numbers of families that spoke those languages at home, which also meant they could find teachers capable of teaching in those languages. I can’t remember the details, but they did say they found that the kids were able to easily transfer what they learned in one language to another one. These were kids young enough to still be little language-learning machines.
One reason so many Americans are monolingual, though, is that many live in areas of the country where you can travel large distances without ever running into anybody but native English speakers. This is why schools haven’t emphasized languages, I think. The situation is different in many big cities. But there has also traditionally been the push for the children of immigrants to learn English and to abandon their parents’ original language. Part of that was because the parents wanted their kids to fit in with the natives as quickly as possible. But schools thought using two languages would confuse the kids. A teacher told a man we knew in the 1950s that he and his wife needed to speak only English at home – their kids had been trilingual, since one parent was Dutch and the other was German. A friend of mine in college was unhappy that her grandparents had followed the same stupid advice and her parents deprived her of the opportunity to learn Italian and Ukrainian as a child (her grandparents’ native languages that her parents could speak but didn’t with her).
@jwoolman, I travel 23 km (15 miles) and I’m in a different country having to speak a different language… My dad grew up in Mozambique, he speaks English, French and Italian, as many of his school friends/neighbours were british, french or italian, and he taught me when I was 5/ 6 years old. Plus Spain is just 10 minutes away, so I ended up learning it too at 5… That idea that kids get confused is totally false. Kids have an amazing ability to learn languages and the sooner, the better. I spoke Spanish perfectly without learning it at school, no need for grammar rules or anything of the sort. Only learnt the rules already as an adult…
@ Franca RE accents: I’m an Aussie, and I don’t think non-native English speakers sound either British or American. I just can’t hear that over their native accent. To my ear, they sound Slavic, Scandinavian, Asian etc. Admittedly, I suck at accents, which is why I can’t pick out specific countries.
What I have noticed is that the Germanic-language based accents sound much lighter than the Latin or Asian accents. A Swede who’s been in the country for a year or two will have a slight accent while an Italian who’s been here 20 years will still have a heavy accent. (Which makes a lot of sense, since English is Germanic.)
It depends on the phonetic system of the language. The Portuguese do tend to pick up accents well (when they learn the language correctly) because there are over 50 different sounds just in the vowels and diphtongs.
Don’t ask a Spanish to speak English, I beg you, I cringe… They say things like “Lobe mee” .. yes.. They’ll say love as earlobe…. or my favourite “éspeedérman” – spiderman… Gotta love them.. Thaught English to Spanish, one of the girls, throughout the whole year, I couldn’t understand a damn word…
I didn’t mean we sound completey British or American, you can hear a Slavic accent ( althought we don’t sound the way the Russians sound when spaking English), but he pronunciation itself – like, we say “can’t” the way you would say Kent, rather than with a long a.
I definitely speak fluent Britisher.
“Crumpets! Blimey! Colour-with-a-U!!!”
“Cheers!”
Where’s Kiddo? Sixercan is her 2nd language.
Sixer, I’m a naturalised “frog” originally from the U.S. and people have always made me feel bad for my Yank accent. They say the British one is so much easier to understand. Even my son gives me a hard time when I want him to make efforts with English.
There are, of course, differences to how English speakers say/word things depending on country of origin but it does often get on my nerves when I get told that I speak “American”, not “English”.
It’s true, your consonants are much softer than ours and your vowels are much more similar, which makes it harder to understand in other languages. Also for people for whom English is their second language; the American accent is easier to learn, but the English is easier to understand.
(Apparently)
You can divide Mr Sixer’s Danish friends into two: those who have gone with an American accent in English and those who have gone with a British one. I gotsta say, for some reason I can’t quite put a finger on, those who went with British sound better to me.
I love all regional accents though – British and American (and Australian, and Canadian, etc etc). The more variety, the better.
Me too, Sixer. A Georgia accent (state, not country) makes me come over all swoony. I kid around, but actually I am fascinated by accents and generally think they’re all gorgeous.
I also speak Britisher so that’s two of us… You double the consonants, you write neighbourhood, realiZe and so on… 🙂
@Joaneu, but Yank is also English, no? 😀
DOUGHNUT!
Cheeze and pickle zandwich!
Bubbles and Squeak!
Much Wenlock! Scunthorpe! Acock’s Green!
Whoa, you went next level, frisbee.
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
(My maternal heritage is Welsh).
Fantastic! I actually knew a ‘Murican guy who said to my English friend, and I quote, “Oh you’re English? My family is from Welsh”.
I just knew you’d do that Sixer – I sometimes think I’m just Bob to your Vic basically.
@ Mimif – you’ll love this
http://www.anglotopia.net/ultimate-list-of-funny-british-place-names/
Oh, well, if we’re going to go Vic and Bob, let’s talk potatoes.
If you want to know what is wrong from right
You must listen to what potato say
Do be good, don’t be bad
Thank you baked potato.
We NEVER thank tomaaaaaaaaatoes like that, do we?
Ha! I’d forgotten how brilliant that was, I’m going to be giggling like a maniac all afternoon now.
I’m feeling right at home here today. I used to live in Much Wenlock. And I’ll be driving past Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch later this week. Small world.
@Sixer: How is that pronounced??
Coc y gath, Colleen! You want blood!
Llanvirepoollgoowingillgogerhyouqueerndroboollllanduslleeohgogogoch.
The double LLs are pronounced with a kind of CH sound in them. No idea how to type it.
Double LLs in Welsh: hiss (aspirate) a wet ‘h’ sound AS you are almost glottal stopping your tongue to your palate to hit the ‘el’ sound. Tongue roll dismount is optional.
Many many pints in Conwy pubs acquired to me this knowledge. 🙂
My grandparents spoke fluent Britisher. I understand it. I speak fluent Bostonian. I have serious difficulty understanding Palin.
Beans! You still sound Britishery to me.
Because Bostonian isn’t too far removed from Britisher, with a heavy influence of the Irisher.
So basically you like your toast done on one side.
Lilacflowers- my mother grew up in a town with a huge Irish-American population. Even generations removed from the Old Country, people from mainly Irish neighborhoods had a definite bit of Irish brogue in their English. My uncle said his Irish neighborhood was right next to a Polish neighborhood. The Polish kids often spoke Polish at home but English on the street – with an Irish brogue, of course!
@jwoolman, you just described the Andrew Square region of South Boston/Dorchester.
I’m from NH, but now live in the south. When I go to my kids’ school to help out they ask if I’m British! My kids sound slightly southern and have picked up a few verbal habits that drive me crazy- like dropping the “ly” off adverbs (“Do this quick!”) and pronouncing “aunt” as “ant.”
Sorry ’bout that aunt/ant. I say ant also. It’s the way I was brung up.
Let’s have the fall/autumn argument now too, that one is always fun.
Don’t forget the football / soccer argument…
I think we should have the Craig argument.
It rhymes with vague, not beg. So there.
@Sixer who says “Creg”?
*looking bewildered…*
Americans say Creg!
As Molesworth would say, any fule no its Crayg.
Eric and Eerk I mean come on Eerk!
OOH! That’s a new one on me. Yanker-types say Erk? I have a great uncle called Eric. He shall be known henceforth as Erk.
Apricot/apricot and vase/vase. Long a all the way.
I’m bilingual Amerglish and in my neck of the woods, we say Eric. No Erks here!!
I have a stupid question (since we’re talking about accent). Apple (the computer brand) how is it correctly pronounced?
Portuguese tend to say “eippel” and it drives me insane because neither the British nor the American pronounce “ei” in the fruit… I think the mistake comes from the name of the letter “a”…
Not a stupid question at all.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/pronunciation/english/apple
Notice ‘Murica pronounces it the right way. 😉
I keep correcting people here because for some weird reason they think it’s “eipel”… LOL… It’s the same with pull and bear (clothes).. People here say pull and beer… Drives me up the walls… thanks mimif…
May I just clarify that in some parts of the US, the part in which I live, the term “Yankee” or “Yanks” refers to a hated baseball rival, not the inhabitants of the US or people in a region of the US.
Wait, what?
SIXER!! What ‘Muricans say ‘Creg’? Cause I’ve never met any. Roger Craig (CRAYG), Craigslist (CRAYG’s list), I could go on, but I’m seriously curious. Now, if you were talking GREG (as in Bundy or Brady), then, yes, it rhymes with Creg.
(Snuffles around in bottom of comma bucket to ensure they’ve all been used up.)
I do suspect those of us who speak Britisher are a bit more fluent with the swear words – the placement of ‘bloody’ in a sentence is important and easy to get wrong.
Exasperated bloody = ‘Oh Ha! bloody Ha!’
Annoyed (or mad) bloody – ‘Oh no you bloody well won’t you shyte’
Dismissive or disbelieving bloody ‘yeah that’s really bloody likely innit’
and so on and so forth.
We also tend to make new swear words up when the existing one’s just won’t cover it, ‘gobshiteshitbag- for example where we take existing words and string them all together in one seamless whole. I understand German’s also do this but we only seem to do it with swear words.
For advanced examples of fine British ranting at an elevated level of exasperation I refer you to Sixer’s previous posts – particularly those involving the BRF/the Eton mafia with specific emphasis on the Cumberbatch/missing out on a ‘bloke’ post et al
What the bloody hell are you prattling on about?
Me? I never swear. I simply hark back to the golden days pre-1066 when we spoke proper bloody ANGLO SAXON. All the good words come from there. Even Cnut. The swear word, not the last Viking king.
(I’m making it up as I go along. OBVS.)
New word learnt today: prattle – derives from the Middle Low German “pratelen”…
Solancaea – you will love this website: http://www.etymonline.com.
Finally someone brings up German! The one true language.
Sigh. I can’t believe Kiddo is missing out on this glorious day at CB…
*furiously tries to remember how to swear in German*
@ Sixer as an Anglo Saxon/Norman (i.e basically Danish) I would also argue passionately that I am just speaking in my native tongues – all the time and with some fluency.
@ mimif ‘fick dich’ (not you obviously) sounds oddly familiar? There’s a whole website full of German Swear words from Chromlea Language Tutor. I won’t link it, the last time I linked a sweary Malcolm Tucker desktop background it got taken down really quickly – can’t think why!
Well, swearing in German is easy.. Try Scheisse
Thanks Sixer… 🙂
Frisbee – there’s an old northern insult for a moany person – gnashgab. I love that one!
Sixer – in the Black Country a simple term of endearment for men and women is ‘cock’ nothing else, just ‘cock’… as in ‘aer bin ya cock’ – transl: How have you been dear?
@ mimif double extra points for placing the bloody perfectly!
I said it before and I say it again – for elaborate swearing ask a Slavic person – we use full sentences and invoke God, Jesus, saints, family members and a wide range of domestic animals.
Can I just say, frisbee – and everyone else on here so gloriously messing about with cultural differences today – THANK YOU. It’s taken my mind off Dishface (that’s our Prime Minister) coming back to Parliament today. And I needed my mind diverting from him!
Sixer, if my dad were still here (although I suspect he’d like Cameron – sorry!) he’d say “Back in your cheese, maggot!”
@Franca, so do we in Mexican Spanish. Our swearing can go for days, and also depending in the tone and context, almost every word can be an insult and insults can mean something positive.
We also have our very own “albur” mode of speaking, which is basically that everything you are saying at that point has a double connotation, most usually a sexual one.
@Sixer, that it what our LabOr Day is for; cussing and messing about eating cider donuts and drinking til we forget about the maggots in the cheese!
We dance round maypoles on May Day!
PAGAN
No fan of Jeb, but he certainly seems far more intelligent than his brother. I thought speaking Spanish was a smart way to contrast his candidacy against Trump and the other clown car passengers. He needs to start doing things to stand out–they all do.
I was just listening to a Fresh Air episode where they talked about Trump’s overwhelming popularity with white nationalists. Also, Trump has support from the largest NeoNazi organization in the US, which is a big deal because up until now, they had never publicly endorsed a presidential candidate. Sadly, Trump’s hate speech is really resonating with a faction of the population.
No comment about this irrelevant hillbilly.
I was listening to Backspin on sat radio the other day, and so help me one of the DJ’s was (seriously) commenting on Trump’s “charming personality” and how “everyone loves him for speaking his mind”. I kept waiting for the punchline but it never came, and I am now officially genuinely scared that this fool has a legit chance at office. *pounds mimosa*
I guess if you’re a NeoNazi your definition of “charming” could be a bit….skewed.
But…but Backspin is the old school hip-hop channel. 😖
Well.. Between him and Kanye I’d start packing if I was you!
Come to my place! It’s nice and full of oranges for your mimosas.
The chicken has laid an egg!
Not a Bush family fan myself but I have to say that Jeb is refreshingly different from Dunce W.
No, Jeb is really not intelligent. He may be marginally smarter than his brother, but that’s no compliment. If you listen to Jeb on the campaign trail he can barely put his thoughts together. He spoke to a group of people about healthcare and it was as much of a word salad as anything Palin says.
I was surprised because I’d always heard the family line about how he was “the smart one.”
Well……in that family.
Perhaps the drugs he sold while in high school affected his brain.
There’s a connection, because Trump said he would like Sarah to be a cabinet member because she has “a lot to say and an incredible following.” So yeah, another reason not to vote for Trump, as if you needed one.
“Sarah Palin sez werd saladz.” There, that’s a better headline, isn’t it?
Re: Jeb Bush – marginally smarter than W in most areas, but one thing he got good at as gub’ner was disaster prep and recovery. If W had asked his brother to step in and help manage Katrina, New Orleans might not have been quite as disastrous.
Also, I speak fluent Pig Latin. Iz I as smart as Sarah Palin now?
Sorry, that woman just brings out the worst in me.
Ouyay are martersay anthay erhay. Ithoutway a oubtday.
luharebay
Kitten, I heard that episode as well. There are a lot of people who buy into Trump’s bigotry masked as non-politically correct speech. That an over-grown bully has a real shot at POTUS, is a scary thought indeed.
Beneath the dumb is the bigotry…the implication is that most or all Spanish-speaking Americans are undocumented laborers.
Great point. No one complains about people speaking French, German, Russian or whatnot in public. But Spanish, Hindi, Arabic, any of those ‘brown’ languages? ‘Speak American’ is a dog whistle for ‘speak white.’
Great point!
I was going to ask that exactly. Here, when some hear indigenous people speaking their native languages they are looked down and asked to speak proper Spanish. But no one has a problem with French or English, and it’s actually considered sexy and alluring. Sigh.
Well, in good old England you can speak Spanish as much as you like, but a Slavic language? Now that’s problematic. Poor Nigel Farage can’t hear English on the tube anymore.
People have a problem with the language of immigrants they don’t want.
@Bae – really? my experience in England was quite different. Im perfectly fluent in English but my accent is quite Balkan and noticeable but I never had problems with it and I never felt I was looked down cause of it. I was on student exchange program so maybe that was that, I wasn´t there to stay. For some reason guys found it sexy which would always made me laugh cause I sounded horrible to myself
I speak fluid STFU.
Ha!
Oh wow!!
I feel so much better about myself today because I don’t only speak italian, spanish and english, I also speak fluent australian, new zealander, canadian, south african, irish, welsh, scottish and AMERICAN!
Sorry ladies but I’m that great.
You are fairly spectacular. HODOR!
Hodor ha fatto l’uovo!
HA!
Me too, oh wait, i speak all those you’ve said, plus Portuguese, Brazilian, Angolander? «, Mozambican, East Timorese, St. Thomas and Prince, Cape Verdian, “Goan”, “Macauen”…
Don’t forget, as we also speak Spanish, it’s also, Venezuelan, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc…
Man, so many languages that I speak…I’m amazing..
I don’t know how our brains cope. I mean.. we’re pretty spectacular!
Kudos for us… Ciao bella..
I speak enviously. I know one language and that’s it. Murican.
You also speak italish mimif. ANd that makes me very proud.
I genuflect before sola and paola. Well done, ladies.
WunWun!
THUNDERBUNS. Oh, wait…I got ahead of myself.
Wow, you ARE great! I only speak ‘Murican and Texan.
I speak fluent Texan and immigrant. 18 years as an immigration lawyer in Texas have NOT gone to waste!
It’s so sad to say this, but if Sarah wasn’t attractive, we’d never hear from her again.
She’s considered attractive?
I honestly think she looks like a porn star playing a politician. Like any minute, she is going to grab the Pizza Man or a “pole-ster” and BOOM CHICKA POW POW”….
As a librarian it always burned me to hear her described as “an attractive librarian” during the ’08 campaign.
@kri
Well, there IS a porn parody of her political campaign and the actress who played }Sarah did look a lot like her, lol.
I can’t look at Caitlyn Jenner without thinking of Sarah Palin.
The actresses name is Lisa Ann. With the correct hair and makeup, it’s almost scary how much she looks like Palin.
Do not ask why I know that.
Maybe all that makeup and hair dye she uses is sinking into her brain and causing further damage.
But learning to speak American is so easy, that even kids learn to do it! lol … http://dandygoat.com/speaking-american-so-easy-even-toddlers-learn-to-do-it-palin-says
LOL…
Ha ha. My father told us that corny joke decades ago, except he was telling us we should have no trouble learning French because it was so easy, even little kids spoke it (in France…).
Nice going, malfunctioning moron. You’ve just insulted your entire family. Wonder what Todd’s reaction is to these statements. Let us not forget that Todd’s grandmother was 100% Native Alaskan. So by being 4 yrs. old, you’ve pissed on Todd’s family and your own children. Alienating Hispanics everywhere. Props to the person who mentioned PR. Does this jerkstain realize that San Juan is the oldest city we’ve got?
Palin is a dirty gussaq with no teq. 😉
She doesn’t realize that Africa is a continent, not a country, and you expect her to know American history from more than 500 years ago involving explorers who spoke Spanish?
LOL true but just to be fare, there is a large part of the population that thinks Africa is a country ! Americans, in general, are not good with geography. I blame it on the school system.
I blame it on the parents who cut funding for schools because they don’t want to pay taxes and consider supporting the local football team more important than teaching their kids how to read a map.
“Sarah you ignorant slut” (said in Dan Akroyd voice from SNL Point-Counterpoint sketch)….so in one fell swoop she has negated the approximately 1,000 native American languages spoken prior to European colonization….and she also thinks North Korea is our ally. And she gets put on CNN to voice these gems of intelligence….
*Shakes head and goes to put Bailey’s in coffee*
*Sidles up to Jaded.* Pour a little in mine too would you?
@I Choose Me – any time darlin’, there’s nothing like a little taste of the good stuff in your coffee to start your day, especially when it starts with Palin idiocy 🙂
My cousin’s wife just sent the whole, rather large, extended family an email telling us how Palin is so right about this. Of course, the email contains multiple grammatical errors. Oh wait, my bad. I’m reading it as if it were written in English, not American. Much better now.
@Lilac sweety, would you like a mimosa? I can make one for you….
Thank you, but Colin just handed me a pitcher of them. And some cinnamon rolls.
I’ll be over immediately.
@mimif, Colin delivers.
That’s what she said.
May I point out the whopping flaw in her last statement? Canada is unified with English/French and Switzerland is managing just fine with 3 official languages. This one is good for only fodder. I think she suffers from limited executive functioning. Logic is just lost on her. Word salad, indeed. Sign of a psychopath.
Canada has passed a new law making it a requirement that anyone seeking citizenship or permanent residency be able to speak, read, and write English. The Canadian government no longer wants to spend money on programs to help new comers learn English. It is costing the tax payers a lot of money. On the other hand, Palin is a moron and needs to educate herself. There is no such thing as “American Language”.
It’s not just English. It’s either English OR French: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=567&t=5
Oops sorry I neglected to mention French. It is Canada’s second language. However, I don’t understand this rule because there are many places in Canada where French is not spoken (mainly outside of Quebec). So why is it ok for those immigrants to not know English? I don’t get it. Not all immigrants who only speak French will live in Quebec.
@word There are over 200 languages spoken in Canada, in some capacity !
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-314-x/98-314-x2011001-eng.cfm
In my experience working with immigrants, people whose first language is French tend to immigrate to Quebec or French speaking communities elsewhere in Canada (though of course not all do). Immigrants learn the common language of the community in which they settle because it’s in their direct economic interest to do so.
Canada doesn’t know how to talk American properly either. We should totally build a wall between them and the States. #soorynotsoory
@ Prairiegirl
Yup, I know there are over 200 languages spoken in Canada. I’m an Immigrant myself and moved to Canada as a child.
@ mimif
Ha ha ! Trust me most Canadians wouldn’t mind a wall between Canada and the US. We don’t really like being associated with you guys ! J/K !
Quebec has its own immigration policies. An immigrant who wishes to settle in Quebec may get its permanent residency faster if he/she can show proficiency in French. Of course, there are classes available for others (although, thanks to budget cuts in the education system, it’s likely much harder to get access to those), but knowing French (which is not Canada’s 2nd language, English and French are equals as this is a officially bilingual country, with uniligual provinces) will definitely help.
Well, I could manage English and French, more or less. Would that help get me in? At one point years ago I was tempted to smuggle myself and the cats into Canada and hold up a sign on the street, “American Refugee, Will Work for Healthcare”. A Canadian friend thought it might be worth a shot.
@ Arpeggi
Yes, French and English are equal in Canada (for the most part)…but in Quebec I believe French is number one? Aren’t the street signs, and everything else in French? Correct me if I’m wrong.
@ jwoolman – lol worth a try ! I mean Canada’s population is low. Canada needs more people living in the “middle” which means Saskatchewan or somewhere near there. You up for it? The thing is all new immigrants scamper to Toronto and Vancouver…those places are already overflowing. But that’s where the opportunities are. I remember in Toronto there being signs in Cantonese (I believe) at the Home Depot and Wal-Mart. This was in Markham, were there is a high percentage of Asians.
@word
Which is why I said bilingual country with uniligual provinces. The only officially bilingual province in New-Brunswick, everywhere else is either officially English or French. Street signs are in French, just like there are in English everywhere else because it make sense (and despite what a silly person said recently, I don’t think it ever confused anyone). I do wish Montreal was a bit more bilingual in its public transports, would it be only for the tourists’ sakes, but other than that I think it works fine. But when it come to immigration, I think that the law goes for proficiency of either English or French (because bilingualism, and a big + for French if in Qc). It’s silly to expect all immigrants to already know the language though, I’d much rather spend my tax money on language schools for immigrant and refugees than on weapons or the Senate…
@jwoolman:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/eligibility.asp
🙂
Come one, come all. But bring a sweater.
Most Canadians do fine anywhere in the country. Yes, Quebec is the only one that the signs are in French before English however if you grew up in Canada you most likely be able to read both, even just the basics. Odds are good that at some point in your like you have been reading the French side of the cereal box and understood it without realizing it. I have spent a fair amount of time in Quebec and have never had a problem, they realize that my butchering of their language is a clear sign that I don’t speak it and switch to English right away.
Here is some info on Quebec French:
Official language in:
Quebec
New Brunswick
Recognized minority language in:
Maine
New Hampshire
New York
Ontario
Vermont
Palin also had this to say about energy: “I think a lot about the Department of Energy, because energy is my baby, oil and gas and minerals, those things that God has dumped on this part of the Earth for mankind’s use, instead of relying on unfriendly foreign nations for us to import their resources,”
She’s so predictable. God – check, Man’s dominion over earth – check, Foreigners are bad – check.
She’s such an ignorant beyotch.
My goodness. My first language is Spanish, I live in the South. Sometimes is terrifying to speak Spanish in public due to the dirty looks you get from the Trump and Palin supporters.. The ones who get on their trucks and have confederate flags as bumper stickers and want their “America back” you know, the 1950s. Once a few years ago, a classmate of mine in college who fits the above description, argued with me that I spoke Latin. When I told her that no, I do not, she called me a liar and told me “of course you speak Latin, you are Mexican” I just laughed at that point.
Latin?? Lol…
Latin?! Oh FFS.
There is no official language of the US.
And while I think you should do your best to learn English if you live here, I don’t expect you to not speak your native languages, especially in public. I live in an area of the Midwest where we have more of a Spanish speaking population than we’ve ever had and I think it bothers people that they’ll speak Spanish to each other. In public. The horror! Having grown up in Chicago, and lived in LA, hearing languages other than English isn’t new to me, in fact I like it and am envious, since I’m sadly pretty much monolingual.
And I’m presuming that English First! people would never go to a non-English speaking country for an extended period of time and not speak English to each other.
Spanish evolved from Latin correct? Your classmate was trying to be clever.
I went to a Catholic high school that actually taught Latin as a spoken language (this was back in the days of the Latin Mass, although it was beginning to shift to the vernacular), with the Italian-like pronunciation used in the Mass. We started out learning such things as “Maria agnum habuit… ” and “Hic parvus porcus…”. For the Latin-deprived: we were reciting “Mary had a little lamb…” and “This little piggy…”. Better than the “Veni, vidi, vici” that the public school inflicted on my brother. (From the deadly dull and arrogant warrior stuff, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”)
I…I…. didn’t think I would ever, ever agree with Sarah Palin, but I think beneath her rather ineloquent way of putting things she might be right. You shouldn’t move to a country and enjoy all of its resources without making an effort to integrate. It is a give and take. You should also preferably be somewhere legally, but that is a slightly trickier topic.
>.< Please don't hate me.
But you also should not have to give up your native language when speaking with your family in public. Many of those who would support Palin make comments at people who are simply speaking Spanish with family members outside their homes. and treat them like they don’t speak English at all and judge them for it.
Of course immigrants should try to integrate! Is there evidence that they’re refusing to?
In my workplace Employees on coffee break speak English, French, Ukrainian, Cantonese, Tagalog, etc etc. and provided you’re looking at your other-language-speaking colleague, and not at coworkers, when you’re speaking (so no one thinks you’re talking about them in a language they don’t understand, which is quite rude), who cares, really? How is a multicultural / multilingual workforce bad for the employer or the country?
@Prairiegirl, there are a lot of immigrants who do not try to integrate at all, or make any effort whatsoever to learn the language (although granted it can be a very hard and daunting task!).
I thought that was what Palin was referring to, but perhaps that is far to reasonable to expect from her!
But hmm, is it really that they do not try to integrate/make an effort to learn the language or that there aren’t many services available for them to learn the language? I’m actually asking a genuine question here. Moving to another country can be difficult and expensive and between finding a job, working, taking care of your family and all that stuff, there might not be much time left to go to language classes, especially if you can somewhat manage to live without it so what are the incentives available?
Whether or not people integrate or assimilate they are going to face discrimination. Why should they lose their culture to please a few, and what’s so damn wrong with being bilingual like almost every other country in the world? Does it really hurt anyone to press one for English?
Especially since a lot of folks speaking Spanish in the U.S. (Though not all) are resident in the part of the country that was, until 1848, part of Spanish-speaking Mexico! It’s not like the culture disappeared.
Wasn’t referring to her comment about thinking it was bad Bush spoke Spanish, I think that is nutso. Just her points A and B (in terms of making efforts to learn the language, not giving up ones home language).
I’m even going to bite the bullet, and say that I don’t care about immigrants making an “effort” to integrate. It’s up to them if they want to or not, it doesn’t bother me. It’s not like they’re ruining the memory of the Pilgrims or whatever. Do they pay taxes? Are they in good standing with the law? That’s all I care about. Their children will be bilingual, and, according to present evidence, absorbing an American value system.
Adults past a certain age often have great difficulty acquiring an active knowledge (speaking, writing) of a new language, although they often can learn to understand it spoken (and written, if they are already literate in another language). My own brain is pretty much unidirectional – I can read several languages besides my native English, but when I try to speak, I mix them all together. Whenever a word in French escapes me, I’m likely to pull up the word in Russian or German or whatever I’ve been reading lately. It’s as though there are just two boxes in my brain: one filled with English, and the other filled with Everything Else. Very different areas of the brain are involved in reading, speaking, writing, and understanding the spoken word. And I have trouble understanding spoken numbers in anything but English.
The children of immigrants are still at the optimum language-learning stage, so if they arrive before the age of about ten, they become as fluent in English as any native speaker, including the correct accent. Teenagers can still become completely fluent, but usually there’s some trace of the original language in their accent.
I never thought I’d sort of agree with her, either, but there’s no reason why English isn’t the official language in the United States. It’s the most common tongue (here and in Westeros, ha ha), all our legal documents are in English, all official government business is conducted in English, so on and so forth. Plus, a quick perusal of Google shows that most countries have official languages. Why shouldn’t the U.S.? It doesn’t mean that speakers of other languages wouldn’t have translations of documents/interpreters available to them.
And this idea that some have that she must mean “don’t speak (your native language) at all, even with your family” – I’m sorry if ignoramuses have made rude comments to you, that in unforgivable, but I don’t see where Palin says this at ALL.
Why not have several official languages? is it that complicated?Portugal has 2 official languages, Spain has 5, Switzerland has 4…
Link: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/us-second-biggest-spanish-speaking-country
The English Only movement is closely tied with anti-immigrant sentiments here. Palin has often referred to her audiences (all of certain ethnic groups, here for an acceptable number of generations, and an acceptable color) as the “real Americans”. That’s the background on this. She doesn’t think people outside her acceptable group are “real Americans”, either because of our ethnicity or our political/religious beliefs.
Her target audience is people who likewise think they are “real Americans”, who typically have lost all connection with their immigrant history. People of English descent are often likely to be in this category, although there are others susceptible to such thinking. They are not happy about the need to provide government materials in different languages or court interpreters, and if they get what they want- those programs will be jeopardized. Likewise any programs helping with language learning, whether with immigrants or in schools. Never underestimate the narrow vision of Palin supporters.
We’ve managed quite nicely without declaring English as our only official language. The push to do so today is not benign.
Tomato the nightshade – That sounds like a good concept.
jwoolman- those could be her intentions, but making English the official or primary official language of the U.S. wouldn’t HAVE to have such repercussions. Other countries have managed to be welcoming to immigrants without becoming insular xenophobes while also having an official language.
This all about fear. English is the lingua franca of the world. And in English speaking countries? It’s beyond absurd to even make this an issue. If I as a parent, in my thirties, speak only Spanish, have no access to anyone who could communicate with me and who could help me navigate my way in a new country with new and different ways of doing things, I would be terrified. No, not just absurd, but mean spirited and petty. Besides, every second generation always knows English and in most cases prefers it.
I tried learning to speak American, failed horribly..
American language? I didn’t realize Palin was multi-lingual, as in Alaska, I guess the “American” language would be Inuit or Yupik based. You know, the natives speak it, not the immigrants like Palin.
American language, what is that? That crazy word salad she delivered earlier this year? Hopey-changey? You betcha?
She’s the posterchild for every sexist stereotype.
Donald Trump= rich idiot, media savy; Sarah Palin= just idiot; media dumb.
OMG malfunctioning fembot. MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
Kaiser wins the internet today.
Anytime sometime says learn American I know what they’re really saying is don’t be Latino.
The first European language spoken in this country was Spanish as it was the Spaniards who established the first colony before the English came over to spread their bigotry, faith, and hate for all people “native”.
Considering this country was built off the backs of brown people, you’d think white people would have a little more respect, but of course they never do—a disposition that has unfortunately been passed down generation from generation.
I have no ill will to anyone who doesn’t speak English, whether they’re Latino, African, Asian, or Eastern European…
People who agree with Palin need to do so publicly so I know who stay away from.
While Spain had a wonderful record in the America’s, wiping out the Aztecs was only the start, the Inca Empire followed as did disease, destruction and enforced conversion of native people’s to the Catholic religion. Let’s not forget plundering tons of Aztec gold to support the Spanish empire. The British did not turn up to ‘spread their hate’ like settlers elsewhere across the globe the emigrated initially for religious freedom and to find a better life for themselves just like the Syrian refugees are doing in Europe now – or do you suppose they are also only moving to ‘spread their bigotry, faith, and hate for all people “native.”
Last I checked the Syrian refugees aren’t massacring native Americans like those godly puritan types were.
Last time I checked the United States is a country made up from immigrants from across the world, not just one country so for example New York was initially named New Holland after the Dutch settlers who arrived there. Aboriginal peoples suffered as a result of mass immigration – from all over Europe – West and East and not just the British Isles – whose population would not have been large enough to have settled such a huge country on it’s own. Although obviously it is so much more comfortable, so much easier to go with the stereotype of nasty British Imperialism whilst completely ignoring the nasty Spanish, Dutch, Italian, French et al Imperialism that occurred across the globe.
My mom is of Spanish descent. And even though her family has been here several generations longer (like a few hundred years) than my dad’s family, my paternal grandmother always told everyone that we were half French. In her mind Spanish = Mexican and she couldn’t fathom having Mexican grandchildren. It didn’t help that we were the only brown haired grandchildren, either. But I did get my dad’s pasty white, fair Irish complexion. Lucky me, lol!
This idiot could have been our Vice President,a heartbeat away from being our President.We dodged a bullet.
She’s so dumb, criticizing her is like shootin’ fish in a barrel!
Was that American enough for you, Sarah? I even mentioned shootin’!
Like most other acts of bigotry, this nonsense is rooted in fear and insecurity. When someone like Trump or Palin hears someone speaking a language they don’t understand, the insecurity sets in and rather than admit to being uneducated in that way, they strike out with this dumb “speak American!”
BS.
In the third picture, it says “a turd” just to the right of her ass.
HAHA! Good eye, good eye.
Two of my neighbors have been screaming at each other all morning in Cantonese., I’m grateful that I have no idea why they are arguing or what names they are calling one another. I’m sure they wouldn’t welcome Palin telling them to speak Amurican right now and would tell her so beautifully in English
No worries, they are probably just having a casual polite conversation. Such is the nature of Cantonese!
I wonder if Palin knows that Einstein didn’t speak Murican first? I wonder if she knows he wasn’t Murican at all? I wonder if she knows how many great Muricans were not born speaking Murican in Murica? SO MANY THINGS I WONDER SHE KNOWS
She knows nothing. It is known.
People saying this is quite common. About two years ago I was in Denver and was also asked by a woman to ask “American” when she heard me speaking Spanish with my little cousin.
I was super angry and answer her that, I would speak english with native english speakers, but what language I talked in with my family was not her business.
It is sad that the racism towards Latinos, and more specifically Mexicans, appears to be growing lately
You have every right to speak whatever language you want to your own family/friends. That woman is a racist pig !
I don`t like her, but what she said, doesn´t make her a bad person. It is nothing compare to Joe Biden.
No, buddy, it’s everything she’s been saying since around 2007 that makes her a moronic person.
Personally, I think Americans are kind of bonkers about language. You either vilify or fetishize them. I speak 2 foreign ones; so what. Does it have advantages? Sure. So would an equally thorough knowledge of organic chemistry. My monolingual mom is always harping on about how amazing it is to speak all the languages–well, spoken like someone who never spent four hours a day for a year learning to write Chinese. Do I think everyone should learn another language? Sure. They should also learn to read and think critically, be scientifically literate and historically aware…and so on. I’d hardly pick a second language as the item on that list to hang my hat on.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Herr Mark hath arrived.
Dear God I love this woman and hope she never stops talking. I do a DEAD ON impression of her. I can bring down a meeting with a well timed, “yer a maverick!” Comment. Keep it up woman, you help me keep my meetings entertaining.
Someone get Lorne on the phone stat and tell him to book Tina for next Saturday.
I got into a huge fight with my now ex friend up here in Canada after she kept insisting I cannot call my father Italian because he doesn’t speak the language and is US born. She is rather prejudice against most cultures (Croatian by heritage) and seems to be racist against non-whites to begin with (which is one of the many reasons I have distanced myself from her). Nonetheless, she really disliked how the English only is pushed so heavily in the US and honestly, I agree. I am embarrassed I only can speak one language fluently and I feel it makes me appear dumb when interacting with people from Europe or Canada.
I doubt that her being Croatian has anything to do with her being prejudice.
I live in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and frequently I have encountered US American citizens demanding locals to speak only English to them… The official language here is not Mexican but Spanish. So someone should tell Ms. Palin that she should educate her fellow counterparts, let them know that people appreciate when you speak their language in their countries ( especially if said US Americans live there). Maybe then, I’ll take her seriously…
I’m for English being the main language in the US. It’s great to have a variety but when one doesn’t speak/read well enough to understand road signs written exclusively in English and still gets a Driver’s license it is not OK. English is not my native language but I learnt it prior to coming here. It’s a good idea to have one main language for laws, court and official documents, contracts etc.
Well to be perfectly fair, I think you don’t need to speak a language to understand road signs; they’re mostly pictograms and follow some international standards (although each country has its unique ones which can be hilarious to try to decipher). While I don’t speak Danish, I have no problem following road directions in Denmark, and I haven’t heard of many accidents caused by an Ontarian incapable of reading a road sign in Quebec (or vise versa). And while it is not the official language in the USA, I do tend to think that all official documents are all in English or come with an English version. There are so many reasons why people will immigrate, so many circumstances, that knowing the language in advance can’t always be expected; if we want immigrants to learn the local language, the government has to offer some sort of affordable language classes too.
I would like a laugh and see Palin try to explain why the US doesn’t have an official language.
I’d think that if we had one early on, it would have been either German or Dutch, as well as Spanish, French, or various Native American languages.
Was there ever a time when the majority of residents spoke only English?
I say ‘residents’ rather than ‘citizens,’ because many people were not allowed to become citizens throughout US history due to race, nationality, enslavement, indenture, etc.
She’s an idiot.
I can’t apply for certain jobs because they are asking applicants to speak Spanish. Its discrimmination. Go to petition2congress.comand search bilingual, you will be shocked as to how many peopleare writing to Congress to do something about it.
That’s not discrimination, dear. 1–you can apply to any job you want. You have not ever been entitled to a job offer. 2–Spanish is clearly a skill necessary for the job. If you don’t possess it, then you aren’t qualified.
It’s not discrimination if you don’t have the skill set for the job. I can’t apply to be a scientist because I have no scientific training, it’s not discrimination. I can’t demand to be the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys either. Here in Australia there are jobs designated to work with aboriginal people or immigrants and they ask for aboriginal or language speaking applicants only. Do I cry discrimination? No, I realise they need someone who either speaks the language or has the unique perspective required to be effective in the position.
Languages are an acquired skill and employers have a right to decide the parameters for their business. Discrimination is the violation of rights or denial of basic services based on unavoidable characteristics (gender, ethnicity, race, etc). Not the same thing at all.
You’re all wrong. All jobs are asking for applicants to speak Spanish. Read some of the petitions on petition2congress.com and you will read what I am talking about.
The only petition I saw was rather silly. Asking applicants to be bilingual when you are working with the public isn’t discrimination. If you live in a neighbourhood where a lot of the population speaks a certain language, it’s normal to favour applicants that can speak that specific language. For instance if the nursing home you want to apply to has 30% hispanic residents, it make sense to have employees that can speak Spanish, you can’t pick and choose which resident you’ll deal with. Same thing if you work in a medical clinic, hospital, pharmacy, law firm, etc. People coming to see you might be in crisis, they might feel vulnerable, and in such cases they shouldn’t have to mentally translate all you are telling them in the mother tongue: they are too stressed to do that properly. Asking for bilingualism for a position that doesn’t require you to communicate with others wouldn’t make sense, but then there are very little jobs where some communication isn’t necessary.
Dumb, poorly educated, racist, xenophobic bigots are taking over the world! Here in Australia we have head moron Abbott stirring the pot at every opportunity.
And of course, Uncle Rupert is pulling the strings as usual. Murdoch is a blight on humanity.
What language is “American” Palin? I’ll speak whatever language I like because we have freedom of speech in this country and I actually don’t mind embracing any culture in this country. Sarah Palin is an idiot.
Amazing how many people are not aware that the US does not actually have a legally required first language, heh.
Yet another facet of being the privileged class in the U.S., the belief that American is the official language, and it’s such a hardship on all of us poor, oppressed, put upon white folks to press a g*ddamned button to hear English, when the bigger issue is never getting to speak to a live person, and being kept on hold forever. BUT PLEASE, SARAH RUNSWITHSCISSORS PALIN, PLEASE ENLIGHTEN US ALL ABOUT WHAT EXACTLY IT MEANS TO SPEAK AMERICAN, AND WHY OH WHY ALL THOSE PESKY BROWN PEOPLE NEED TO LEARN HOW, AND YESTERDAY!
😦🔫
Some (most) days, I wish that all the extremists would go hole up in one area, and only worry about themselves. Kind of like the Duggars, but without political aspirations, robocalls, and People magazine covers. The only channels would be Fox news and Insp and CMT, plus various Bible channels. Build that wall and let them have at it, while the rest of us live our lives in peace. It’d be like an opposite commune! Why hasn’t this happened yet?!
Most , if not every, countries have one or several officials languages. That doesn’t mean you can’t speak an other language too. That just means that you need at least one common language that everybody will speak. For the USA, this language is english and I don’t see where is the problem.
Please please keep posting the ridiculous photos of her from SNL40. THEY GIVE ME LIFE!
Holy shit…..is it just me or does she look like Caitlyn Jenner?
OMFG! There is no such thing as an “American language.” There’s the English language. Listening to Lyin Palin makes me want to bang my head on the wall.
Teesd, shut it. Regular in canada, new york. If u can’t read the standards sighs, then you’re mostly uneducated and a perfect meme for old darling Drawing at work. Give you two years tops, then Darwin!