For many of us, our ancestors came to the United States not knowing English. Newspapers were published in German, Irish, etc. to accomodate the needs of these immigrants. People who are current immigrants have not often had the means or opportunity to learn English fluently before coming to the US. In my city (DC), English as a Second Language classes are overflowing with people wanting to learn the language. Businesses in the US want to serve their customers; since an increasing number of people in the US speak Spanish as their first language, we are seeing an increase in bilingual phone options, printed instructions, etc.
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Name : Lynn22502, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 27, City : Washington, State : DC Country : United States, Occupation : admin assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, It's a free country, businesses are free to try and increase profits by catering to Spanish speaking customers. I do think English should be the official language of the United States, even so, freedom means people have a right to use what ever language they choose in their private sphere. You're African-American, personally I can't understand half of what your people say with their 'black english' gibberish.
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Name : Arturo, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Secular Humanist, Age : 31, City : Corona, State : NY Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, I think it's really crucial to consider who you are speaking of when you say 'our language.' I am a fifth generation American who grew up speaking Spanish. I see that you live in Ohio, have you made an effort to learn any of the indigenous languages of your state? Consider where we would be in America without other languages: How would you say tomato? Colorado? coyote? mesa? Most immigrants do learn the dominant language of the country in which they live. That doesn't mean that they are immediately fluent. If the government and other entities can provide multiple languages for us to communicate, isn't this all to the good? Perhaps, given the increasing Latino population of the United States, you might consider picking up a little Spanish. It might make you feel more comfortable living in a multilingual world.
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Name : Rose29480, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : mixed race, Age : 30, City : Albuquerque, State : NM Country : United States, Occupation : student/teacher, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, Nothing in the constitution provides for the government having to accept or endorse an offical language. Likewise in capitalism (which the USA allegedly is) it is profitable to embrace what ever the market demands. If diversity can help you make profit than it will be embrace, if it becomes an impediment to profit it will be rejected. Don't expect the language of Noah Webster to go anywhere anytime soon, since American English now has the status of elevated language the world over. That's again thanks in part to the export of american culture everywhere from Japan to France. And given that millions of immigrants pour into the United Staes every year from nearly every country it is likely that American English will remain the standard middle ground by which all these groups will meet.
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Name : doug galecawitz, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : Lisle, State : IL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower class, The thing that also gets me is when I need to flip a clothing tag over to the other side in order to finally get laundering instructions in English because the first instructions on the front of the tag are in Spanish and, sometimes, French. The product is being sold in the United States, a 280 million person market. I'm of Polish extraction and maintain the language in my home, however, I would think it arrogant to demand and expect laundering instructions in Polish. When my parents immigrated, they learned the language in order to function here. They speak/spoke with accents and their English was/is not perfect but they did not ask for a language catering service. Latinos!!! Drop your machismo. This is the United States and our common, official language here is English. Learn it and keep your Spanish at home like I keep my Polish.
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Name : Richard, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 44, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Social Worker, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Not at all! Glenda, these companies are just offering a service to a modern society that is more diverse and multicultural than it was in the past. If you lived in France, wouldn't it be useful to have the option to undertake operations in English? I lived in Spain last year, and for the first few months where my Spanish was shaky it was cetainly useful to have English options. Remember, there is a big difference between being functional with a language and being fluent, and it is particularly difficult to communicate by phone because you cannot benefit from the person's mouth movements. These people may be able to get by with English, but rapid-fire telephone English is another thing altogether. Instead of being offended that there are different language options, be happy that your country is blessed with a range of cultures! And anyway, English is still language number 1, there are some countries that put their native language behind English as it is the lingua Franca, so at least be happy in that respect.
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Name : Peter Franks, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Taoist, Age : 18, City : Sydney, State : NA Country : Australia, Occupation : Student, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 
JSParticipant
The United States of America has no offical language. There is always an adjustment period when learning a new language. Just because someone did not have the opportunity to learn English before coming to live in the US does not mean that 1.) They are not attempting to and 2.) They deserve less access to infomation than a fluent speaker of English receives. Just an aside, it has been my experience that Americans are notorious world-wide for their lack of knowledge of foreign languages.
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Name : JS, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 26, City : Portland, State : OR Country : United States, Glenda I thought things were suppose to be non-confrontational...urgh. This at first appears to be a question in the subject line but in the message, although there's a question mark that question is letting me know that Glenda is offended by the Spanish language 'taking over.' and that's simply an assumption, I think it's very possible that in Cincinnati there's a large Latino population but that's not the same for the entire U.S. I disagree that Spanish is taking over because English took over my Spanish tongue and not because I moved to this country. I speak Spanish and English. Spanish being my first language. My family didn't come to the states, the United States government stole/won/'legally' had documents signed by Mexico in a war they 'won' to take the land that at the time belonged to Mexico, therefore making my family U.S. citizens. Since my culture lost that war, my ancestors had to learn English if they wanted to stay in their land. Well, they didn't then, because there weren't any schools for them then, but my mom did as soon as my grandmother had to put her in school. So my mom speaks two languages. I speak two languages, but not because, i wanted to but because I was forced to. (I'm in no way complaining about the fact that I speak two languages, just complaining about how I wasn't asked) I think that the customer service number people dial that says press 1 for English or press whatever for Spanish, is trying to HELP the larger population regardless of language barriers. I didn't move to this country, this country moved onto my land. I'm offended that all languages can't be spoken in a country as diverse as the United States and that they aren't equally accepted, especially those that existed here prior to the English speaking Americans taking over this land. I don't think Spanish is taking over I think it's asking for a space in the United States to simply exist as a language that is not foreign to this land.
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Name : Esmy B., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Chicana, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 21, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I feel you on this situation. I have been looking to change jobs and I could not beleive the amount of jobs that I was fully qualified for that said a requirement was to be bi-lingual. I was just dicussing this topic last night with my best friend. We both believe that within the next 40-60 years Spanish will be the dominant language. Though I'm all for change that is good and beneficial this has become very anoying. I would never dream of going to another country and not try to learn the language.
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Name : Simone-R, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : NYC, State : NY Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, In Germany and many other western European countries children are still required to become proficient in English before reaching University level. Not long ago, English was the one language a person had to learn in order to excel in business, politics or science. The answer to your question has to do with demographics. When was the last time you saw anything written in Arappaho, Hopi, or Cheyenne? My bet would be never, mainly because they're not used by a significant percentage of today's population. The Hispanic population of the U.S. has been growing exponentially, and, like it or not, all our children will have to be fluent in Spanish soon if this trend isn't reversed. Whether for good or ill, I wouldn't be at all surprised it English became a 'dead' language before the next century.
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Name : Randy Anderson, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 44, City : Grrenbrier, State : TN Country : United States, Occupation : currently unemployed, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class, I agree with you that this catering to Spanish-speaking people is unwarranted. The reasons are, I think, that with computers, it's easy to program ATMs, phones, signs, etc. in another language. It happens that at this time of technology, the major influx of immigrants is Spanish-speaking. Business is always seeking to increase their customer base. That's another reason, along with the feeling that it's 'good' to make things easier for the 'disadvantaged'. If there were computers when the eastern europeans came here in droves (my grandparents), there might have been phone routing and ATM screens with a Polish or Slovak option.
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Name : Tom R., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Freedom, Age : 50, City : Pittsburgh, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : Operations Manager, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, ...you probably also wouldn't move to France for a better life and employment. But as a native of Southern California (a high Hispanic population), I understand where you're coming from. Honestly, a good amount of them are illegal and didn't have the time or interest to learn English before 'sneeking,' if you will, across the border.
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Name : Maggie22306, City : Seattle, State : WA Country : United States, I'm not offended at all. The Spanish speaking community is the fastest growing demographic group in the United States to date. The reality is that this group will become the numeric majority in this country within the next decade if immigration continues as it does. Many who come here are here because of lack of liveable job opportunities back in their home countries. Most of them know that to really make it here in the US, they will have to become fluent in English. But in the meantime, businesses know that to reach these populations for the market share they need to provide services in Spanish as well as English. And as much as folks say that they wouldn't go to live in Europe and not learn the language there, the reality is that there are a lot of Americans (and Brits and Aussies) who go there frequently to live/visit/whatever and do NOT know the language, and services are provided in English at most establishments. Most restaurants in the major European cities have menus in English, have waitstaff that speak at least rudimentary English, hotels have their websites in English as well as their local language PLUS a 3rd or 4th language. They do this not because they love Americans so much (especially with the current administration!) but because they know who their clientelle are. A significant percentage of their clientelle are Americans and Brits who speak English. And a large number of travellers from other countries who speak English as a 'universal' language for business and tourism. In the US it's the same thing. The marketplace is demanding that services be provided in Spanish as well as English, because a significant and growing percentage of their client base is Spanish-speaking. It doesn't make good business sense to snub that market just because of an 'attitude' towards Spanish and Spanish-speakers. Whether we like it or not, the reality is that Spanish is becoming the defacto 2nd language of the US. Those who know both Spanish and English make themselves more marketable in the US business environment.
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Name : Ray N. Grant, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Atheist, Age : 42, City : Minneapolis, State : MN Country : United States, Occupation : Software Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, It's not just the spanish language that is taking over, it's a variety of foreign languages and I'm sick of it. The problem is, businesses and the government are endorsing the practice. By printing signs, directions, tax forms, ballots, product descriptions and a thousand other things in multiple languages, they are saying that despite the fact that you now live in the U.S., it's okay not to have to learn English. I have no problem with immigration...most of us in this country are here because our ancestors came to this country in search of a better life. The difference is, they were forced to learn English in order to get jobs and function in society. In addition, they wanted to embrace our language and culture and were proud to become Americans. It seems that all these people constantly rattling off in some foreign tounge have no interest in 'becoming Americans', but are only here to avail themselves of our jobs, opportunities and prosperity. If you're going to live here, work here and enjoy the benefits of living in this country, have enough respect for our country to learn our language.
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Name : Renee, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 28, City : Raleigh, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : attorney, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, The reason you may feel that way is because nowadays if you have a retail business and want to keep it you'll most likely have to sell to Spanish speaking people, the reason we don't give up our languaje like Europeans did when they first came here is because we were already here you all should be speaking Spanish, since it was spoken in this continent long before English.
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Name : Lme22563, City : Iowa City, State : IA Country : United States, 
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