DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus About half of white Republicans, 18 percent of white Democrats would be bothered to hear foreign language in public

About half of white Republicans, 18 percent of white Democrats would be bothered to hear foreign language in public


Close to half of white Republicans in the United States said they would be bothered if they heard someone speak a foreign language in a public in a new survey released by the Pew Research Center on Wednesday.

According to the new survey, 47 percent of white respondents who identified as Republican or Republican-leaning said they would be bothered “some” or “a lot” by a person speaking a language in public that was not English. By contrast, only 18 percent white respondents who identified as Democrat or Democrat-leaning said they would be bothered.

Fifty-eight percent of white Democrats said that they wouldn’t be bothered at all by hearing someone speak in a foreign language in a public. Twenty-six percent of white Republicans also answered the same.

Outside of political modifiers, the survey found that 34 percent of all white respondents said they would be bothered hearing people speak in a foreign language in public. Twenty-four percent of black respondents, and the same percentage of Asians surveyed, also said they would be bothered; 14 percent of Hispanics said the same.

In contrast, 68 percent of Hispanic respondents said they wouldn’t be bothered if they heard a person speak in a language that was not English in public. Half of Asian respondents said the same, as well as 48 percent of black respondents and 41 percent of white respondents.

Of the Hispanic respondents polled not born in the U.S., 76 percent said this would not bother them at all, while 61 percent of Hispanics who were born in the U.S. said the same.

The survey comes as a number of viral confrontations show white people berating people in public for speaking languages other English.

Earlier this year, a gas station clerk in California was fired after he was captured on video ranting at a customer who speaking Spanish and asking her to prove she was an American citizen.

Dunkin’ Donuts was also forced to issue an apology last year after a video surfaced showing an employee arguing with a Somali-speaking family in an incident the family said began because its members were speaking their native language.

Last May, a lawyer in New York City also came under fire online after viral videos showed him lashing out at customers and employees for speaking Spanish and making threats to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-...white-democrats

I'm sure the numbers aren't new and this has always been a thing, but it is eye opening to see them studied.

Put me down as leaning really far right on this one.

HOLA!

I see it often, white dudes looking crazy at somebody and/or group of people speaking another language, especially if it’s latinos or Arabs.

And we constantly see the viral videos of some loser telling people to speak English in this country to people minding their own business.

Which is funny because half the time, the foreigners/bilingual people speak better English than they do.

Nosotros vamos la playa....not bad for a white boy

I'll admit I use to be that way but changed my position a few years ago. However, I still believe people should be able to speak English if you live here. I actually was taught Spanish by some Cuban friends. Whats funny to me is the reaction of some Latinos when they see I know some espanol.

It’s surprising to them because the typical American is about the most uncultured person in the world.

Bro, did you know that less than 35% of the country has a passport? So many people in this country haven’t visited an overseas location. Canada doesn’t count, nor the Caribbean’s.

Hell, my wife has gotten crazy looks for speaking German.

Estoy abajo con ese hermano

Don't forget your sun screen.

I resemble that remark

I agree man, it's pretty damn disgusting.



Yea, I spent 3 years in Germany when I was in the Army. Our 1st week there we had a weeks class to learn some German. Dude, I was excited to hit the streets, I remember my 1st question in German, vo es das bonhoff (butchered the spelling) and the reply was in English,,,,DAMMIT you're not helping, sprechen zie deutch lol

On any given day working in nursing homes around the city I hear about as much Spanish as I do English. Most CNA’s and caregivers in this city are Latino.
Bothers me not.

.,.except I’m a little jealous. They’re bilingual and I’m not.

People fear the unknown. Not knowing what somebody is saying when they are near you is unnerving especially if you are somehow engaged in the situation. I get this but the viral videos and the dumbasses who feel entitled to lash out at others for no reason still bothers me.

I remember when I was in the Navy in my late teens and early twenties still discovering or realizing my own bigotries, it bothered me when my Filipino shipmates spoke in tagalog. And I believe at the time the Navy had an english only policy on board ships, but I'm not 100% sure.

However as I've aged, and learned enough of various languages to make out what is being said, it does not bother me near as much. I often speak spanish when somebody I'm talking to struggles in english, even though my spanish is very rough it still helps most of the time.

I imagine that it's only been in the last 100 years or so that speaking other languages has become a non-essential part of most people's lives in America. During our founding and for the first 100 years of expansion, I imagine that learning other's languages to communicate was an absolute necessity to peaceful coexistence. Between the various immigrants, native tribes, and imperial colonization by European governments in the new world, being multilingual or having the capacity via others to translate was probably a matter of life or death most of the time.

Yet here we are today with the self entitled descendants of those American's declaring that english is the only acceptable language in the US because that's the only language they ever bothered to learn. If these dumbasses in the viral videos could understand what was being said in those other languages they would have no issue whatsoever with people speaking in them.

I think the whole intolerance issue boils down to education or the lack thereof.

las mujeres latinas son hermosos como el agua...i can speak it just cant spell it

dos palomas fuerte

you flipping me the bird OCD? just playing

Sorry that was Bpg

I've never understood this, especially as one who has traveled abroad. I know a few words in many languages, always the basics when I travel to a country, and have more than basic spanish and italian - but I'm not fluent in anything other than English. Why would I hold someone accountable to what I can't do when I visit their country?

People are allowed to be tourists in the US. People still get visas to work and live in the US (and yes there are a small percentage of illegals).Why do people have problems with people speaking their native language to each other? Not trying to argue with anyone, I just don't understand it.

(side note, my dad is big into the "if you're in the country speak the language" - we visited Mexico as a family in 2009 and I called him on not speaking a word of spanish while we were there - not my proudest moment, but necessary)

Palomas are a tradicional mexican cocktail

Two Strong Palomas por favor


https://www.thedailybeast.com/paloma-the-national-drink-of-mexico

my bad BpG, I thought it meant birds...I stand corrected

Hence flipping me 2 birds lol

I can't spell it or speak it, but I can google it

Based on my understanding of Spanish I am fairly certain I don't want to google this at work.

Google is awesome lol

The hardest thing for me was when to use el or la. Also, I have Puerto Rican friends and some words are different meanings, what Cubans interpret as a compliment the Puerto Ricans say it's an insult...hey I can get away with it cuz I'm white and don't know any better

Hearing a foreign language conversation in public doesn't bother me at all. I assume they are tourists or they are multilingual..

The only thing that does bother me is people who actually move and live here and don't speak English and make no effort to learn, then act like it's MY FAULT that I can't understand them.

I'm curious about this. Why/how the change?

p.s. My town is about as multi-ethnic as it gets. I hear everything from Romanian to Arabic. Never bothered me. In fact, I've always found them fascinating. There is music in speech, and music is what I do/am.

I enjoy hearing other languages. Have no issue with it, and am trying to learn Spanish myself.

however I believe if you are immigrating to the country, you should be required to learn the language, IMO.

Bingo! The article/poll doesn't ask WHY some people dislike hearing a foreign language spoken in public...it basically throws out the condemnation that 50% of white republicans are racist xenophobes. Which is a popular tactic that couldn't be further from the truth.

My Mom is German. She came here after WW2 to live with her sister who married a G.I. Her Mom sent her away because she said Germany had nothing to offer my Mom. She knew ONE English word and everything she owned was in her ONE suitcase.

My uncle forbade my Mom and Aunt from speaking German in public. He didn't care whether they spoke German at home. He contended that it would only harm them to NOT learn to speak English and to NOT be able to do so in public. He was harsh...but he was spot on. It was - and is - part of the process of becoming an American citizen.

The USA is a Melting Pot. Not a cabinet full of pots. Learn the language...contribute to society...pay your taxes...simple. Becoming an American citizen does not require one to give up their heritage, but it does require some effort to melt in with the rest of the American citizens.

I think most people make the effort once they get here. I mean, they want to navigate daily life as seamlessly as they can; learning the common language is the most effective way to reach that goal.

There is a pattern to language assimilation in immigrants, especially when multiple generations are involved. Learning comes from the young first, whose minds are more plastic for things like language. They pick it up quickly, through school and interacting with other kids.

The parents learn slower, and struggle more than the kids, but tend to learn it well enough to get by, secure/maintain jobs, etc. They have thicker accents than their kids, who usually sound like all other American kids. The grandparents are truly 'hit or miss' learning the new language, so their mother tongue is usually spoken exclusively in their homes.

For this reason alone, I could never lambaste someone for speaking a language other than English. I don't know their situation, and their own conversations are none of my business anyway. I don't go sticking my nose into other's passing conversations spoken in English... why would I treat others any differently?


.02

Very fair point. However, your now-underlined sentence above is my issue. I don't think learning the language and assimilating is the norm as it once was. People clamor for bi-lingual road signs and 'press 2 for Spanish'.

My wife teaches 3 year old pre-school. She has a boy in her class who is from a foreign country. The school year is almost over and he still speaks virtually no English. His parents speak their native language at home. Some day it will be great that he is bilingual...today and while he is developing, he is being done no favors at home.

the number of people who refuse to learn english in this country is so small, its not even an issue.

its a beyond overblown narrative. some serious Haley's Comet kinda nonsense.

I agree, I believe they do as well. Personally I just think it should be a requirement. If I was moving to say China, I would fully expect to have to learn the language, and would want too.

I believe you are spot on with what you are saying about learning patterns.

My best friend immigrated here about 13 years ago from Mexico. They speak mostly English in their home for the first 5 years so he could learn the language easier. They speak Spanish on the weekends so his daughter grew up bilingual. Its rather funny, because his wife who was born here, speaks Spanish more properly than he does - as he uses slang and dialect from his region, and she was taught in school.

I wouldn't agree with that. I delt with the public every day for well over 30 years and ran into people every week who couldn't speak english. Many of them had been in this country for years.

I've managed a lot of construction crews and janitorial staffs. Likening it to Haley's comment is ridiculous.

and i disagree with you.

Not sure what you are saying? Must have been responding to somebody else.

I hate this quick reply button. It was in response to GM's post.

I almost never use that thing.
It wasn't a feature of the old board, so I learned to respond directly to the poster in question.

I also don't use the quick type field at the bottom of the page. That automatically tags the thread's OP.

Moving to Florida was a culture shock. This State is the most diverse I've seen. At 1st I would despise the Hispanics for not even attempting to learn English. (Despite what Swish says, too many still refuse). Also, I think I was an ignorant product of my environment living in Ohio. Friends wouldn't vaca in Miami because of the Cubans.

Why did I change my view, that's simple, I got to know Hispanics, like those very Cubans my friends up north complained about. I got to know Puerto Ricans, Venezuelans, Columbians, Mexicans and other ethnicity like Jamaicans, you know what I learned? They're frickin AWESOME people!

The biggest shock when I moved here was when I heard a white friends 80 yr old father say my N this my N that...I told him where I'm from that will get you killed and all he could say was welcome to Florida. A black friend showed me the actual hanging tree in Bartow, Florida that had a plaque memorializing it. I never felt so low as a white man. But I digress...

Learning Spanish became fun and even more fun talking to Hispanic women which I personally think are the most beautiful in the world

I feel like it should tag the most recent post, I know it does not but I keep doing it anyway lol.

Now.... which do you think will give out first- your head, or the wall?

Thanks for that reply.

For me, it's been a trip living in Ohio all my life. My Parents insisted that my sis and I experience places, people, and things. And the more we did these, the more open we became. Being involved in The Arts contributed, as well.

From age 10 on, I've been involved with foreigners, immigrants, LGBTQ's, non-conformists etc. This has sometimes put me at odds with those who lived more sheltered, monochromatic lives.

I've picked up on a theme here: Folks like Swish and others who got to see the world through their Service, folks like you who have gotten out of the state, and folks like me who do the cosmopolitan thing have similar outlooks, regardless of base ideology. I find that kinda cool.

Obviously, the key is to get out there and be around all sorts of folks. The challenge is to drag others along with you.