Sunday, August 24, 2008
Thoughts on Spanish and remaining ignorant...
While English is the official language of the United States, Americans roll out the red carpet for those who only speak Spanish allowing folks with this mental disorder to remain ignorant...
Have you ever heard the phrase: when in Rome? I guess this applies to most demographics except for those who speak Spanish. While I tend to poke at Indian Outsourcing, I do have the utmost respect for folks from India. People of India make a strong effort to learn not just English but the American form of English. They also manage to keep their own culture but do not require others to adapt to it.
While on vacation in Trinidad, I had the opportunity to talk with my nephew (Hi Robby) who is a firefighter. The previous day, he and his team had rescued a family in a burning building. Depending on one's perspective, his bravery or stupidity caused him to run into a burning building to save a family who only spoke Spanish. While this type of thing is very common in the US, this is the first time he ran across this in Trinidad as folks traditionally from neighboring countries such as Venezuela have adapted.
For those who will get it twisted, my nephew's last name is Salazar so get busy reading into it. The government of Trinidad is now paying him to learn Spanish. While this is a logical reaction, is this really the right thing?
If Trinidad is to survive as a nation, it needs to not repeat the mistakes made by other nations such as the United States...
| | View blog reactionsHave you ever heard the phrase: when in Rome? I guess this applies to most demographics except for those who speak Spanish. While I tend to poke at Indian Outsourcing, I do have the utmost respect for folks from India. People of India make a strong effort to learn not just English but the American form of English. They also manage to keep their own culture but do not require others to adapt to it.
While on vacation in Trinidad, I had the opportunity to talk with my nephew (Hi Robby) who is a firefighter. The previous day, he and his team had rescued a family in a burning building. Depending on one's perspective, his bravery or stupidity caused him to run into a burning building to save a family who only spoke Spanish. While this type of thing is very common in the US, this is the first time he ran across this in Trinidad as folks traditionally from neighboring countries such as Venezuela have adapted.
For those who will get it twisted, my nephew's last name is Salazar so get busy reading into it. The government of Trinidad is now paying him to learn Spanish. While this is a logical reaction, is this really the right thing?
If Trinidad is to survive as a nation, it needs to not repeat the mistakes made by other nations such as the United States...
