Thread: Americans Are Being Forced To Learn Spanish!

I will learn to speak another langauge when I decide to go to another country, English is all I need to know while I am here.

I'm an American Hispanic who believes that Americans shouldn't be forced to learn Spanish.

The Hispanic culture and community that I grew up in unique and different from most Spanish speaking communities here in the United States. My family has lived in New Mexico for 16 generations and my ancestors were Conquistadors, mestizos from Mexico, Sephardic Jews who fleed Spain, other European settlers who arrived in the 1800's and Indigenous people from different groups. In southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, people whose families have lived in those parts since the 1600's are often referred to as Hispanos. Hispanos in those parts still speak a dialect of Spanish that goes back to the 17th century and the reason this dialect is still around is because due to the fact that the descendants of first colonizers lived in those areas for hundreds of years and they rarely traveled into areas south of their homesteads unless they moved out due to Native American uprising (e.g. Pueblo Revolt of 1680).

The dialect spoken in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico by Hispanos has more Arab and Separdhic Jewish infleunces than other Spanish dialects. My parents speak and my surviving grandmother speak the dialect mainly because it has survived from generation to generation. The dialect is very different from what Mexican Spanish, Cuban Spanish, and other dialects in certain parts of the United States.

English has been the first language of my family for three generations. The Spanish dialect came second. My parents and grandmother do not like how Spanish is being forced on all Americans because of illegals who come here and don't want to learn the language. I agree with them.

Thank you for sharing diane85, I enjoyed reading your post. I remember that many of my friends in NM commenting that they could barely understand the Spanish spoken by the illegals, they said it was "slang" Spanish.
The culture in N NM has always been very rich with history and you are lucky to have your grandmother and hear her memories.

Originally Posted by Newmexican

Thank you for sharing diane85, I enjoyed reading your post. I remember that many of my friends in NM commenting that they could barely understand the Spanish spoken by the illegals, they said it was "slang" Spanish.
The culture in N NM has always been very rich with history and you are lucky to have your grandmother and hear her memories.

The culture in northern New Mexico is still rich, but the illegals are slowly screwing things up with their forms of cuisine, entertainment, and other things they bring from Mexico. I hate Wal-Mart stores that now have sections devoted to Mexican singers.

The dialect spoken by the illegals is different and they are at times hard to understand. Illegals make fun of the dialect that northern New Mexican Hispanics speak and it is annoying. Now, I don't pay much attention to illegals' attitudes towards my group. A lot of Hispanos dislike illegal aliens quite a bit. I know business owners that do not hire anyone who does not speak English well.

Originally Posted by diane85

The culture in northern New Mexico is still rich, but the illegals are slowly screwing things up with their forms of cuisine, entertainment, and other things they bring from Mexico. I hate Wal-Mart stores that now have sections devoted to Mexican singers.

The dialect spoken by the illegals is different and they are at times hard to understand. Illegals make fun of the dialect that northern New Mexican Hispanics speak and it is annoying. Now, I don't pay much attention to illegals' attitudes towards my group. A lot of Hispanos dislike illegal aliens quite a bit. I know business owners that do not hire anyone who does not speak English well.

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I think you hit a major nerve, diane85. The REAL UNDERLYING REASON for the wave upon wave of illegal aliens from Mexico is CORPORATE GREED by large businesses like WalMart. They pad their bottom lines annually by hundreds of million$ for catering to illegal aliens.

Do you agree?

Originally Posted by HAPPY2BME

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I think you hit a major nerve, diane85. The REAL UNDERLYING REASON for the wave upon wave of illegal aliens from Mexico is CORPORATE GREED by large businesses like WalMart. They pad their bottom lines annually by hundreds of million$ for catering to illegal aliens.

Do you agree?

I totally agree with you.