No habla Alabama

[Jay B]

I found this interesting.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,385145,00.html

[thebaldeagle655]

I agree 100% that a driver should be able to speak English to a conversational level. Recently I was required to bring my paperwork into the Limon, Co. Scalehouse. In front of me in line was a hispanic woman who spoke only spanish. She had the IFTA stickers on her truck but not the paperwork. The Officer was trying to give her the chance to contact her company and have them fax a copy to the scale house's fax machine. She seemed unable to understand anything that was said. The officer and I got into a conversation while she was looking through her paperwork again and he tole me that he was trying to do everything he could to keep from impounding her truck. Last I saw of them, she was still saying, NO HABLA, and he was trying in vain to explain that if she did not produce the IFTA paperwork she would not be allowed to proceed and her truck would be impounded.

Now in the day of electronic billboards in the major cities, I can see an added reason that drivers should be required to not only converse, but be able to read English. I have seen notices of road closures, accidents, temporary truck restrictions, etc. that a non-English reading/speaking individual could well be a hazard to others if they didn't understand the signs.

On a related subject, I really feel insulted when I see, in a major city in the United States of American a billboard written 100% in SPANISH. I feel there should be a law requiring advertising agencies to put an English interpretation on every billboard. Drivers (even non-commercial) are required to have a conversational level comprehension to get their licenses, they should be able to read the billboards in the national language!

[HWD]

Oh, stop whining guys...when Hussein Obama gets elected he is going to see to it that we all, under penalty of law, learn Spanish...

[Jay B]

I'm not even going to get into the whole if you can't speak English discussion. What I found most interesting is the fact that tickets are being issued and no one has taken the FMCSA to court to get the English speaking requirement removed.
I feel, and I think it must have a lot to do with it being the law, that a driver must be able to communicate any hazards associated with his cargo in the event of an accident or incident.

[GMAN]

A local judge was interviewed on TV this last year. He thinks we need to require English only. He almost convicted a Hispanic man on murder due to his lack of understanding of the English language. The guy was apparently innocent, but due to his lack of understanding of English, he was nearly convicted of a capital crime. I don't think anyone should be able to get a drivers license in this country unless they are fluent in the language. They should be able to understand the road signs. I would expect to do the same in another country. This pandering to every group needs to cease. It is killing this country. Printing state forms in various languages costs billions of dollars each year. It is money that is spent unnecessarily. The reason so many politicians are reluctant to push for a national language of English is due to all the illegals. They don't want to lose all those illegal votes. :x

[bentstrider]

As far as foreign language learning goes, it should only be kept as a voluntary thing.
Living in California, I deal with this headache everyday.
But, when I was reading requirements for graduation from the Univ. of California system, it explicitly states that 2 years of foreign language is required for graduation.

I've actually talked to people who transferred out of those schools because despite completing 150, hard-earned units, graduation was refused due to not completing foreign language requirements.

Anywho, unless you plan, or are forced to travel the world, foreign language of any type should be by choice.

[marylandkw]

Oh, stop whining guys...when Hussein Obama gets elected he is going to see to it that we all, under penalty of law, learn Spanish...

Really?

[allan5oh]

You're right GMAN, I never thought of it this way, it's for their own damn good!

[ButchM]

Oh, stop whining guys...when Hussein Obama gets elected he is going to see to it that we all, under penalty of law, learn Spanish...

is that Barrack Hablama??

[syl77dar]

I don't care what other country you visit they mandate you to speak their language, ie Germany, france, spain etc. so usa should follow suit. many times i have seen drivers cut off people due to fact they did not understand rest area was on left side due to fact they could not understand english.

[ButchM]

I don't care what other country you visit they mandate you to speak their language, ie Germany, france, spain etc. so usa should follow suit. many times i have seen drivers cut off people due to fact they did not understand rest area was on left side due to fact they could not understand english.

I definitely agree that ALL drivers whatever the heck they're in, cars, trucks, whatever should be able to read, write, speak, and communicate in english. But, since that'll never happen, it must be mandatory and should be mandatory that everyone driving a commercial vehicle should have to be able to read, write, speak and communicate in english.

They don't necessarily have to spell perfectly or speak with perfect english but they have to be able to read english and able to communicate well enough that in an emergency everyone else knows what's going on at the scene.

[TheBigR]

They definatly do not enforce it down here in Florida. I know many who cannot speak a word of english. It sure would help the rates if they did. I think $2 on a spanish calculator is $1.

[ButchM]

They definatly do not enforce it down here in Florida. I know many who cannot speak a word of english. It sure would help the rates if they did. I think $2 on a spanish calculator is $1.

LOL

Try to underpay a non-english speaking person and watch how much english they can speak, the words just roll off their tongues.

[MommaKay]

Oh, stop whining guys...when Hussein Obama gets elected he is going to see to it that we all, under penalty of law, learn Spanish...

Jokey emoticon notwithstanding, I consider it an indictment on the American People as a whole that so much has been made of Obama's statement that American schoolchildren should learn a second language. In Denver Public Schools way back when, Spanish was taught in Elementary schools, with at least two more years of a secondary language being required through Junior High and High School. Languages offered included Spanish, German, Latin, French, Italian and I forget what-all else, depending upon the specific school one attended.

Learning additional languages is a GOOD thing, folks. It promotes mental ability. It exercises the little grey cells. But then, if English was good enough for Jesus...

[druid2874]

Oh, stop whining guys...when Hussein Obama gets elected he is going to see to it that we all, under penalty of law, learn Spanish...

Jokey emoticon notwithstanding, I consider it an indictment on the American People as a whole that so much has been made of Obama's statement that American schoolchildren should learn a second language. In Denver Public Schools way back when, Spanish was taught in Elementary schools, with at least two more years of a secondary language being required through Junior High and High School. Languages offered included Spanish, German, Latin, French, Italian and I forget what-all else, depending upon the specific school one attended.

Learning additional languages is a GOOD thing, folks. It promotes mental ability. It exercises the little grey cells. But then, if English was good enough for Jesus...

I know 2 languages English is my second German is my first.
You know your right learning more then one language is a “GOOD” thing. So is algebra, geometry, and Trig. They where very “GOOD” for my little grey cells. But atlas I might only remember 20ish percent of that math. Why you might ask because if you don’t use it you lose it.
When I was in High school I took German as and elective and I was assured I was going to get an A well for one thing its my native tongue. And they did not know that . Boy the teacher butchered German and by the next school year oh about 10% that’s being liberal could say what’s your name and count to 20. School should just focus on the basics drill that in to there heads Reading, Writing, Math and the like and leave the second languages out of K-12 its useless.

[tweety bird]

A local judge was interviewed on TV this last year. He thinks we need to require English only. He almost convicted a Hispanic man on murder due to his lack of understanding of the English language. The guy was apparently innocent, but due to his lack of understanding of English, he was nearly convicted of a capital crime. I don't think anyone should be able to get a drivers license in this country unless they are fluent in the language. They should be able to understand the road signs. I would expect to do the same in another country. This pandering to every group needs to cease. It is killing this country. Printing state forms in various languages costs billions of dollars each year. It is money that is spent unnecessarily. The reason so many politicians are reluctant to push for a national language of English is due to all the illegals. They don't want to lose all those illegal votes. :x

Well said, as usual, GMAN.