Xavius

http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media...rich-Ghetto.wmv

Gingrich: Spanish a 'ghetto' language

Posted by Frank James at 12:52 pm CDT

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich can always be counted on for the controversial and didn't disappoint over the weekend with a comment in which he appeared to say that the language of Cervantes and Lorca, is the "language of the ghetto."

Here's a larger excerpt of the Associated Press story:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich equated bilingual education Saturday with "the language of living in a ghetto" and mocked requirements that ballots be printed in multiple languages.

"The government should quit mandating that various documents be printed in any one of 700 languages depending on who randomly shows up" to vote, said Gingrich, who is considering seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. He made the comments in a speech to the National Federation of Republican Women.

"The American people believe English should be the official language of the government. ... We should replace bilingual education with immersion in English so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto," Gingrich said to cheers from the crowd of more than 100.

"Citizenship requires passing a test on American history in English. If that's true, then we do not have to create ballots in any language except English," he said.

Peter Zamora, co-chair of the Washington-based Hispanic Education Coalition, which supports bilingual education, said, "The tone of his comments was very hateful. Spanish is spoken by many individuals who do not live in the ghetto."

Needless to say, Gingrich's statement is likely to do little to further President Bush's vision of expanding the Republican party with Hispanic American voters. It does help keep him in the news, however, although probably not in a way that moves him closer to the Republican Party's presidential nomination.

http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com...ich_spanis.html
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Oh my. Although I agree with some of his points, seems Ann Coulter has rubbed off on a lot of Republicans these days.

pinche cabron

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Souzetsu

I think I live on a very nice street.


Seriously, people would kill to live on my street. The houses are beautiful. I guess my parents got lucky or something.

Batist

what a moron. Why are people surprised of the huge Spanish speaking communities in Florida and California anyways? They were Spanish lands before US annexation, and a lot of them stayed there, even though I do agree there's a huge illegal immigration problem.

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Advance

Why would we need to print ballots in multiple languages (unless there was a referendum question)? Names, party, and office aren't exactly words that need to be translated.

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What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing that you did mattered?

jazzman

Regardless of the source, it's a legitimate point. When you allow immigrants to come into your country without requiring them to speak the language of the majority, it sets them up for a life of poverty. They don't associate with people with whom they cannot communicate, so they rarely develop ties outside of their community. The majority do not speak their language, so they will be unlikely to move to these areas, as they cannot communicate with the people who live there. Those who become successful will more likely than not move away. Those who stay will be those who cannot afford to move. Those who remain will be poor and most will be unable to speak the main language. Thus, a ghetto will be born.

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Coconut

Spanish IS a ghetto language.



Well, at least Mexican spanish.

Xavius

Apology: Accomplished:

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Gingrich admits -- in Spanish -- 'my word choice was poor'


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is trying to assuage Latinos over recent comments on bilingual education by delivering a video statement -- in Spanish and English -- in which he concedes his word choice was "poor."

In the statement, posted Wednesday on YouTube, Gingrich said his comments were not an "attack" on Spanish, and he revealed he has been taking Spanish lessons "for some time now."

"I know that my Spanish is not perfect, but I am studying so it will be better," he said. (Watch Gingrich explain his remarks in Spanish Video)

At no point does Gingrich offer an outright apology in either language.

In a speech Saturday to the National Federation of Republican Women, Gingrich said English should be the language exclusively used by government in the United States.

He also said bilingual education should be replaced with immersion in English "so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto." (Watch Latino leaders express outrage about remarks Video)

Gingrich's remarks, particularly his use of the word "ghetto," have drawn fire from Latino groups. While the former speaker did not directly apologize in his statement, he did concede that "my word choice was poor."

"But my point was simply this -- in the United States, it is important to speak the English language well in order to advance and have success," he said. "This is an expression of support for Latinos, not an attack on their language. I have never believed that Spanish is a language of people of low incomes, nor a language without beauty."

Gingrich also said, "It was not my intention to offend the Latino community, and I hope you accept this message in the manner in which it is being conveyed, with a sincere heart."

Gingrich, a Georgian who led House Republicans into power in 1994, has said he will announce by September whether he will seek the 2008 GOP presidential nomination.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll in early March showed Gingrich was the choice of 9 percent of likely Republican voters nationwide, which put him in a tie for third place with former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney but well behind the front-runners, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

However, the poll also showed Gingrich, who was a polarizing figure during his years in Congress, had the highest negative ratings of any of the potential GOP candidates, with 43 percent of Americans viewing him unfavorably and just 25 percent favorably. Even a third of registered Republicans had a negative opinion of Gingrich, the poll found.
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Don't want to piss off the Hipspanic voters now do you?

orale!

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Pandas_UNITE

spanish people dont vote.

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MrSnuggles

he is right though, if you dont speak english in america you are almost assuredly doomed to working at mcdonalds.

but hey, at least he didnt say barrack was clean and articulate.

gonestarfishin

A guy my dad used to work with as an architect never got promoted from his lower down job (drafting or something) by the boss because when he got nervous or excited, like in a meeting, he would just start speaking in Spanish...the office paid for him to take English lessons, but he would go home and watch tv in Spanish, and talk to his wife and kids in Spanish. All parties knew English but chose not to speak it, and his work life suffered because of it.

My boyfriend (who is fluent in Arabic and somewhat in French) grew up around his mom, uncle, and stepfather who all only spoke Arabic or French around the house. I honestly believe that because of this his vocabulary suffered. He's constantly mixing up words or mispronouncing them and I'm constantly correcting him on his grammar. It makes him sound uneducated when he goes to job interviews even though he's a very intelligent guy. I also have to edit any kind of homework or typed paper that anyone else is going to see because his grammar and spelling really is horrible.

His younger brother and sister have fared a lot better, because his mother and stepfather started speaking English in the home while they were little to immerse themselves in the language and try and become fluent. Both his mother and stepfather now have well paying jobs and his uncle, who barely knows how to say "hi, how are you" in English after 20 years living in this country is barely making above minimum wage. Oh, and he's basically illiterate because he can't read the English written language. This is someone who went to college in his own country, and he's reduced to working crap jobs because he can't speak and interact with people.

The younger brother and sister are getting A's in school and are much more eloquent in their speaking - they constantly correct their older brother as well. Their parents spoke to them in English when they were babies, and read books to them when they were young. My boyfriend got the short end of the stick because his parents didn't know English yet. I know it's not their fault or anything because they had just recently immigrated but I'm just showing this as an example of how the kids in general are missing out on opportunities because they grow up with English as a second language, even if they're born in this country.

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Daisy

Batist

The thing is that maybe some of these people are trying, but blaming the parents is a little rough.

You don't expect foreigners to move in another country and expect them to speak english to their own family when it's easier and less awkward for them to speak in there own language.

When I lived in america and when I moved I knew of no english and same has my parents. They learned english and so did I. They still have some problems with it but can understand it and write it somewhat and speak it too. but we still spoke french at home.

I can understand the guy's stance that it should be in english only, and I agree with it. But calling the language ghetto was a little harsh, since it's roots in latin which is basicaly the scientific language and the root for many languages including french, english and many other languages.

Now people that refuse to learn the language in the country they moved in, can just fuck off.

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gonestarfishin

I totally agree actually, I have no sympathy for his parents and I'm a bit peeved that they didn't make more of an effort to make English his first language since he was born here. It put him at a major disadvantage in school and in life and I blame them. It's a simple fact that learning the dominant language of the country you are living in will give you better opportunities in life.

Being bi or tri-lingual is a definite asset though, and it's good that you are teaching your children other languages at such a young age; it makes it so much easier to learn more once you get to high school. I never had any kind of foreign language training until i was 14 and I definitely paid the price.

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Daisy

Well I was lucky enough to attend elementary, middle and highschools that offered Latin, so learning Spanish and Italian as I got older was much easier than if I didn't have that solid base. But yes, the younger you are the easier it is to aquire and stick with it.

It is a shame that your boyfriends parents didn't give him the same opportunities as their other children, but I guess that's more of the basic trial and error that many parents go through. They probably saw how much harder it was for your boyfriend to assimiliate into American culture and changed their ways with their younger children. Has your boyfriend taken any steps into furthering his knowledge of English grammar and speech? There are lots of classes in both at local community colleges that can help breech that barrier.

Also, I didn't want to come across as if what Newtyboy said was at all tolerable, because it's not. Spanish isn't the language of the ghetto, ebonics is.

gonestarfishin

I agree, it was kinda a trial and error thing that happened. He's the oldest so he was kinda on his own by the time he was 13 or 14 with his own job paying rent and everything. His brother and sister are much more coddled than he ever was but he's a really strong person now because of it. He'll be taking college English soon so hopefully that will help? I kinda act as his tutor so I've been helping him out with it. He's improved a lot since we started dating, mostly because he hates when I call him on his bad grammar

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Advance

Oh, it's a good thing sonic doesn't read the Current Events forum.

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what's the difference between a black and white owl?


A white owl says "hoo! hoo!"

a black owl says "hoo dat? hoo dat?"

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We're all just hapless victims of knowledge and learning and such
The man you thought you licked 'em but you choked in the clutch
Brent Black, you said it yourself it's an ethereal kind of flu
A Mac virus reveals the plot of the fiendish Fu Man Chu