Do you speak spanish?

rox · Mar 22, 2006

My son is in the Peace Corps right now, in Guinea Africa.
Looking back, do you think the Peace Corps, the time you volunteered, for my son it is 30 months, was worth it?

Bird · Mar 22, 2006

( "All y'all" is plural for "y'all!!!" )

Did you, instead, say "Youse guys" as our friends from New Jersey do? /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

California · Mar 22, 2006

( My son is in the Peace Corps right now, in Guinea Africa. Looking back, do you think the Peace Corps, the time you volunteered, for my son it is 30 months, was worth it? -rox )

Yes, I did then and still do think it was worthwhile. I applied when Vietnam was just a nightmare premonition, with under 1,000 US non-uniformed 'advisors' on the ground. At the time, no more a crisis that the US was responsible for, than some of the African crises are today.

But the domino theory was in vogue and Peace Corps was providing volunters to Latin America and other wavering areas as fast as they could find placements for them. Castro had unexpectedly taken Cuba communist and the State Department's strategic goal was to place young eager American faces all over the region to offset the pull of radical organizers in all of the nearby countries.

We ran a backstreet auto repair school, with the real purpose to place our students as apprentices to real auto shops as soon as we could make them credible - and hopefully before these 14 year olds had their own children to support.

As we see elsewhere today, large numbers of unemployable youth in a society are tinder for all sorts of disruption. I still think our efforts were worthwhile.

30 months? That's hard. 24 months in a more easily understood culture was about right for me. I admire your son.

sneaky_pete · Mar 22, 2006

( You just can't use that oilfield Spanish in polite conversation very often.)

Ain't it the truth! I know my limitations and don't try.

My great-grandfather was a penniless immigrant who couldn't speak English, so they misspelled his name at Ellis Island. His descendants learned, so I'm willing to cut immigrants these days a little slack.

MossRoad · Mar 23, 2006

Many of my relatives (non-Hungarians) down around Cincinnatti and Covington use yous as the prural of you. For example... when yous come down here, we'll have plenty of room for y'all. To which, I answer, muchas gracias. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

turnkey4099 · Mar 23, 2006

I think my family is fairly typical of assimilation, German in this case.

Original stock will be fluent in german and (normally) have limited English ability. Language of the household will be the german.

Second generation will be fluent in german and learn good english as a second language.

Third generation will have english as native language and have limited ability in german (that's my parents), i.e, they can talk to their parents in german but only limited.

Fourth generation will be english only except for a very few german phrases.

Of course that assumes that the various generations immerse themselves in the society. If they stay in a ghetto, it may take another gerneration.

Harry K

Jagmandave · Mar 23, 2006

I'd also like to point out that we are a nation untied by the same language but it's often impossible for us to understand each other's words..........how many people in the south can understand what New Englanders say?
This country is full of interesting accents - think about what a Bostoner sounds like, or someone from the deep south like rural Alabama, or Louisiana.....
When I was 16 I worked at a gas station run by two good ol boys from deep in the Arkansas Ozark mtns. One day, the second of the two pulled me aside and asked me why I didn't work for him like I did for "Bob" (the other guy). My answer was that I simply could not understand what he was telling me! This is in no way meant as a slam on people from Arkansas, just to illustrate what happened between the two of us........

Our company has started English classes for our Spanish speaking employees - they're mandatory, but we pay for the lessons and they're on the clock too.

Tom_H · Mar 24, 2006

( it's often impossible for us to understand each other's words..........how many people in the south can understand what New Englanders say?
This country is full of interesting accents -)

How true. I can usually tell which state a southerner is from. Often, I can tell which part of Georgia a Georgian is from and whether (s)he is from a well to do, middle class, good ole boy, or redneck background. Bostonians and New Jersians I can understand, but I met a few geezers way back in the Green Mountains of VT whom I could not understand at all. I think they were speaking something still half Celtic. I met some in the back woods of Appalachia who were as distinct, but could understand 'cause what they spoke was somewhat southern.

The movie My Fair Lady is very accurate in portraying British accents. In some places you can drive five miles and hear a completely different accent.

As far as what to teach in school, I think the DHS, FBI, & CIA wouldn't mind more Americans taking Arabic, Persian, and so forth, 'cause they don't have nearly enough interpreters to figure out what intercepted terrorists' messages contain.