| You Should Learn Spanish |
 For you, learning a language is about career advancement and communication. Knowing Spanish will bring you tons of possiblities for jobs and travel. Bárbaro! |
Sometimes I get the impression that I am one of very few people who hasn't learned Spanish or hasn't taken a keen interest in doing so. Nevermind that my boyfriend speaks Spanish. My brother is interested in speaking spanish and traveling around South America. He went to Costa Rica this past Christmas Break to learn the language. My mother has decided she wants to start learing spanish as well. She thinks it will make her more hireable as a sociologist or a social worker. In the TA office two of my friends would always speak spanish around me as well... It made me paranoid. Especially when I traveled from D.C. to San Marcos with my friend and his mother. I heard nothing but Spanish the entire trip; that is unless they wanted to include me in the conversation. I just took demerale.
It just seems to be everywhere to me now. Not just now though. Even in highschool, I heard it all the time. My English teacher would tell people in class that she would start deducting points from people if they spoke any language other than english in class(there were also the portugese from the students from Brazil). It was Catholic School though. Now I'm going to a trip to Miami. I've been told that I will be suprised by how little English is spoken. I'm kind of apathetic towards it though. Its just a trip to me. It makes me worry how it will be in a few years from now in Texas. I hope it doesn't get any worse to years to come, though I know it probably will.
Why do I care so much? Because I don't speak Spanish and I have no talent for language! I took this quiz thinking that it would probably tell me that it would be beneficial for me to learn Latin... No, it tells me Spanish. I had developed this fear of language classes by the time I reached college anyway. I took Spanish starting in middle school. My middle school teacher failed me my eighth grade year so I had to start over on the credit. In highschool I really never cared much for the subject, and in the end it kept me from having a graduation ceremony by one point! I swore at that point that I wouldn't take the damn subject again. I had a feeling that it was screwing me over. Maybe I should have taken my anger out on the teachers rather than the language, but I didn't. So I tried German. Let's just say it didn't get any better. I remember getting sick before going to class. It was inevitable that I would get called on all the time. Why? Because I could never answer anything correctly and my prof loved to embaress me.
So, is there any reason for me to learn spanish now? I have no clue. I just know that I'm never learning a language for school credit again. If that is possible. I will more than likely be forced to endure it once again if I actually go through with getting my PhD. I just wish that english would be enough for me. Aren't we the superpower here? Why can't we just speak english? It would be easier on me that way.
Well, enough bitching. I think I'm going to crash out for now...
5 comments:
The reason why Spanish has become an issue is that we've moved so far to the left in this country that we can longer secure our own borders or insist on a common language. Don't worry, sooner or later the balkanization of America will be complete, and then we can each choose to live in our own little ethnic enclave. I don't know if this is what liberals want, but that's sure where we're heading.
With my luck I'll be living in a spanish speaking enclave. It'll be the one that my family chooses.
Like you, El, I do not have a gift of language. I actually envy those who speak other languages. I was always fascinated that John Paul II could speak so many different languages! How in the world did he keep them straight?
I'm afraid I'll just have to stick with English and hope for the best.
I should learn Chinese?
I think Spanish is better, there are so many of them speaking it and don't bother to learn English, but actually becoming fluent in Spanish feels like giving up. I can say hello and good-bye, my name is, and I don't speak spanish, let's go, come on.....um and a few more.....
Believe it or not, the Mexicans have reached Indiana too, it's everywhere.
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