Walmart Employee Tells A Customer To Speak English “Because We’re In Texas”
With mid-term elections coming up in the USA, fake news and scare stories designed to influence voters abound. Immigration is always a hot topic, and the mere suggestion that someone might be in America to ‘take advantage’ is enough to get people of a certain political persuasion foaming at the mouth. This viral video of a Walmart employee telling a man of El Salvadorian descent that he should be speaking English has certainly gotten people talking, and it lays bare the deep divisions and misunderstandings about immigration in a country built on just that.
The video itself is actually pretty innocuous. Sure, the Walmart employee was at work, and is there to deliver customer service not give her personal opinions on what language people ‘should’ be speaking. However it was far from a racist tirade of hate, and shouldn’t be treated as such. The man, Joel Aparicio, has apparently lived in Houston for 13 years, while the employee, known only as Cecilia, spoke Spanish herself and “looked Hispanic” according to Mr. Aparicio. Perhaps Cecilia had worked hard to learn English herself, and feels that others should make the effort too? But then again, the incident took place in the City of Pasadena. With an Hispanic population of over 60%, maybe Mr. Aparicio felt like speaking his native Spanish was a perfectly normal thing to do?
The reactions to the video were eye-opening. People claiming to be relatives of Cecilia threatened Mr. Aparicio directly after it was released, while others defended his right to speak whatever language he chooses, citing the lack of an ‘official’ language in the USA. And as always there were those who, unable to see the irony in their own badly written English, demand that he should learn the language or ‘get out.’
Perhaps, after the election and this particularly divisive government, topics like immigration will be discussed in a more rational way. Talk of ‘invasion’ and witch hunts against ‘illegals’ aren’t helpful, but then neither is shouting ‘racist’ at every person that may not be as accepting of diversity as you.
For now, it is what it is, and people will have their say. Scroll down below to check out the video and reactions for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
Joel Aparicio spoke Spanish to an employee at a Walmart store, and while it was obvious she could speak the language herself, she refused to do so
Watch the full video below
https://youtu.be/hCW20w9Ct1w
The Walmart Supercenter is in Pasadena, Texas, where more than 60 per cent of the population is Hispanic
Many commentators believed she should have spoken in Spanish
But there were some that agreed with the employee:
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
115Kviews
Share on FacebookDidnt Texas previously belong to Mexico? - that would make Spanish more of an indigenous language than English.
Exactly. English is NOT the official language because we recognize the freedom to speak your own language.
Load More Replies...I honestly think it's a lot worse that in the US any person is allowed to make a video of an unknown person and post it on the internet for some silly reason. This is just so wrong. The lady might not have been the friendliest. But we don't see what has happened before or after either. So stop being so childish to tape each and every single fart just because you're pissed and post it on the internet. I'm really getting sick of that stuff.
yeah, i also think that it's wrong for someone to "INTENTIONALLY" make video of bugging old lady while she's working just to make her looks like internet "criminal" while she's just answering his bugging question
Load More Replies...This article is just another internet witch hunt ready to start. I'm siding with no one on this but I hope this lady does NOT lose her job based on what some random internet white-armored knights had to say over a few pictures/vid of people whose stories they don't know. I don't know why she acted that way, I wish we could get to know her side of things. I also don't know (it doesn't seem clear from the article, or perhaps I missed it?) if the man speaks English after living 13 years in USA and if not, why is that. I wish we knew that as well. I also really wish we'd stop with these internet witch hunts.
I hope that posting videos of silly altercations in order to shame people or get them fired won't become the new trend here. This guy needs to get over himself. This lady seems hispanic herself, and holds herself to a standard where she will speak English because she is in Texas. Maybe her speaking English is company policy, or maybe she has a strong belief that while in Texas, one should speak English. Who knows ? You can agree or disagree with her, but it hardly merits shaming her on the internet. If the idea is to open a debate about what language or languages should be used in the United States, just say so, and don't expose individual people for silly arguments like the one in the video. How ridiculous would it be, if each time anyone had a disagreement in public, some video gets posted about it on the internet.
OMG someone with a logical, balanced and reasonable point of view, thats so rare online!
Load More Replies...Not sure if anyone has considered that her boss may have told her that she's not allowed to speak Spanish to customers...only English. They may have threatened to fire her if she speaks it. It's just the kind of thing a Walmart Boss would do...
I worked in an office depot and we had guys from corporate come down to train us. My friend asked them, because we get so many tourists from Japan, if she could change up the "script" and help them in their language as best as she could. This guy flat oit told hrr no. She was not to deviate from the script and she had to help them in English. We were both dumbfounded
Load More Replies...If she wants to speak English then let her speak English. What the f**k. Obviously the idiot recording knew how to speak English as well… so what is the issue? Why are they trying to force this women to speak Spanish?
I agree, I used to work at a supermarket in high school and there were a lot of people who refused to speak Spanish even though they could. This is not new. I always felt bad for thef old customers who were left without help because they did not speak English. It is not a job requirement to speak Spanish I guess.
Load More Replies...Why do those people always look like that???.....Pinched and sour...
how about you met a young man bugging you about language while recording you without your permission while you were busy working? feel good??
Load More Replies...well he was being rude and disrespectful she is an employee not her slave, she can reserve the rights to speak in wich ever language she wants... the same way he can so before attacking her remember she has rights too... you cant go and tell someone money rules the world or you dont have green eyes so why do you speak english...
Agreed. She fixed his issue with the self check out. She didn't leave him stranded. So she did her job, but she is not required to speak Spanish to this man as part of her job.
Load More Replies...During the ramp up of WWII, my parents - as kids - (father, second gen Japanese; mom 4th gen Chinese-Canadian) were told to speak English by their parents in order to "fit in" better. Perhaps that is what this lady is stating. FYI. I think there is more than what ever the film-er decided to post... However, I am with many who have written, let's stop filming each other to post to social media for "good of the people." Sure, there are things worth fighting for, but I don't think this is one of them. Just my two cents.
I thought the US had no official language? Because of ‘Freedom’ or some such…..
So what she wants to speak English.. whats wrong with that??? she has the right to communicate the way she sees fit of feels like... get off your high horses and let the old woman work and be productive... why should she be fired like some posts say wth is wrong w you people ... you cant impose your language on someone else .. get a grip
I speak 5 languages fluently because I have lived in countries across the world where English was not the primary language. It's one thing to be a tourist there for a few days but as a resident it never occured to me that I should expect people to cater to my inability to communicate. My life is far richer because of my language skills and the different cultures I was able to participate in. Be proud of your heritage. Speak the language of your ancestors. But if you live in the USA, you need to learn to communicate in English as well.
i don't think she's wrong, i mean she just got asked, and she answer it honestly like giving advice. it's not like she can't have opinion right? plus she doesn't act like some jerk who insist on something.
so what she wants to speak English whats the big deal??? get off your high horses and let the old woman speak whatever language she wants geez!!!
I was stationed in Germany for almost four years. I spent a lot of time off-base. I don't speak any German at all. Many of the locals speak English. When I needed to communicate with someone who didn't, a German passerby who did speak English would come over and translate for us. No one ever insulted me for not speaking their language.
The lady is at work! Stop harassing her and then don't tape her and put it all over the internet. What is this guy trying to prove? Does he want someone following his mom around and post her all over the internet!?
I do work in a customer-driven environment. Unfortunately, my company has a lot of difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified Spanish speaking employees. Unfortunately, I do receive a number of calls from people who assume "I must speak Spanish because I answered the 'phone!" I either get the "speaking slowly and clearly in Spanish" routine or a loud, vile, rant in Spanish because, obviously, I'm pretending that I can't speak Spanish, nor understand it, just. to. p**s. them. off. I hope that those people are never in a medical emergency situation, they may just die due to their self-imposed language barrier.
I am not understanding why this upset him enough to film her while questioning her.
Ok how about this? I was at a Walmart in El Paso, TX and I asked an employee in English where an item was and they responded in Spanish saying they don't speak English.
I live in eastern France, in the supermarkets we have a lot of german customers and the staff speaks german with them (as far as they know german). In France, we have an official language since 1539 :-)
Being bilingual is honestly such a cool skill that I wish I knew. Why would you ever push someone down for speaking another language? America's suppose to be a land of immigrants!! I'm moving to Canada.
Canada's no better. We have plenty of bigots, both English and French speaking, that will gladly make you feel unwelcome if you dare speak the wrong language at the wrong place. I know, I live on the border between Quebec and Ontario. Thankfully the decent folks outnumber the morons.
Load More Replies...Harassing, and filming someone in their work place is not something to be proud of. I don't really understand the point of posting this video, the woman didn't do anything wrong. For all we know she may have resigned herself to speakng Englush after hundreds of "this is America, speak English" comments. Or perhaps she has been asked to just use English by her boss. Whatever the reason, bored panda should take this video down, and not support the hounding of this woman.
The world is getting caught up in silly things when there is so much wrong in our world. Just be kind to one another, it does not cost anything.
I believe that if you live anywhere in the US, you should know English. But, there’s no law on language, so speak whichever.
Pasadena is trash, and always will be. RAPISTS and MURDERERS from Mexico live there.
If i decide to pick up and move to germany to start a new life, well i dont speak german so i will hurry and learn to speak german so i can go to shop and live and communicate with my neighbors. Duh. Im not gunna go to a store and demand they speak english for me. Omgosh. Or i will brinh a translator until i can learn german.
I have picked up spanish just by bein around it now. But i get judged all the time because of my black hair and brown eyes! Very rudely too. They demand i speak spanish. I tell them i speak alittle and they get mad. WTF ARE THEY TO JUDGE ME? Why should the burden be on ME to struggle to speak spanish? U dont demand anything from me. U try, i will try. So im with the employee. He was so rude to her.
Ha! I am hispanic, of mexican descendant, and i am proud of it. My parents as well as my aunts, uncles all born here in the U.S. English has always been our first language. I live very close to Pasadena, texas. And growing up there were just a handfull of other hispanic kids in my class, and we ALL SPOKE ONLY ENGLISH. Now as grown ups i am
I wonder if someone treated her that way at one point so it was instilled in her mind that she couldn't speak her native language in the US.
Does nobody else think that the employees actions could be as a result of an edict from management that English must be spoken at all times by employees on the shop floor?
On a global scale Americans are laughed at, and rightfully so, for being so ignorant and incapable that one language is all they're capable of knowing.
Ugh, only in Trump's America is it shameful to speak more than one language MAGA includes The complete annihilation of education, IMHO. I'm proud to be bilingual and married to an immigrant! (I learned Italian at 30, which proves that it's possible to learn another language even after high school)
I think people can speak, or not speak, whatever language they like. If he wants to speak Spanish, and someone does or doesn't understand him, that's up to him. If she understands Spanish and only wants to speak English, that's her choice. Personally, as a linguist, I relish the opportunity to speak any language any time. What's not okay is to try to control what someone else does, as this woman tried to do.
I am of Indian origin - working in UK - I gave up my Indian nationality - for multiple reasons - BUT what if I am met with an Indian who wants to speak a regional language is UK - AND if I refuse - would that make me a B***h? like yes i would help - BUt i am not great in the said language
My daughter worked for Levis in Belgium; when I went to visit her, it was possible to walk across the town she lived in. If I wanted to buy something, I just handed the counter person what I had in my wallet; they took out what the item cost and gave me the rest back. It was the kindest, sweetest country I ever visited in Europe. And, I remembered that at least twice they were marched over and through during two wars. Antwerp was lovely. The small museum was lovely. Good memories.
With all the racism going on in this country, I don’t blame her. She was probably scared that someone would disrespect her and call her out for speaking Spanish.
This is a generational thing, though. The older generation was taught that to succeed, they had to speak English, and when they were young, NOT speaking English could get them into real trouble. Racism was more in the open then. ...///... I know my own mother didn't grow up speaking English and she worked for YEARS to get rid of what she called "that immigrant accent". Unfair? Maybe, but at that time, if she wanted to be taken seriously by anyone, she had no choice but to speak correct English at all times.
My family has been living in Germany for 26 years and in the last two years you can hear a lot of languages when shopping in our small town, because there was a big influx of refugees like everywhere else here. My mum takes this as an occasion to shout loudly in Russian and across the shop, where the tomatoes are or something like that. I'm really uncomfortable with that, because we're still here in Germany. Maybe it's a stubborn way of thinking, but I once went to great lengths to learn the language, I like the German language and I'm also polite enough to use it. Recently I was rudely mobbed for not being able to answer the man who spoke to me in Arabic, where the social welfare office is. I offered him 3 languages to choose from.
If they speak Spanish in Mexico and English in America, what’s wrong with speaking Spanish in America? I’m sure some people speak English in Mexico. There’s some irony in there somewhere....
Based on her logic if you're in Texas you should be speaking the language of the Karankawa, Caddo, Apache, Comanche, Wichita, Coahuiltecan, Neches, or Tonkawa tribes.
Sí, ¿qué pasa si me acerco a ella y le digo algo como "no me siento cómodo hablando inglés" ¿Me animaría a hablar inglés, como una abuela compasiva? ¿O sería racista, ya que es realmente ofensivo estar hablando en español? Use a tanslator if you do not understand.
Is it ok to speak greek instead of English? Ναι, τι θα συμβεί αν την πλησιάσω και θα πω κάτι σαν "Δεν νιώθω άνετα να μιλάω αγγλικά;" Θα με ενθάρρυνε να μιλάω αγγλικά, σαν μια συμπονετική γιαγιά; Ή θα ήταν ρατσιστική, δεδομένου ότι είναι πραγματικά προσβλητικό να μιλάτε στα ισπανικά
Load More Replies...English is NOT the official language of the USA. We do NOT in fact have an official language. There is NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT regarding the use of English. It happens that English is the predominant language but Spanish is spoken by a huge % of the country.
"Nobody forced you to live here." HMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmMMMMM you sure??????
Texas have no official language, but even with one if you can understand each other nothing forbid you to speak a different language. You're suppose to be understand by people outside your conversation ;)
I think I'd say something like "Why should I speak English if we are not in England?". Might be stupid but so is her behaviour. It's not her place to pick how people speak, unless they are talking to her in a foreign language she doesn't understand, which is not the case here. Language is not important, the communication is.
Lori..you know it's technically not your country, or language right?
Load More Replies...Good for her! She is an excellent patriotic employee! Thank you!!
Omg, seriously. I've been in texas- half of them speak Espaneol! XD silly non bi-lingual person
She's well within her rights to only want to speak English, heck, it's not like America is a multicultural country with many traditions, languages and cultures. It's also not like employees have to be nice with customers, i mean, I'm sure she'll be able to do that. Heck, I'm 110% sure. It's not like the good US of A turned to s**t when Obama was not in office, and Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton fought for office... Although they are both very competent leaders **snicker**. It's not like Mexicans live in America... It's also not like Trump is an over-competent leader *lol*not*. It's not like Trump was a huge c******d during 9/11 using his tower for publicity instead of helping others...It's also not like I want you to downvote this comment because of a bet...
I mean like, f**k immigrants, go back to your own war-torn countries. Why come to America, a country I clearly don't live in, a place full of turmoil and BS. Heck, I fully support her, i mean, she has absolutely every right to speak to a customer like that. Why should she have to deal with a customer when it clearly is not part of her job as a sales employee in a company designed to promote and sell goods...
Load More Replies...-but she used the Spanish word for 'English' while insisting she speaks English. LOL
Didnt Texas previously belong to Mexico? - that would make Spanish more of an indigenous language than English.
Exactly. English is NOT the official language because we recognize the freedom to speak your own language.
Load More Replies...I honestly think it's a lot worse that in the US any person is allowed to make a video of an unknown person and post it on the internet for some silly reason. This is just so wrong. The lady might not have been the friendliest. But we don't see what has happened before or after either. So stop being so childish to tape each and every single fart just because you're pissed and post it on the internet. I'm really getting sick of that stuff.
yeah, i also think that it's wrong for someone to "INTENTIONALLY" make video of bugging old lady while she's working just to make her looks like internet "criminal" while she's just answering his bugging question
Load More Replies...This article is just another internet witch hunt ready to start. I'm siding with no one on this but I hope this lady does NOT lose her job based on what some random internet white-armored knights had to say over a few pictures/vid of people whose stories they don't know. I don't know why she acted that way, I wish we could get to know her side of things. I also don't know (it doesn't seem clear from the article, or perhaps I missed it?) if the man speaks English after living 13 years in USA and if not, why is that. I wish we knew that as well. I also really wish we'd stop with these internet witch hunts.
I hope that posting videos of silly altercations in order to shame people or get them fired won't become the new trend here. This guy needs to get over himself. This lady seems hispanic herself, and holds herself to a standard where she will speak English because she is in Texas. Maybe her speaking English is company policy, or maybe she has a strong belief that while in Texas, one should speak English. Who knows ? You can agree or disagree with her, but it hardly merits shaming her on the internet. If the idea is to open a debate about what language or languages should be used in the United States, just say so, and don't expose individual people for silly arguments like the one in the video. How ridiculous would it be, if each time anyone had a disagreement in public, some video gets posted about it on the internet.
OMG someone with a logical, balanced and reasonable point of view, thats so rare online!
Load More Replies...Not sure if anyone has considered that her boss may have told her that she's not allowed to speak Spanish to customers...only English. They may have threatened to fire her if she speaks it. It's just the kind of thing a Walmart Boss would do...
I worked in an office depot and we had guys from corporate come down to train us. My friend asked them, because we get so many tourists from Japan, if she could change up the "script" and help them in their language as best as she could. This guy flat oit told hrr no. She was not to deviate from the script and she had to help them in English. We were both dumbfounded
Load More Replies...If she wants to speak English then let her speak English. What the f**k. Obviously the idiot recording knew how to speak English as well… so what is the issue? Why are they trying to force this women to speak Spanish?
I agree, I used to work at a supermarket in high school and there were a lot of people who refused to speak Spanish even though they could. This is not new. I always felt bad for thef old customers who were left without help because they did not speak English. It is not a job requirement to speak Spanish I guess.
Load More Replies...Why do those people always look like that???.....Pinched and sour...
how about you met a young man bugging you about language while recording you without your permission while you were busy working? feel good??
Load More Replies...well he was being rude and disrespectful she is an employee not her slave, she can reserve the rights to speak in wich ever language she wants... the same way he can so before attacking her remember she has rights too... you cant go and tell someone money rules the world or you dont have green eyes so why do you speak english...
Agreed. She fixed his issue with the self check out. She didn't leave him stranded. So she did her job, but she is not required to speak Spanish to this man as part of her job.
Load More Replies...During the ramp up of WWII, my parents - as kids - (father, second gen Japanese; mom 4th gen Chinese-Canadian) were told to speak English by their parents in order to "fit in" better. Perhaps that is what this lady is stating. FYI. I think there is more than what ever the film-er decided to post... However, I am with many who have written, let's stop filming each other to post to social media for "good of the people." Sure, there are things worth fighting for, but I don't think this is one of them. Just my two cents.
I thought the US had no official language? Because of ‘Freedom’ or some such…..
So what she wants to speak English.. whats wrong with that??? she has the right to communicate the way she sees fit of feels like... get off your high horses and let the old woman work and be productive... why should she be fired like some posts say wth is wrong w you people ... you cant impose your language on someone else .. get a grip
I speak 5 languages fluently because I have lived in countries across the world where English was not the primary language. It's one thing to be a tourist there for a few days but as a resident it never occured to me that I should expect people to cater to my inability to communicate. My life is far richer because of my language skills and the different cultures I was able to participate in. Be proud of your heritage. Speak the language of your ancestors. But if you live in the USA, you need to learn to communicate in English as well.
i don't think she's wrong, i mean she just got asked, and she answer it honestly like giving advice. it's not like she can't have opinion right? plus she doesn't act like some jerk who insist on something.
so what she wants to speak English whats the big deal??? get off your high horses and let the old woman speak whatever language she wants geez!!!
I was stationed in Germany for almost four years. I spent a lot of time off-base. I don't speak any German at all. Many of the locals speak English. When I needed to communicate with someone who didn't, a German passerby who did speak English would come over and translate for us. No one ever insulted me for not speaking their language.
The lady is at work! Stop harassing her and then don't tape her and put it all over the internet. What is this guy trying to prove? Does he want someone following his mom around and post her all over the internet!?
I do work in a customer-driven environment. Unfortunately, my company has a lot of difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified Spanish speaking employees. Unfortunately, I do receive a number of calls from people who assume "I must speak Spanish because I answered the 'phone!" I either get the "speaking slowly and clearly in Spanish" routine or a loud, vile, rant in Spanish because, obviously, I'm pretending that I can't speak Spanish, nor understand it, just. to. p**s. them. off. I hope that those people are never in a medical emergency situation, they may just die due to their self-imposed language barrier.
I am not understanding why this upset him enough to film her while questioning her.
Ok how about this? I was at a Walmart in El Paso, TX and I asked an employee in English where an item was and they responded in Spanish saying they don't speak English.
I live in eastern France, in the supermarkets we have a lot of german customers and the staff speaks german with them (as far as they know german). In France, we have an official language since 1539 :-)
Being bilingual is honestly such a cool skill that I wish I knew. Why would you ever push someone down for speaking another language? America's suppose to be a land of immigrants!! I'm moving to Canada.
Canada's no better. We have plenty of bigots, both English and French speaking, that will gladly make you feel unwelcome if you dare speak the wrong language at the wrong place. I know, I live on the border between Quebec and Ontario. Thankfully the decent folks outnumber the morons.
Load More Replies...Harassing, and filming someone in their work place is not something to be proud of. I don't really understand the point of posting this video, the woman didn't do anything wrong. For all we know she may have resigned herself to speakng Englush after hundreds of "this is America, speak English" comments. Or perhaps she has been asked to just use English by her boss. Whatever the reason, bored panda should take this video down, and not support the hounding of this woman.
The world is getting caught up in silly things when there is so much wrong in our world. Just be kind to one another, it does not cost anything.
I believe that if you live anywhere in the US, you should know English. But, there’s no law on language, so speak whichever.
Pasadena is trash, and always will be. RAPISTS and MURDERERS from Mexico live there.
If i decide to pick up and move to germany to start a new life, well i dont speak german so i will hurry and learn to speak german so i can go to shop and live and communicate with my neighbors. Duh. Im not gunna go to a store and demand they speak english for me. Omgosh. Or i will brinh a translator until i can learn german.
I have picked up spanish just by bein around it now. But i get judged all the time because of my black hair and brown eyes! Very rudely too. They demand i speak spanish. I tell them i speak alittle and they get mad. WTF ARE THEY TO JUDGE ME? Why should the burden be on ME to struggle to speak spanish? U dont demand anything from me. U try, i will try. So im with the employee. He was so rude to her.
Ha! I am hispanic, of mexican descendant, and i am proud of it. My parents as well as my aunts, uncles all born here in the U.S. English has always been our first language. I live very close to Pasadena, texas. And growing up there were just a handfull of other hispanic kids in my class, and we ALL SPOKE ONLY ENGLISH. Now as grown ups i am
I wonder if someone treated her that way at one point so it was instilled in her mind that she couldn't speak her native language in the US.
Does nobody else think that the employees actions could be as a result of an edict from management that English must be spoken at all times by employees on the shop floor?
On a global scale Americans are laughed at, and rightfully so, for being so ignorant and incapable that one language is all they're capable of knowing.
Ugh, only in Trump's America is it shameful to speak more than one language MAGA includes The complete annihilation of education, IMHO. I'm proud to be bilingual and married to an immigrant! (I learned Italian at 30, which proves that it's possible to learn another language even after high school)
I think people can speak, or not speak, whatever language they like. If he wants to speak Spanish, and someone does or doesn't understand him, that's up to him. If she understands Spanish and only wants to speak English, that's her choice. Personally, as a linguist, I relish the opportunity to speak any language any time. What's not okay is to try to control what someone else does, as this woman tried to do.
I am of Indian origin - working in UK - I gave up my Indian nationality - for multiple reasons - BUT what if I am met with an Indian who wants to speak a regional language is UK - AND if I refuse - would that make me a B***h? like yes i would help - BUt i am not great in the said language
My daughter worked for Levis in Belgium; when I went to visit her, it was possible to walk across the town she lived in. If I wanted to buy something, I just handed the counter person what I had in my wallet; they took out what the item cost and gave me the rest back. It was the kindest, sweetest country I ever visited in Europe. And, I remembered that at least twice they were marched over and through during two wars. Antwerp was lovely. The small museum was lovely. Good memories.
With all the racism going on in this country, I don’t blame her. She was probably scared that someone would disrespect her and call her out for speaking Spanish.
This is a generational thing, though. The older generation was taught that to succeed, they had to speak English, and when they were young, NOT speaking English could get them into real trouble. Racism was more in the open then. ...///... I know my own mother didn't grow up speaking English and she worked for YEARS to get rid of what she called "that immigrant accent". Unfair? Maybe, but at that time, if she wanted to be taken seriously by anyone, she had no choice but to speak correct English at all times.
My family has been living in Germany for 26 years and in the last two years you can hear a lot of languages when shopping in our small town, because there was a big influx of refugees like everywhere else here. My mum takes this as an occasion to shout loudly in Russian and across the shop, where the tomatoes are or something like that. I'm really uncomfortable with that, because we're still here in Germany. Maybe it's a stubborn way of thinking, but I once went to great lengths to learn the language, I like the German language and I'm also polite enough to use it. Recently I was rudely mobbed for not being able to answer the man who spoke to me in Arabic, where the social welfare office is. I offered him 3 languages to choose from.
If they speak Spanish in Mexico and English in America, what’s wrong with speaking Spanish in America? I’m sure some people speak English in Mexico. There’s some irony in there somewhere....
Based on her logic if you're in Texas you should be speaking the language of the Karankawa, Caddo, Apache, Comanche, Wichita, Coahuiltecan, Neches, or Tonkawa tribes.
Sí, ¿qué pasa si me acerco a ella y le digo algo como "no me siento cómodo hablando inglés" ¿Me animaría a hablar inglés, como una abuela compasiva? ¿O sería racista, ya que es realmente ofensivo estar hablando en español? Use a tanslator if you do not understand.
Is it ok to speak greek instead of English? Ναι, τι θα συμβεί αν την πλησιάσω και θα πω κάτι σαν "Δεν νιώθω άνετα να μιλάω αγγλικά;" Θα με ενθάρρυνε να μιλάω αγγλικά, σαν μια συμπονετική γιαγιά; Ή θα ήταν ρατσιστική, δεδομένου ότι είναι πραγματικά προσβλητικό να μιλάτε στα ισπανικά
Load More Replies...English is NOT the official language of the USA. We do NOT in fact have an official language. There is NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT regarding the use of English. It happens that English is the predominant language but Spanish is spoken by a huge % of the country.
"Nobody forced you to live here." HMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmMMMMM you sure??????
Texas have no official language, but even with one if you can understand each other nothing forbid you to speak a different language. You're suppose to be understand by people outside your conversation ;)
I think I'd say something like "Why should I speak English if we are not in England?". Might be stupid but so is her behaviour. It's not her place to pick how people speak, unless they are talking to her in a foreign language she doesn't understand, which is not the case here. Language is not important, the communication is.
Lori..you know it's technically not your country, or language right?
Load More Replies...Good for her! She is an excellent patriotic employee! Thank you!!
Omg, seriously. I've been in texas- half of them speak Espaneol! XD silly non bi-lingual person
She's well within her rights to only want to speak English, heck, it's not like America is a multicultural country with many traditions, languages and cultures. It's also not like employees have to be nice with customers, i mean, I'm sure she'll be able to do that. Heck, I'm 110% sure. It's not like the good US of A turned to s**t when Obama was not in office, and Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton fought for office... Although they are both very competent leaders **snicker**. It's not like Mexicans live in America... It's also not like Trump is an over-competent leader *lol*not*. It's not like Trump was a huge c******d during 9/11 using his tower for publicity instead of helping others...It's also not like I want you to downvote this comment because of a bet...
I mean like, f**k immigrants, go back to your own war-torn countries. Why come to America, a country I clearly don't live in, a place full of turmoil and BS. Heck, I fully support her, i mean, she has absolutely every right to speak to a customer like that. Why should she have to deal with a customer when it clearly is not part of her job as a sales employee in a company designed to promote and sell goods...
Load More Replies...-but she used the Spanish word for 'English' while insisting she speaks English. LOL
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