I’ve hears stories of some Americans telling other people who are speaking a non-English language “This is America, speak English!” even if the conversation has nothing to do with them. Why do they do this?

  • LordSinguloth@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    Happens in every country and in every nation. This isn’t a strictly American issue

    • Valmond@lemmy.world
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      4 hours ago

      Yep, went to france to learn french, was questioned (by an idiot) why I didn’t knew (spoke) french well.

      They exist in all countries.

      Edit: learn, not kearn…

      • undrwater@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Don’t you DARE speak French in France unless you’re a native speaker!

        That country is the reverse complaint put forth in this thread.

          • OhmsLawn@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Same.

            Of course, the first phrase I made absolutely certain I could rattle off was “excuse me I don’t speak French well”. Deliver that with a smile and they can be pretty damn forgiving.

  • They are ignorant, taught hate, and told incorrectly that English is the official language of the United States, but in reality the United States doesn’t have an official language. In fact before WW1 there where so many German speaking Americans that spme cities had German spelled street names, and German festivals.

    • Mossheart@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      I agree with the first part, but pre WWI was over a hundred years ago. I’m sure there’s more relevant and recent examples that could be found to strengthen an argument.

    • Roopappy@lemmy.ml
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      3 days ago

      True.

      Also, there is a psychological effect of people either feeling excluded from a conversation, or suspicious that they are being secretly insulted when they can’t understand it.

  • jamiehs@lemmy.world
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    4 days ago

    Because those Americans are entitled, insecure, ignorant, xenophobic assholes.

      • irish_link@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        This is true however there are much more documented instances of this in America. Could be a pure numbers game (more people more cases) but no full proof of that.

        • pingveno@lemmy.ml
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          3 days ago

          Conflicts over language have been tied to other conflicts (political, cultural, war) for a very long time. Cultural genocide against indigenous people has targeted indigenous language use among young people. Many people in India have objected to the establishment of Hindi as a UN language because they fear it will advance the extinction of their own language. I’m not saying some Replacement Theory bigot kvetching because someone dared speak a language besides English is equivalent. It’s more that language does have a special place in culture in a way that is very common.

    • davel [he/him]@lemmy.ml
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      4 days ago

      Just as there are two kind of race, white and political; and there are two kinds of gender, male and political; there also are two kinds of language, English and political.

  • Drusas@kbin.run
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    4 days ago

    This is not an American thing. People around the world are biased against immigrants.

    • Crashumbc@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      It’s not JUST an American thing. People are biased against outsiders and people that are different.

      Ftfy

      • Drusas@kbin.run
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        4 days ago

        No. That’s not a fix. You’re still focusing on this being American, while it is pretty universal.

    • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      goddamn bro, just let your racist flag fly proudly huh?

      You need to realize there are americans, born here, with generations going back hundreds of years, that still speak other languages. And still get the snide ‘this is america’ bullshit.

      The post may include immigrants but that’s not the entire population. what a chudworthy moment.

      • Muffi@programming.dev
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        4 days ago

        I think you maybe read something that the op didn’t write? Pointing out that “there are racists everywhere” is in itself not a racist statement.

        • mojofrododojo@lemmy.world
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          4 days ago

          This is not an American thing. People around the world are biased against immigrants.

          this is their statement - assuming anyone they hear not speaking english are immigrants.

          it’s incorrect.

  • ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    It’s called xenophobia, the fear and dislike of anything foreign. Some people believe that if your group isn’t dominant it will be dominated, and peaceful coexistence isn’t possible between different groups.

    These people are afraid that, if the English language isn’t forced onto other people, one day other people will force a foreign language onto them.

    • Dyskolos@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      Not everyone disliking something is necessarily phobic towards it. That’s just one possoble explanation.

        • Dyskolos@lemmy.zip
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          3 days ago

          They could simply

          A) dislike X

          B) hate/despise X

          C) came to the logical conclusion, that X is bad/wrong/shouldn’t be/whatever

          D) genereally mistrusting against X due to a careful nature

          E) have had traumatic experience with X (e.g. Being raped/attacked by a member of a specific ethnicity) and hence totally overreacting to an otherwise harmless stimulus, even forgetting the rules of civil behaviour

          Those all don’t mean there’s the medical condition of a phobia for X.

          A real xenophobic has an irrational fear of anything unknown/alien. Doesn’t mean the person just hates e.g. Mexicans for no real reason. It might even like them once they get to know the better, which often just won’t happen as phobics tend to avoid the cause their phobia instead of treating it.

          I just dislike the lax use of medical terms until they’re bereft of any real meaning.

          So, a person who yanks “speak English!” to someone, could have many reasons to do. None are neither polite nor politically correct. While the asshole is probably just the uneducated asswipe, the phobic could be helped and probably even feels bad afterwards for being so compulsive and insulting.

            • Dyskolos@lemmy.zip
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              3 days ago

              It’s literally in the term. But yeah sure, it’s easier to just smack the same label on everything. Whatever makes you happy.

              • Stepos Venzny@beehaw.org
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                3 days ago

                Some words just have more than one definition is all. It’s not about me, it’s about the dictionary.

    • laughterlaughter@lemmy.world
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      4 days ago

      What gets me is when they complain about Spanish, a European language. Where does English come from, you may ask? Oh right! Europe!

      So they’re proud of speaking a language that’s not even 'Merican. Learn Navajo, Comanche, or any of the several native American languages, then we’ll talk.

  • Bob@feddit.nl
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    3 days ago

    I remember smoking outside a pub near Chinatown with a mate something like ten years ago when two Chinese people went by speaking Chinese, and he said “they should be speaking English; this is Britain,” so I asked why, and he couldn’t explain why. Just on a vague principle.

  • phx@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    This happens in other countries as well. I’ve been told to speak the local (non-English) language when visiting friends overseas when having a private conversation.

    Generally, it seems to be nosy old people who are upset about not being able to eavesdrop

  • folkrav@lemmy.ca
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    3 days ago

    We have this reputation here in Quebec to be generally angry at people for being really aggressive with people who are not speaking French when visiting. I’ve never experienced nor was witness of it, but I believe it when I hear people say they’ve had issues with some of us Quebs too. We have our fair share of idiots, like most nations.