Speaking English

In my Spanish class the other morning we somehow ended up talking about people who say "If you're in America then speak English." A lot of people in the class shook their heads or laughed at the statement and some commented on how racist it was. I started thinking about it and I began to wonder if it really is in fact a racist thing to say. I came to the conclusion that it depends on how you say it and what you mean when saying it. I hear people all of the time say that you shouldn't tell people immigrating to or working in the US that they have to learn English because that is telling them to forget their culture and that it's racist. I have to say that no it isn't. If somebody wants to live in a country it stands to reason that they should learn the language of said country. This applies to all countries, not just America.

If I wanted to move to France and live there I would in fact learn French. So why shouldn't I expect immigrants/workers who come to live in America to speak English? The only time I wouldn't expect this is if they suddenly had to flee their country. In that case they would have to learn English by immersion and it would be unreasonable to expect they know the language immediately. I'm not saying that all immigrants need to speak perfect English but they should at least know the basics. Also speaking English doesn't imply that they are giving up their culture. I've studied two foreign languages and have taken classes on international cultures and i haven't lost my American culture, I actually appreciate it more. 

Of course people shouldn't go around picking on and pointing out everybody in a grocery store or public place that is speaking another language because that would be racist. What's the difference? Well the difference is that bullying people for having a private conversation in their native tongue is wrong. They have the right to talk to anybody in whatever language they want. The problem only arises if nobody around them can understand what they are saying when they need help or some type of service. It also would make understanding our laws and public regulations next to impossible so therefore they need to know how to speak English when living in an English speaking country. If somebody is vacationing it's cool if they don't know how to speak English but when living in a country it is necessary to know the native language. On top of this if you were to live in a country that was a Spanish speaking country and you refused to speak Spanish the people in that country would view you as disrespectful and entitled, and they would also be right. So when talking about immigrants or people on a working visa learning to speak English it is not in fact racist to say that they should learn English.