Welcome to Amerika....

Bienvenue aux Etats-Unis...
Willkommen den Vereingete Staaten....
Bienvienidos de Estados Unidos...
Huānyíng lái dào měiguó....

Now speak English!!!

Growing up in a predominately white neighbourhood in suburban Seattle, it was drilled in our heads that speaking perfect American English is a requirement. My parents agreed, because they wanted my brother and I to become model citizens. So, I endured three years of speech therapy to ditch the accent I grew up with, and start my journey of being a good American. The cost was the inability to speak the language of my parents.

Things got better when low income housing came into our neighbourhood in the mid 1980s, bringing a more diverse group of people into our lives, and finally, I wasn't one of the few Asians in the village anymore.

It is great that people take pride in speaking the language of where their family is from. I however, take issue in not making learning English a priority. Though it is a requirement for citizenship, it is not taken seriously.

The Netherlands, for example, on top of requiring forced integration into Dutch society, has upped the residency minimum to 10 years, and you actually have to prove you can speak Dutch.

In a nation that is a melting pot, where the traditions are not necessarily governed by Judeo-Christian beliefs anymore, English is what ties us together. It is the language that we can all unite, utilise to help break down the other barriers in our society that keep us from being all Americans and enjoy the benefits of its citizenship.

I resent people that assume I can speak their language. I get "Habla Espanol" all the time at work. I have people assume that because I'm Asian, I'm fluent in whatever the fuck language they're speaking. I resent white people who assume that because I am not white, I can't speak the language of my birth. Hell, when I worked at Old Navy 10 years ago, I had some idiot ask me if I can explain the return/exchange policy in fucking Mandarin! I know some Mandarin, but not enough to tell them "30 days, original receipt, original form of payment."

I don't have issues, but damn it, speak English, or at least try. When we as Americans travel abroad, we have the reputation of trying to learn the language before we travel, as we assume it is expected by the host culture. I at least have a phrase book handy just in case I don't have a clue. Thank goodness for the phrasebook aps on iPhone and iPod touch!

I had a guest that told me that I "don't sound the way I look". That's racist, dumbass! Just treat me like an person, and I'll respect you for that. And yes, that means using English.

Welcome to America.