Obama says it's OK to ask immigrants to learn English

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. I should think that immigrants would be very motivated to learn the language of their new country.

I know it takes time. I know if they've come to the new country as an adult they will probably never be fully fluent. But they should learn the language of their new country.

When I hear of someone who has been here for ten years or more and does not seem to speak word one of English, I find it hard to be fully sympathetic. Especially if their native language is another Indo-European one.

I also honestly don't think that ballots should be printed in other languages, because to become a citizen you have to pass some sort of basic English test. And again, you should be highly motivated to learn the language.

That said, I have zero patience for those who pitch fits when they hear someone speaking another language. I live in Santa Fe, NM, and I hear Spanish all the time. No big deal. I can speak some Spanish, and I try to communicate with Spanish speakers as needed.

I have a good friend who speaks several languages (Italian, French, German, Bahasa Malay, Spanish, maybe a couple of others) and whenever I'm with him, the next thing I know he's speaking to someone in one of his other languages. I think that is totally cool.