‘Press 2 for Spanish’ costs billions; Trump can save money by pressing pen to paper
Washington Times,
by
James Varney
Original Article
Posted By: Ribicon,
3/11/2019 12:00:08 AM
There’s no telling how much money the government could save if it were to stop asking Americans to “Press 2 for Spanish.” What is clear, according to those pushing the change, is that President Trump could do it with the stroke of a pen.(Snip) Since the dawn of the 21st century, the U.S. government has operated under mandatory translation rules for its documents and services, a pricey option that President Clinton imposed via executive order near the end of his tenure in August 2000. In essence, the order meant that if a person with limited or no English language skills
Reply 1 - Posted by:
DVC 3/11/2019 12:32:07 AM (No. 749)
This BS just angers me. English is the language of our country. If you want to speak Spanish move to Mexico or some other place where that is the language. Otherwise, learn English or just tough luck.
76 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Readaholic 3/11/2019 12:53:02 AM (No. 766)
I worked for a city goobermint for some years and found that many people will request a Spanish speaker even though, when pressed, they speak perfectly serviceable English. I would always say, "Can we try English first?" and only rarely have to resort to routing the call to a Spanish speaker. Another pernicious effect of these policies is to disqualify English-only speakers from employment.
58 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
ginadee 3/11/2019 1:16:06 AM (No. 751)
´Press 2 for Spanish´ is probably my #1 pet peeve. Do Spanish speaking countries have ´press 2 for English´?
62 people like this.
My pet peeve too. Learn English or don´t come here.
Before Slick was re-elected, there was a lot of flack because ballots were printed in 20 languages. I wrote to him about the expense to taxpayers. His letter arrived the day before the election. "Everybody has the alienable right to vote"
English is the International Official Language. If you don´t think so, try flying a plane into a foreign airport. The French were ticked off because they did not pick French. Congress would never make English our official language.
MAGA
33 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
RenoVet68 3/11/2019 3:28:52 AM (No. 756)
Press "M" for Muslime.
25 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Trigger2 3/11/2019 6:53:36 AM (No. 753)
How about "Press 2 for Spanish Speaking Illegal" which gets an automatic notice to ICE?
51 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
redraider 3/11/2019 7:18:25 AM (No. 748)
I gotta´ admit......whenever I´m presented with the choice.....I press 2. The wait time is usually considerably shorter. All Spanish speaking customer service folks also speak English. When they come on the line I ask "habla inglés"? The answer is always yes.
We then conduct my business in MY native language.
61 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
SabraJet 3/11/2019 8:42:40 AM (No. 752)
Oh please,please do! If Mom and Pops can´t speak English let their 10 year old (who learned English in a matter of months) translate. My French Grandparents learned it from their children, if you move to another country learning the language is a must. I give exception only to those over 70. But the "press for Spanish" will not go away from my Wells Fargo account because the company is based California!
29 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Rather Read 3/11/2019 9:11:27 AM (No. 765)
My great grandparents were from Luxembourg. I still remember my grandmother telling me how she and her siblings learned English at school and how her father enforced the rule that they speak English only when they were eating. They all learned it.
22 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
genius 3/11/2019 9:22:29 AM (No. 750)
When I moved to Quebec, I learned French by only dating French girls.
17 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
felixcat 3/11/2019 9:54:32 AM (No. 763)
Re #9 - why would anyone emigrate from Luxembourg? Glad your grandparents came here, though.
18 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Paperpuncher 3/11/2019 10:12:06 AM (No. 760)
It has been bugging me since the beginning. If for some reason I had to move to France or Germany Iearning the native language would be first on my list of must do’s. I get statements from my health insurance company every month that have several pages with five different languages on them. What a waste of paper. Why don’t the tree huggers do something about that?
26 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
mc squared 3/11/2019 11:03:45 AM (No. 746)
#3; Press 2 for Spanish´ is probably my #1 pet peeve
You won´t have to put up with it much longer. Soon you´ll be pressing 1 for Spanish.
Many of the stores here are making announcements in Spanish. What am I to do? It the store on fire? Did I miss the Blue Light Special?
30 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
panther361 3/11/2019 11:24:59 AM (No. 747)
Where did we leave off on English being the official, more only, language of the US.
22 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Lawsy0 3/11/2019 11:25:23 AM (No. 767)
Una momento por favor! Just a minute! Hang on! If this Clinton Executive Order can be undone, why has it not already been done? Okay, I realize no Bush-ite would do it (brothers by another mother), so for the first 16 years, there it stood. Then came Obamanations I and II and it stood for 8 more years. Four and twenty years is long enough. Long ENOUGH.
Stoke of the pen, law of the land, my Aunt Minnie.
33 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
RedWhiteBlue 3/11/2019 11:34:48 AM (No. 769)
I press #@ just for the fun of it. There is someone there that speaks English so .... I press #2 a lot! LOL
16 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
RedWhiteBlue 3/11/2019 11:37:44 AM (No. 764)
I still can´t understand why it´s only the Spanish speaking people that have to have this service. Makes them look like they are slow learners! I would be resentful of this myself. I had to learn English so I could survive here...so if you push them hard enough they will also learn...or sink...that´s life!
13 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/11/2019 12:57:33 PM (No. 762)
The annoyance factor alone would make it worth while. Just declare English the official language.
16 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
Strike3 3/11/2019 1:00:12 PM (No. 754)
English is designated as the official language of FCC-licensed ham radio operators.
22 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
mc squared 3/11/2019 1:17:45 PM (No. 768)
The FCC requires ID in English. Many QSOs are in Spanish or other, but suddenly they ID in English.
13 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
Bohallx 3/11/2019 2:20:01 PM (No. 757)
If you should find yourself in court in India, which is a very diverse nation where everybody looks alike but they have 200 million + different religions, dozens of different languages, claim all sorts of ethnicities, and even wear saris with different designs......
Well, you find yourself in court and YOU BRING your own translator ~ the gub´mnt doesn´t pay for that.
The odds are very good that the judge, the petitioners, the barristers and the guards all speak different languages.
Nobody´s special in India.
Bring your own or try to avoid ever ending up in court.
The USA needs to adopt the same standards given that we have people speaking 35 different Spanish dialects.... among others!
Not our fault!
17 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
dman 3/11/2019 2:25:23 PM (No. 755)
English only for sites, phone numbers, destinations, or whatever venue involves or requires US citizenship.
An executive order may not do it. Pass the amendment to make English the only official US government language.
Let everyone partaking of federal government services or with "standing" in federal courts learn English and assimilate, or pay for their own translators. If states want to do differently for their venues, then let them have at it and not make the rest of us pay for it.
15 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
watashiyo 3/11/2019 6:32:06 PM (No. 761)
PC run AMOK.!
12 people like this.
Learn English or LEAVE!
18 people like this.
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Another budget-busting gift from the Clintons. How great it would be to make America America again, but such a move is one place among many where Republicans fear to tread.