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By Janet Evans
Thursday, Mar 20 2008, 06:35 AM
Trust me…
Those of you that know anything about me know that if I opened a business of any kind I would not be hiring employees as translators, I would not be putting up signs in different languages, and I would not be learning another language so I could communicate with my patrons.
I would be opening a business in America, where our language is English, and my employees would be speaking English. My phone lines would not allow you to “press one.”
Would I lose some business….
Probably…
But you know, I believe a lot of the people reading these signs, using interpreters, and pressing one, really can speak English, and businesses are just enabling them rather than encouraging them to improve their language skills. Would I serve or help a non-English speaking patron? Well, of course! That's not what it's about.
If I was moving to another country, I would start learning their native language before I left.
In Philadelphia, PA, a business owner, of a famous cheese steak shop, decided, hey, this is America, if you want to order my cheese steaks, I would like you to order in English.
So, he put up a sign in the front window stating this.
There are other cheese steak shops around, after all, this is Philly....
It seems the city's human Relations Commission thought the sign was intimidating to non-English speaking customers....
The owner of Geno's Steaks, Joe Vento, says he never refused service to anyone who couldn't speak English.
He just has the sign hanging in the window... "WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH."
The commission originally thought the sign discouraged customers from different backgrounds from eating at Geno's.
At the final vote, Geno's won with a 2-1 vote saying they did not discriminate.
Read the story at Breitbart (it's in English)
"Speak English" Signs O.K at Philly Shop í here
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