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Spanish Speaking Grandpa Gets Isolated On Christmas Because He Didn’t Learn English, Goes Viral On Twitter
Learning another language is hard! There are lots of things that influence the level of success you are likely to have, and it turns out that some people’s brains are simply not wired for linguistic excellence. Your education, family background, self-confidence and the difficulty of the target language are obviously going to have an effect too.
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Image credits: mrhernandezz31
Jose Hernandez went on Twitter and shared the heartbreaking story of a grandpa who just wasn’t able to take the step of learning English, and it cost him the ability to communicate with his own family.
Image credits: mrhernandezz31
In the modern world, where people travel and migrate much more frequently than they used to, the importance of being multi-lingual has grown. For one reason or another, the value of being able to communicate in another language has never quite been recognized in mainstream American culture and is more likely to be viewed with suspicion rather than admiration in some areas. This family, with Latin American heritage, have obviously integrated well into life in the United States and have become accustomed to speaking English, and only English, with each other.
Image credits: mrhernandezz31
This sad, but surprisingly common story prompted some really interesting reactions, revealing what life is like growing up in an immigrant household and the importance of language to one’s identity. It also showed the difference in people’s opinions on where the blame lies for this problem. What do you think?
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What do you think ?
Wanda Queen 6 years ago
I'm not even gonna read the damn thing. Communicate with Grandpa however you need to. He's not going to be here forever.
María Hermida 6 years ago
The grandpa should also make the effort to learn the language of the country where he is living! I don't understand those people who live for 10 or 20 years in a foreign country and don't make the slightest effort to acquire a minimum, al least for an everyday conversation. I think it's a problem of attitude. Here in the north of Spain many poor people emigrated to Germany in the 60's and 70's. They had unqualified jobs, and worked like mules. Some can speak reasonably good German, while others can't say a word. The difference? Some wanted to integrate and learn so they made the effort. In this case, the grandchildren don't really need Spanish, but the grandpa obviously needs English. How long has he been living in the USA?
Daria B 6 years ago (edited)
"Should This Grandpa Learn English Or His Kids Learn Spanish? Viral Tweet Sparks Discussion" → it should work both ways. Although it should be easier for the youth to learn a new language, they should be the ones to make the effort for his sake. But it is not impossible to acquire a foreign language, at least a basic conversational level, at an old age either (depends on the individual), so he should try and see whether it works or not (but he should be guided to not feel bad in case he could not learn).
Vivek Mhatre 6 years ago (edited)
At the opposite end of the spectrum is India, here almost everybody is Bilingual. This is the minimum. Depending on where you are, you will find lots of trilingual , quadlingual people as well. I can read, write and speak in 4 languages myself, and so can my friends. My sister is pentalingual (is this a word?) because she is learning Spanish.
Daria B 6 years ago
Croatia is also very multilingual. I myself have 2 native languages (Croatian and Italian), which made it easier for me to learn English and Korean (which is now my default language that I use here in Korea). I used to study German as well, and was good at it too, but I forgot most of it, as my life path didn't make me use it much. I understand the basics of grammar, but my vocabulary is too poor to make conversations. But anyway, while not every Croatian can, it is still very common for Croatians to speak at least 3 languages, 4 is the standard for those who work in tourism, 5 is "wow!"
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Wanda Queen 6 years ago
I'm not even gonna read the damn thing. Communicate with Grandpa however you need to. He's not going to be here forever.
María Hermida 6 years ago
The grandpa should also make the effort to learn the language of the country where he is living! I don't understand those people who live for 10 or 20 years in a foreign country and don't make the slightest effort to acquire a minimum, al least for an everyday conversation. I think it's a problem of attitude. Here in the north of Spain many poor people emigrated to Germany in the 60's and 70's. They had unqualified jobs, and worked like mules. Some can speak reasonably good German, while others can't say a word. The difference? Some wanted to integrate and learn so they made the effort. In this case, the grandchildren don't really need Spanish, but the grandpa obviously needs English. How long has he been living in the USA?
Daria B 6 years ago (edited)
"Should This Grandpa Learn English Or His Kids Learn Spanish? Viral Tweet Sparks Discussion" → it should work both ways. Although it should be easier for the youth to learn a new language, they should be the ones to make the effort for his sake. But it is not impossible to acquire a foreign language, at least a basic conversational level, at an old age either (depends on the individual), so he should try and see whether it works or not (but he should be guided to not feel bad in case he could not learn).
Vivek Mhatre 6 years ago (edited)
At the opposite end of the spectrum is India, here almost everybody is Bilingual. This is the minimum. Depending on where you are, you will find lots of trilingual , quadlingual people as well. I can read, write and speak in 4 languages myself, and so can my friends. My sister is pentalingual (is this a word?) because she is learning Spanish.
Daria B 6 years ago
Croatia is also very multilingual. I myself have 2 native languages (Croatian and Italian), which made it easier for me to learn English and Korean (which is now my default language that I use here in Korea). I used to study German as well, and was good at it too, but I forgot most of it, as my life path didn't make me use it much. I understand the basics of grammar, but my vocabulary is too poor to make conversations. But anyway, while not every Croatian can, it is still very common for Croatians to speak at least 3 languages, 4 is the standard for those who work in tourism, 5 is "wow!"
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