Yes, I do think there will be at some point, if both candidates are Spanish-speakers. I doubt it will become a regular thing within a few decades, though.
I am still waiting for a proper American presidential debate in English. Only Democrats put forward a candidate that was able to speak in complete, well-structured sentences.
If I remember correctly, someone once challenged Ted Cruz to debate him in Spanish. Was it Beto?
Before I saw Avedee's comment I was going to chime in and say I expected it to happen in a congressional race relatively soon but it has already happened.
I wouldn't be surprised if within the next decade we get a Spanish language debate in the democratic primary for a statewide office.
I donтАЩt think so, IтАЩm a first generation Chilean-American, my brother and I are fully bilingual but that was because we moved to Chile for a chunk of our childhood after parents split. My half sister were fully raised in USA same as mi first degree cousins. They speak 0 Spanish, canтАЩt even talk to Spanish speaking grandparents. To stay bilingual parents need a ]n active role in promoting it. My godson/nephew (son of my brother) is fully bilingual but that was an active effort to put him in Spanish pre-school /kindergarten and then when moved to English he spoke Spanish at home and English at school.
I'd say no, and frankly I don't think Canada should really be having French-language PM debates either. The fact is, that in both Canada and the U.S., there's just one dominant language, and that's English. In both countries, in order to have a nationwide career in business, entertainment, or politics, you have to speak English, and (just as importantly) you don't have to speak any other language. Neither Canada nor the U.S. should require or expect its political leaders to speak any language other than English. So I'd be totally against any presidential debates in a language other than English.
I'm surprised someone who lives so close to Quebec is suggesting making Canada monolingual and causing it to break up, which don't kid yourself is what will happen.
Canada needs to make the French Canadians as "assimilationist" (to use the term the OP used) as Spanish speakers here in the U.S.
And if Quebec actually tries to secede, the rest of Canada should do to them what the Union did to the Confederacy. (And then avoid any "Lost Cause" nonsense afterward.)
You really don't give a shit about human lives in Canada, to call for a civil war to try to force the Quebecois to "assimilate," which they will never do. Unbelievable!
Canada's multicultural society is a deep part of their history and civic tradition, it also is a major reason their society is as tolerant as it is. Nor are they only country with protected regional ethnic groups and multiple official languages. This also applies to Switzerland equally well and of course Belgium is basically riven by it's linguistic and ethnic divisions.
Canada's multiple official languages just allow Quebec to discriminate against Anglophones while forcing the people of Ontario and Western Canada to learn a language they will never need to use. Official languages have all the same problems as official religions, and should be eliminated entirely. We need a separation of language and state the same way we need a separation of church and state.
How much do you know about Canadian history? It's really absurd for you to think that after hundreds of years, the Quebecois will be "assimilated." Do you also think the Ukrainians will be assimilated by Russia?
I don't know whether to laugh at this comment, that *you're* asking how much *I* know about Canadian history when you're the one who clearly needs to read up on Bill 101 and the 1995 secession referendum, or say yikes that you're actually comparing Quebecers to Ukrainians, which is a completely absurd comparison. Last I checked, Ukraine isn't less than 25% of a country where everyone else speaks a different language, and even if they were, they certainly aren't trying to force the minority in their province who speak that other language to only ever speak their language. Because let's face it - the ultimate goal of the PQ and Bloc in Quebec, beyond even seceding from Canada, is to completely outlaw the use of the English language in Quebec.
I'm also aware that the secession referenda lost. There is a very wide spectrum between outlawing the use of English in Quebec and requiring all French-speakers in Canada to "assimilate"! But you think it's worth a civil war!
I think, just as Abraham Lincoln did, that secession of a region of your country (especially when the secessionists want to secede in order to discriminate against a certain segment of society) is something that must be stopped at all costs.
Not in Quebec. Maybe that was the case before the Quiet Revolution, but that hasn't been true for quite some time. It's English monophones who have limited career opportunities, especially outside of Montreal.
Also the French debates are hilarious and often quite informative, even to non-French speakers.
I think you misunderstood. I said to have a *nationwide* career in business, entertainment, or politics, you have to speak English. The nation I was referring to is Canada (Quebec is not a "nation inside of Canada" and never will be). This is because, with the exception of northern New Brunswick, there's practically no Francophone presence in the remainder of Canada outside of Quebec. My statement is inarguably correct.
That makes your point even weirder. You realize that it's not necessary to be fluent in English to have a successful life and career in Quebec, but you still want to enforce it on them out of some misplaced hatred of the Parti Qu├йb├йcois?
You do realize it was the Federalists and the Quebec Liberal Party who came up with the whole language scheme for the province and by extension the country, right? It was a policy designed to keep Quebec Canadian. By making French the language of government, the language of business and commerce, etc, etc, they defused the rising nationalist movement
The point you're trying to make in your first paragraph is completely irrelevant. Quebec isn't a nation. Canada is. In Canada, Anglophones massively outnumber Francophones (by at least 3-1, and possibly more now that Canada has absorbed large numbers of immigrants from non-Francophone countries who generally learn only English upon moving to Canada). And a nation should have a uniform language policy across it.
To further clarify my position, my issue with Quebec and its language policy isn't that most Quebecers speak French. My issue is that, according to the most recent Canadian census, fully half of Quebecers cannot have a conversation in English. That is just completely and utterly appalling, a massive and purposeful failure on the part of the Quebec provincial government that has enormous economic and social consequences for Quebec. And most of the problem could be solved if, as I said above, Quebec is forced to separate language and state - i.e. abolish the OQLF, allow parents to send their kids to whatever language schools they want, repeal the ban on non-French commercial signs, and most importantly, repeal Bill 101, an evil piece of hate legislation against Anglophones. In other words, the provincial government of Quebec needs to stop propping up the French language, accept that their province is surrounded by English speakers on three sides (and on the fourth side by ice), and then let the linguistic chips fall as they may.
And one other point. The rest of Canada is under absolutely no obligation to make any concessions whatsoever to defuse regional nationalist movements, whether in Quebec or anywhere else. The same way that the Union was under no obligation to make concessions to defuse the Confederate nationalist movement. The national political unity of Canada is not up for debate, never will be (unless a clear majority of Canadians want it to split up), and must be defended at all costs.
It amazes me that so many supposedly progressive people have sympathy for the racists and antisemites who make up most of the PQ and Bloc membership.
And if you're not sure how they're racists and antisemites, just look at former Quebec PQ Premier Jacques Parizeau's comment about why his side lost the 1995 secession referendum. He blamed "money and the ethnic vote" - in other words, Jews and anyone who wasn't white and of French descent. If that isn't a horrendously bigoted comment, I don't know what is.
That's not what we're reacting to. (Or at least not me, I should say; I can't speak for Michael or anyone else.) I've been a Francophone for some small period of time now and understand Quebec politics better than some. But you went from (1) Parizeau (who died almost a decade ago) and the sovereigntists to (2) PQ is full of racists to (3) there should never be a French-language debate to (4) there shouldn't be a Spanish-language debate in the U.S. That's quite the series of leaps. And just because some of us don't make those jumps with you doesn't mean we need our liberal credentials questioned.
Something I was thinking about with the debate this past week:
Do you all think there will ever be a Spanish language debate, like the Canadian PM candidates have a French language debate?
Some reasons why it might someday happen:
- Large, politically competitive Spanish speaking community
- Both parties already run ads in Spanish
- Spanish speaking population is growing
Some reasons why it may not happen
- Spanish speakers in the US are much more assimilationist than the French Canadians are
- There's still an active English only movement on the right that would probably object
- There isn't an expectation of Spanish fluency of most politicians
Yes, I do think there will be at some point, if both candidates are Spanish-speakers. I doubt it will become a regular thing within a few decades, though.
The 2016 FL-26 Curbelo-Garcia race had a Spanish-speaking debate.
https://miamiherald.typepad.com/nakedpolitics/2016/10/no-agreement-on-more-debates-between-garcia-curbelo.html
I am still waiting for a proper American presidential debate in English. Only Democrats put forward a candidate that was able to speak in complete, well-structured sentences.
If I remember correctly, someone once challenged Ted Cruz to debate him in Spanish. Was it Beto?
Before I saw Avedee's comment I was going to chime in and say I expected it to happen in a congressional race relatively soon but it has already happened.
I wouldn't be surprised if within the next decade we get a Spanish language debate in the democratic primary for a statewide office.
I donтАЩt think so, IтАЩm a first generation Chilean-American, my brother and I are fully bilingual but that was because we moved to Chile for a chunk of our childhood after parents split. My half sister were fully raised in USA same as mi first degree cousins. They speak 0 Spanish, canтАЩt even talk to Spanish speaking grandparents. To stay bilingual parents need a ]n active role in promoting it. My godson/nephew (son of my brother) is fully bilingual but that was an active effort to put him in Spanish pre-school /kindergarten and then when moved to English he spoke Spanish at home and English at school.
lol, it posted my name oops
I'd say no, and frankly I don't think Canada should really be having French-language PM debates either. The fact is, that in both Canada and the U.S., there's just one dominant language, and that's English. In both countries, in order to have a nationwide career in business, entertainment, or politics, you have to speak English, and (just as importantly) you don't have to speak any other language. Neither Canada nor the U.S. should require or expect its political leaders to speak any language other than English. So I'd be totally against any presidential debates in a language other than English.
I'm surprised someone who lives so close to Quebec is suggesting making Canada monolingual and causing it to break up, which don't kid yourself is what will happen.
Canada needs to make the French Canadians as "assimilationist" (to use the term the OP used) as Spanish speakers here in the U.S.
And if Quebec actually tries to secede, the rest of Canada should do to them what the Union did to the Confederacy. (And then avoid any "Lost Cause" nonsense afterward.)
You really don't give a shit about human lives in Canada, to call for a civil war to try to force the Quebecois to "assimilate," which they will never do. Unbelievable!
Canada's multicultural society is a deep part of their history and civic tradition, it also is a major reason their society is as tolerant as it is. Nor are they only country with protected regional ethnic groups and multiple official languages. This also applies to Switzerland equally well and of course Belgium is basically riven by it's linguistic and ethnic divisions.
Canada's multiple official languages just allow Quebec to discriminate against Anglophones while forcing the people of Ontario and Western Canada to learn a language they will never need to use. Official languages have all the same problems as official religions, and should be eliminated entirely. We need a separation of language and state the same way we need a separation of church and state.
How much do you know about Canadian history? It's really absurd for you to think that after hundreds of years, the Quebecois will be "assimilated." Do you also think the Ukrainians will be assimilated by Russia?
I don't know whether to laugh at this comment, that *you're* asking how much *I* know about Canadian history when you're the one who clearly needs to read up on Bill 101 and the 1995 secession referendum, or say yikes that you're actually comparing Quebecers to Ukrainians, which is a completely absurd comparison. Last I checked, Ukraine isn't less than 25% of a country where everyone else speaks a different language, and even if they were, they certainly aren't trying to force the minority in their province who speak that other language to only ever speak their language. Because let's face it - the ultimate goal of the PQ and Bloc in Quebec, beyond even seceding from Canada, is to completely outlaw the use of the English language in Quebec.
I'm also aware that the secession referenda lost. There is a very wide spectrum between outlawing the use of English in Quebec and requiring all French-speakers in Canada to "assimilate"! But you think it's worth a civil war!
I think, just as Abraham Lincoln did, that secession of a region of your country (especially when the secessionists want to secede in order to discriminate against a certain segment of society) is something that must be stopped at all costs.
And I also noticed that you didn't actually respond to anything I said in my previous comment. Hmmmm...
LOL at your overreaction. I half expected it.
If anything, Michael's reaction was restrained. I enjoy your contributions around here and have for years, but your take on this is terrible. Wow.
Not in Quebec. Maybe that was the case before the Quiet Revolution, but that hasn't been true for quite some time. It's English monophones who have limited career opportunities, especially outside of Montreal.
Also the French debates are hilarious and often quite informative, even to non-French speakers.
I think you misunderstood. I said to have a *nationwide* career in business, entertainment, or politics, you have to speak English. The nation I was referring to is Canada (Quebec is not a "nation inside of Canada" and never will be). This is because, with the exception of northern New Brunswick, there's practically no Francophone presence in the remainder of Canada outside of Quebec. My statement is inarguably correct.
That makes your point even weirder. You realize that it's not necessary to be fluent in English to have a successful life and career in Quebec, but you still want to enforce it on them out of some misplaced hatred of the Parti Qu├йb├йcois?
You do realize it was the Federalists and the Quebec Liberal Party who came up with the whole language scheme for the province and by extension the country, right? It was a policy designed to keep Quebec Canadian. By making French the language of government, the language of business and commerce, etc, etc, they defused the rising nationalist movement
The point you're trying to make in your first paragraph is completely irrelevant. Quebec isn't a nation. Canada is. In Canada, Anglophones massively outnumber Francophones (by at least 3-1, and possibly more now that Canada has absorbed large numbers of immigrants from non-Francophone countries who generally learn only English upon moving to Canada). And a nation should have a uniform language policy across it.
To further clarify my position, my issue with Quebec and its language policy isn't that most Quebecers speak French. My issue is that, according to the most recent Canadian census, fully half of Quebecers cannot have a conversation in English. That is just completely and utterly appalling, a massive and purposeful failure on the part of the Quebec provincial government that has enormous economic and social consequences for Quebec. And most of the problem could be solved if, as I said above, Quebec is forced to separate language and state - i.e. abolish the OQLF, allow parents to send their kids to whatever language schools they want, repeal the ban on non-French commercial signs, and most importantly, repeal Bill 101, an evil piece of hate legislation against Anglophones. In other words, the provincial government of Quebec needs to stop propping up the French language, accept that their province is surrounded by English speakers on three sides (and on the fourth side by ice), and then let the linguistic chips fall as they may.
And one other point. The rest of Canada is under absolutely no obligation to make any concessions whatsoever to defuse regional nationalist movements, whether in Quebec or anywhere else. The same way that the Union was under no obligation to make concessions to defuse the Confederate nationalist movement. The national political unity of Canada is not up for debate, never will be (unless a clear majority of Canadians want it to split up), and must be defended at all costs.
I read this three times trying, with respect, to understand your take.
I failed.
It amazes me that so many supposedly progressive people have sympathy for the racists and antisemites who make up most of the PQ and Bloc membership.
And if you're not sure how they're racists and antisemites, just look at former Quebec PQ Premier Jacques Parizeau's comment about why his side lost the 1995 secession referendum. He blamed "money and the ethnic vote" - in other words, Jews and anyone who wasn't white and of French descent. If that isn't a horrendously bigoted comment, I don't know what is.
That's not what we're reacting to. (Or at least not me, I should say; I can't speak for Michael or anyone else.) I've been a Francophone for some small period of time now and understand Quebec politics better than some. But you went from (1) Parizeau (who died almost a decade ago) and the sovereigntists to (2) PQ is full of racists to (3) there should never be a French-language debate to (4) there shouldn't be a Spanish-language debate in the U.S. That's quite the series of leaps. And just because some of us don't make those jumps with you doesn't mean we need our liberal credentials questioned.