Reading Response Week 7 and 8 #1

Marquez begins her argument by stating with certainty that spanish-speaking Americans do not speak Spanish in public to alienate non-Spanish speaking individuals, but because in a free country like America she believes people should have the right to speak in any language they choose in public. Marquez justifies Spanish speakers in several ways. Marquez states that a lot of Spanish speakers speak in Spanish to their parents out of respect and do not intend to alienate non-spanish speakers. Marquez also states that speaking Spanish is a way of maintaining cultural roots. The fear that Marquez states non-spanish speakers may have is that not speaking English is unpatriotic or un-American. Marquez refutes this assumption by pointing out that steps had been taken by the government to accommodate bi-lingual or even non-English speaking citizens. Marquez also points out that America's founding fathers believed strongly that the United States government should not force any specific language on any of it's citizens. Marquez also responds to this fear by pointing out that many non-English speaking citizens have spoken in their native tongue in the U.S. For years due to the levels of immigration that have occurred in the United States. Marquez is also careful to point out that many non-English speaking Americans have fought and died for the United States as a response to this fear. Marquez also seeks to respond to this fear by not tolerating the exclusion of non-bilingual speakers in groups of bilingual people. By doing this, she hopes to show that Spanish speakers do not intend to be rude to anyone, but if they are having a private conversation amongst bilingual or Spanish speakers, they should have the right to speak in Spanish without feeling ashamed for doing so.