'Speak English' Signs OK at Philly Shop

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The owner of a famous cheesesteak shop did not discriminate when he posted signs asking customers to speak English, a city panel ruled Wednesday.

In a 2-1 vote, a Commission on Human Relations panel found that two signs at Geno's Steaks telling customers, "This is America: WHEN ORDERING 'PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH,'" do not violate the city's Fair Practices Ordinance.

Associated Press | 'Speak English' Signs OK at Philly Shop


I know I'll probably have someone flame me, and call me a racist, or bigot, or something... but, screw it: GO PHILLY!!! :thumbsup:

While it his right under law to do this, I still think it's in bad taste and rude. I would avoid eating there out of principal, and because I tend to like places that present a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

When it comes down to it, it's the idea of money. Why not bitch about the fact that nearly every product in America has at least 3 different languages on it? Christ, get over the fact that not every speaks English; are you that ethnocentric? That's what makes this country great the diversity of different cultures. Why not makes Americans bilingual so they could all understand? An outreach to learn Spanish, English, French, or whatever! We're all humans.

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Originally Posted by katyowns

While it his right under law to do this, I still think it's in bad taste and rude. I would avoid eating there out of principal, and because I tend to like places that present a welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

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The owner isn't saying that he doesn't welcome people of other ethnic backgrounds, he's simply stating that he'd prefer for his customers to order their food in English. Now I know that many people will say that this is a country of immigrants, and all that good stuff, but it's a country of immigrants who all share a common language. Why English hasn't been made the official language of the United States, I still don't understand... but you know the old saying, "When in Rome..."

"This is America: WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH"


That doesn't sound rude to me. If it was hurting the guy's business, he probably would have taken the sign down.

Truth be told, many of his customers probably can't read Englsh - so they don't even understand what's written on the sign. ;)

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Originally Posted by NorthBrook19

When it comes down to it, it's the idea of money. Why not bitch about the fact that nearly every product in America has at least 3 different languages on it? Christ, get over the fact that not every speaks English; are you that ethnocentric? That's what makes this country great the diversity of different cultures. Why not makes Americans bilingual so they could all understand? An outreach to learn Spanish, English, French, or whatever! We're all humans.

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I learned Italian when I was just a few years old from my parents and grandparents, who still prefer to speak in their native tongue at family gatherings and such. I'm in the process of teaching Japanese to my three-year-old child, and I'm learning it in the process. It's not about ethnocentricity, it's simply that many Americans only speak one language, which has been the unofficial language of the States for many years. I'm respectful and courteous enough not to walk into a Burger King and ask for a "Hamburger e patate fritture", but rather a burger and fries. It's that simple.

I find the message acceptable, except the "this is america:" part. That gives the message a racist tone, since america is made up of people who speak many languages, but asking customers to speak english when ordering should not be a problem.

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Originally Posted by Breukelen advocaat

"This is America: WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH"
Truth be told, many of his customers probably can't read Englsh - so they don't even understand what's written on the sign. ;)

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LOL! Perfect reason why the sign is dumb

Should be the 1st rule when letting these ppl. in our country .
If the american way , lifestyle , and freedom sound sooooo sweet you think you need to live here , you should have done your homework before getting here and learned the fucking language .
Crispi :jointsmile:

It just seems pointless to me. Immigrants don't generally come up to you and start speaking non-English languages if they don't already know you speak their language. Spanish-speaking people, for example, generally reserve speaking Spanish to other Spanish-speaking people, and don't come up to English-speaking people and start babbling at them in Spanish. At least I haven't expereinced that. So if the cheesesteak guy only speaks English, how much trouble has he really had with people trying to get their cheesesteak from him in Spanish? How would they even do that? What are they going to order --- a quesocarne? And if he does have an employee working the register who does speak a different language, what does it matter if the customer orders in a language that the cashier understands? Seems like this is just pointless.

I work at a pizza place and I gotta tell you that taking an order in broken english is rather tough. you have to take the time to figure out what it is they are asking for, which usually requires them repeating themselves many times. I took spanish in high school but that was 15 years ago, and unless its either numbers 1-10 or asking them how they feel and the answer is "very good", then i would have no idea what they are saying. also learning a written language and learning the way people speak are two different things. anyone in america speak the book english they were taught in school? not to mention the 100's of dialects that the spanish language has acquired.

as for "how much of a problem could it really be". apparently enough of a problem to put up two signs.

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Truth be told, many of his customers probably can't read Englsh - so they don't even understand what's written on the sign.

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lol this one always gets me: I'll be watching a major sporting event, and a message appears at the bottom of the screen telling me that if i want to listen to the commentary in spanish to press the SAP button on my remote. but it is written in english:lol5: just seems weird that they wouldnt put that in spanish

db:smokin:

im sorry were in america and people need to speak english here.

the same goes if i go to russia,china, africa, south america, ect i am expected to know their language.

wherever you go you should respect those people and learn/try to learn their language

All we are asking is for U.S. citizens to learn basic English so that we can all communicate.

Many different languages are coming to a community near you, and sooner than you think.

When the discussion of non-English speaking people comes up, for much of the country this usually means Spanish - so it seems like a minor problem. Spanish is only one of many, many languages and dialects spoken in New York City, where there is something like 150 different ethnic groups. In the not-too-distant future many other cities will have the same situation. Some are catching up already. Philadelphia is one of them.

There are people that have been here for over 25 years and still can't even say, "I don't speak English". The best you can get from them is a smile, or a blank stare. Some of them just ignore English-speaking people altogether.

I've had people that speak Russian come up to me and start babbling in their own language. Fortunately, most of them (Russians) don't do this. The only reason it does not happen with Asians, and many other ethnic groups, is because I don't appear to be one of their own group.

Again, most immigrants try to learn, but a sizable percentage do not. We even have stores owned by immigrants that have signs in their language(s), with sale prices and other information, but not in English. I don't shop often in these establishments.

I happen to like diversity where I live. I enjoy seeing the heritage and customs of other cultures. I recognize that new ideas and progress can be helped by immigration. There are times when I cannot understand announcements, questions, statements, etc., because of thick accents. This does not bother me so much, because at least the person is attempting to speak English.

I was impressed at how many people spoke English in Denmark and Holland - sometimes as well as, or better than, many Americans. If they can do it, in their own country, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask our own citizens to be able to speak the language of English in the United States.

The possiblity of screw-ups in hospitals and doctor's offices, due to people's inability to communicate, is just one of many examples of why it's a bad idea to allow the multi-culturalists to make English non-important.

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Originally Posted by Breukelen advocaat

"This is America: WHEN ORDERING PLEASE SPEAK ENGLISH"


That doesn't sound rude to me. If it was hurting the guy's business, he probably would have taken the sign down.

Truth be told, many of his customers probably can't read Englsh - so they don't even understand what's written on the sign. ;)

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http://patentpending.blogs.com/photo...illiterate.JPG

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Originally Posted by NorthBrook19

When it comes down to it, it's the idea of money. Why not bitch about the fact that nearly every product in America has at least 3 different languages on it? Christ, get over the fact that not every speaks English; are you that ethnocentric? That's what makes this country great the diversity of different cultures. Why not makes Americans bilingual so they could all understand? An outreach to learn Spanish, English, French, or whatever! We're all humans.

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So by your definition, when any Americans go to any other country, they should be required to speak english to accomidate us???? I don't think so. I am second ganeration in this country and I could *NEVER* get my father to teach me his native language because he said "Your in America, your going to speak english!!"

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Originally Posted by Mississippi Steve

So by your definition, when any Americans go to any other country, they should be required to speak english to accomidate us???? I don't think so. I am second ganeration in this country and I could *NEVER* get my father to teach me his native language because he said "Your in America, your going to speak english!!"

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That doesn't work in reverse.
When I go to Holland, no one will speak Dutch to me. They all want to practice their English.
I ask a question in Dutch, They answer in English.
I still haven't learned enough dutch, even spending a month at a time trying.:(

I support the sign.

The way it sounds the other sign was the key to allowing this:
"The sign appeared immediately above another sign that had the following words: 'Management Reserves the Right to Refuse Service,'" Centeno wrote.

If you got a busy business what choice do ya have? The "soup nazi" wouldn't put up with that shit. LOL

Have a good one!:jointsmile:

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Originally Posted by Psycho4Bud

The "soup nazi" wouldn't put up with that shit. LOL

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No cheesesteak for youuu!

Good to see others backing the owner up on this. There's nothing wrong with informing customers that you only speak English, and prefer that they would do the same while ordering. It makes their lives easier not having to have a translator on hand 24/7. I see so many companies nowadays that won't even hire a person if he/she isn't bilingual, and it's sad that America is the one that needs to conform to the languages of other nationalities, instead of the other way around.

Again, I have nothing against people who aren't very proficient at speaking English, and who were born speaking another language. As long as they can effectively communicate their intentions in our language, it doesn't have to be perfect... at least they're trying. Some people don't even try, and that's what irks me. I encourage everyone to pick up another language, but it should be their decision which they want to focus on. It shouldn't be mandated by a company that's looking to appeal only to a single group of people.

Lol this is just gonna cause problems. I mean If you can't speak english have someone order for you other then that there is not much you can do if you can't read in english.

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Originally Posted by Breukelen advocaat

I was impressed at how many people spoke English in Denmark and Holland - sometimes as well as, or better than, many Americans. If they can do it, in their own country, I don't think it's unreasonable to ask our own citizens to be able to speak the language of English in the United States.

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Saying this only shows me how much we can learn from Europe. Most speak 2 or more languages. I feel like the statement you made up there proves that maybe WE are the ones that need to learn other languages, not exclude them, because as you just said, they do so in Holland and Denmark. We should be more like them, well educated and able to speak to foreigners in their native tongue.



I think we need to get our thumbs out of our butts and realize the world doesn't revolve around America anymore. The EU's Gross Domestic Product passed ours for the 1st time last week, and the euro is gonna hit 2 for $1 in the near future. We Americans are too fucking proud sometimes, and lazy it seems. I think the surge of bloated patriotism since 9/11 has done more worse than good. So many people could care fucking less about the rest of the world.

Sorry if that seemed rantish, I just hate the new form of naive nationalism in this country.

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Originally Posted by katyowns

We should be more like them, well educated and able to speak to foreigners in their native tongue.

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It's also worth mentioning that in many countries throughout Europe, a lot of people make frequent visits to other countries for business or leisure... and may have more incentive to learn due to their proximity with countries that have different languages than their own. Though, I'm willing to bet that someone who decides to permanently move from Germany to France will probably take the time to learn how to speak French before they go, or while they're there. They don't piss and moan and attempt to get the whole of France to up and speak German. It's a common courtesy to learn the language of the country you decide to move to, even if you only speak that language in certain places.

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Originally Posted by katyowns

Saying this only shows me how much we can learn from Europe. Most speak 2 or more languages. I feel like the statement you made up there proves that maybe WE are the ones that need to learn other languages, not exclude them, because as you just said, they do so in Holland and Denmark. We should be more like them, well educated and able to speak to foreigners in their native tongue.

I think we need to get our thumbs out of our butts and realize the world doesn't revolve around America anymore. The EU's Gross Domestic Product passed ours for the 1st time last week, and the euro is gonna hit 2 for $1 in the near future. We Americans are too fucking proud sometimes, and lazy it seems. I think the surge of bloated patriotism since 9/11 has done more worse than good. So many people could care fucking less about the rest of the world.

Sorry if that seemed rantish, I just hate the new form of naive nationalism in this country.

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Did I just hear somebody say that Americans are "lazy"?

Maybe working Americans are too busy working 48 hours a week on the average, while Europeans work less, get five weeks vacation, more holidays, much earlier retirement packages, cradle to grave health benefits, and other perks. In addition, there's all the foreign aid that our taxes and charitable donations go to. This money comes from labor, which leaves many people with little free time to take language courses or dabble with online computer methods.

The New York newspaper El Diario, in Spanish, is written for people with a sixth grade reading level. So if they also have a fourth grade reading level of English, does that make them better than most of us because they are bilingual?

We saved Europe from Fascism, Communism, and now WE are the ones that are reviled. We're STILL protecting their asses. It's about time we started taking care of our own.

We used to have the best manufacturing and capital-rasing system in the world. That's what we should strive to bring back to the United States. Unfortunatley, greed and other factors are ruining it - but it's not "everybodys" fault.

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Originally Posted by Breukelen advocaat

Did I just hear somebody say that Americans are "lazy"?

Maybe working Americans are too busy working 48 hours a week on the average, while Europeans work less, get five weeks vacation, more holidays, much earlier retirement packages, cradle to grave health benefits, and other perks. In addition, there's all the foreign aid that our taxes and charitable donations go to. This money comes from labor, which leaves many people with little free time to take language courses or dabble with online computer methods.

The New York newspaper El Diario, in Spanish, is written for people with a sixth grade reading level. So if they also have a fourth grade reading level of English, does that make them better than most of us because they are bilingual?

We saved Europe from Fascism, Communism, and now WE are the ones that are reviled. We're STILL protecting their asses. It's about time we started taking care of our own.

We used to have the best manufacturing and capital-rasing system in the world. That's what we should strive to bring back to the United States. Unfortunatley, greed and other factors are ruining it - but it's not "everybodys" fault.

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Yes, we're quite lazy when it comes to learning other languages, I never commented on their work ethic. You seem to have said a whole lot of nothing in your reply to be honest, and put many words into my mouth. If the rest of the world see's us in a bad light, maybe thats a hint we should re-evaluate our habits?

i lived in germany for 2 years and even tho most people their speak english i made the effort to learn german. i have 2 neices who live in germany and their school is taught in german. not english to accomadate them.

most people in europe yes they are bilingual, french/english, german/english, danish/english. see a pattern here. they are not learning to speak 2 languages because they want to, they are learnig because after WW II the US and england set up the world so that all commerce would be conducted in english. you do find the occasional person who speaks french/german. but it is still mandatory they learn english in school.

what we need is to make english our official language then make it mandatory that in ordor to become an american citezen you have a working knowlage of our language. and a 4th grade grasp would more than likly be sufficiant to communicate in out country effectivly

Thank god a victory for common sense! Good for that guy for sticking to his guns! When you are right you are right.:thumbsup: