Essay 4441

Even more comments responding to Alberto J. Ferrer’s perspective posted under The Big Tent at AdAge.com (see Essay 4426)…

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I’m Dutch and had to learn English to live here. I don’t expect brands in America to speak Dutch to me. Why should “Hispanics” be exempted from having to learn English? Yes, Spanish marketing annoys me, so I guess that makes me a bigot and a racist.

And D. Luria, you won’t hear me reclaim New Amsterdam for the Dutch. —Peter Verkooijen, Brooklyn, NY

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Wow, hot topic, isn’t it? But be cool, English-speaking people: multilingual direct marketing isn’t a threat for your “social unity and cultural heritage.” I understand that you prefer that people [living] in the USA speak English, but don’t take that to ridiculous terms. I mean, thanks to globalization, your culture and language are well known around the world. Everybody likes McDonald’s and wears Nike. So, take this as a little cultural exchange ;-) —Juan Carlos Ascanio, Caracas

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Mary, just a reminder. Don’t forget to TiVo the upcoming Democratic debate broadcast in Spanish. —Bill Green, MTLB, NJ

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Mary, just a reminder. Don’t forget to TiVo the upcoming Democratic debate broadcast in Spanish. —Bill Green, MTLB, NJ

Is that a triumphalist smirk? Pro-Spanish-speaking people are good at that, aren’t they? Never mind what’s good for our country, we only care about what’s good for our own ethnic group.

Yes, the Democratic debate in Spanish is a low point in this country’s history. We cannot exist half-Spanish-speaking and half-English-speaking, just as we couldn’t exist half-slave and half-free. Anybody who thinks differently, please take a look at what’s happening in “bilingual” Belgium right now. After 170 years as a nation, the Dutch-speaking North and the French-speaking South are on the verge of splitting up. Don’t come whining to me when it happens here too. Let’s hope Bill Green doesn’t have any investment property in the Southwest. —Mary Jessel, San Francisco, CA

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It seems to me that diversity makes our culture richer. Regardless of whether it is language and culture or both.

The violent reaction and aversion to Spanish language and indeed Hispanics is synonymous with a lack of interest in new ideas and thinking. This is the most dangerous thing of all. Complacency, lack of thinking, fear of change. —Nils von Zelowitz, New York, NY

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Ignorance is the mother of all inaccuracies. Last night’s Democratic debate on Univision (the “low point in the country’s history” as one reader called it) was not conducted in Spanish, but in English, with simultaneous translation available for Spanish-speaking viewers. For those of you who didn’t watch, Bill Richardson was actually reprimanded, twice, for attempting to speak his native language: Spanish. —Laura Martinez, New York City, NY

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Can’t we just get along, as the author questions? Apparently not.

Marketing is a science and an art. At times an imperfect science. At times a perfect art. And vice versa.

No one intends to irritate or anger customers or potential prospects. We simply strive to deliver a message that resonates with our audience. If the audience is more comfortable in a language other than English, is there really anything wrong with that?

This should cause no more controversy than if a reference is made to the home state of a person and it is the wrong state. —Nils von Zelowitz, New York, NY

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“Is that a triumphalist smirk?”

Wow. You really showed me. Then again, I’d expect big words from a 200K household. Well done. —Bill Green, MTLB, NJ