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Why do some Americans get angry at other people for not speaking English? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 5 months ago by TheImpressiveX@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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I've hears stories of some Americans telling other people who are speaking a non-English language "This is America, speak English!" even if the conversation has nothing to do with them. Why do they do this?

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[–] modifier@lemmy.ca 33 points 5 months ago

It's good old-fashioned xenophobia and is by no means unique to Americans or English-speakers even in the modern era. Anyone who has spent enough time in certain parts of France, Italy, or Belgium has probably encountered it at some point.

It's everywhere but it is probably most prevalent in countries with a strong nationalist core and, in my opinion, ironically occurs most often in countries that have really fucked around with having an empire in the last century or so.