Spanish speaking peoples in Utah, oral histories: book 1, numbers 1 through 10

Page 292

INTERVIE,.[: Francisco Solaria Page 57 MS: There's so many people here that lived in this country, and for so many years, and ah---they still don't speak English. I'm really surprised about that, too. Because they ah---it seems to me like instead of ah---getting around and associate with other people to learn, you know, a little more, they stayed by themselves, and that way they don't even learn the language. Ah---there's so many elderly people that ah, still don't speak English at all. Mmm-hmm. And being here, I was really surprised because I couldn't stand it when I couldn't at least understand a little. You know, I don't speak ah-­well at all, although I tried. You know, I've tried. FO: You do well. MS: But I thought, as long as I could understand what they were saying, this bothered me, until I did, so I tried to hurry and learn, it really amazes me that they, you know, wouldn't be bothered about that. Just let them speak that one language and they don't know anything about it. But there's still a lot of them---a lot of them that ah---that don't speak the language. So they might be just isolated by themselves or something. FO: I have not yet met any of those who came from Old Mexico who could not speak English. Do you have any here who can not? FS: Well, -----but they talk, the lady can't talk English.