citadel

It doesn't bother me in the least if it's just their conversation, like going into a neighborhood business to talk with some people from "back home." I know from experience it's comforting to hear words you recognize when you're a long way from home.

I think it becomes a respect thing when dealing with people in a professional situation; if your boss and coworker are the only two in the room who speak a certain language, and it's work related, it's kind of rude to do it with words that no one else understands. One of my former co-workers was bilingual, and circumstances permitting, he would respond in English when people talked shop with him in another language, so that everyone else could keep up.

Teaching your kids another language will probbaly give them a huge advantage in life. No matter what field they're in, where their life takes them, they can always put it on a resume. Even if they're living in an area where they don't need to use it a lot (or ever), it's a skill that's easy for a child to pick up on, and one that can benefit them for the rest of their life.

It also gives them a unique look at their own cultural history. There's phrases and fables that can only be grasped by someone who understands the nuances of sentence structure and local jargon. Those little things that get lost in translation are a noticable loss.

Another thing, just because you're teaching your kids their language doesn't mean that they have to speak it all the time. If they go to a school, college, workplace or social gathering full of xenophobes or racists, they'll always have the opportunity to keep their other language as private as they'd like. Let's be honest, the kind of morons who'll give your kids crap about their names wouldn't feel any different if your kids only spoke one language.

Have you ever been to TX or AZ? Language goes further than "white people."