Use of word “ghetto” in speech sparked outrage; YouTube statement stops short of apology for remarks
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is trying to assuage Latinos over recent comments on bilingual education by delivering a video statement — in Spanish and English — in which he concedes his word choice was “poor.”
In the statement, posted Wednesday on YouTube, Gingrich said his comments were not an “attack” on Spanish, and he revealed he has been taking Spanish lessons “for some time now.”
“I know that my Spanish is not perfect, but I am studying so it will be better,” he said.
At no point does Gingrich offer an outright apology in either language.
In a speech Saturday to the National Federation of Republican Women, Gingrich said English should be the language exclusively used by government in the United States.He also said bilingual education should be replaced with immersion in English “so people learn the common language of the country and they learn the language of prosperity, not the language of living in a ghetto.”
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/04/04/gingrich.spanish/index.html?section=cnn_latest