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8/9/2013 8:14:13 PM
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How do you feel when immigrants don't learn the language of their new home country?
I'm going to set the scene here:
I work in retail. Have done for a few years now. And over the years, customers coming into our stores seem to be worse and worse at speaking English. The number of people, families or not, who come in, point at something they want, and then talk to each other in another language while I deal with their stuff, is so staggeringly high it's almost too much for me to handle. I don't work in a foreign country, I work in the country I was born and raised in.
Now, I can fully understand if they're tourists visiting for whatever reason, but when you can identify certain families or individuals who have been coming into the store for as long as I've worked there, it really grinds my gears. I wish I had the right to refuse to serve them while they were jabbering away in their languages. It's so disrespectful and outright rude. If I were to move into another country on a permanent basis, I would work on learning the lingo immediately. Two years later though? Unthinkable.
It's infuriating.
One of my favourite examples:
Eastern-European woman comes in and wants to buy a garden hose. There's a specific one she wants to order, as she has the model number written down. I check the stock system and see that we have none left. So, I say to her that it's out of stock. She seems to understand, nodding her head. I offer to see if we have similar hoses in stock, and we do. I tell her that the one we have in is slightly more expensive, and she says "OK". So I put the new hose through and tell her the price, and she says "no no, twenty five", the price of the hose she wanted. So I'm standing there thinking "holy -blam!- did you not understand anything I was just saying?" and she then seems to grasp that it's not available.
Now, if this was a tourist, I'd understand. But what tourist buys a garden hose?
Anyone else feeling their nationality being drained from them by migrant workers and families?
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Edited by Ttasmmv: 8/10/2013 3:46:22 AMA country that is multicultural is a country that's divided into non-assimilating, conflicting sects—multiculturalism is a sham.
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Christ almighty I hate things like this I went to the local garage at like 4AM, and after a certain time they only let you order things through the window by speaking to some dude and telling him what you want HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SKITTLES WERE, OR FOX'S GLACIER MINTS The only thing he understood is when I asked for a Pot Noodle
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I don't mind tourists speaking their native tongue, but when illegal immigrants deliberately break the law and cross our borders (albeit understandably) but refuse to learn OUR language, it is very annoying. It isn't my job to learn an entirely different language simply because you don't want to. However, I will still learn Spanish simply because it can get me countless job opportunities, but that doesn't distract from the fact that I'm very much annoyed by immigrants not being able to speak our language.
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tl;dr But I don't give a -blam!-.
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Some part of it infuriate me. I dont mind if people talk in their home tounge but please to god dont let someone with a heavy accent man the phones to your business. Dont let them be the person on the speaker when you go through a drive through. It is really annoying that business owners dont recognize the frustration when you cant understand the person or vis a versa. This is nothing compared to behaviour though. Where I live a ton of middle eastern people have moved in. No problem there. Except when you go to introduce yourself and go for a handshake or when you talk to a woman. They just leave you hanging turn away and ignore you without explanation. That to me is unacceptable and highly rude. I know why they do it but even than you dont move to a country where the standard greeting is to touch a another human being without learning "My religion forbids I touch a man, sorry."
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The only time I get annoyed at work is when the customer gets mad at me for not knowing Spanish. In my head I'm going"ENGLISH MOTHER-blam!-ER, DO YOU SPEAK IT!?!?" When I meant to Mexico I learned basic words and phrases so if my retard self got lost, I could somewhat function by myself . I expect at least that from others, more for those who have been living here for years.
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Edited by NSCLord: 8/9/2013 11:15:12 PMI feel it's disrespectful when people don't even bother to try. Yes, there are people who don't pick up languages very well; I can respect that (I study German. In my classes, I see a fair few who struggle, but they try.). But if you refuse flat out to learn even one word, how do you think you're going to get anywhere with that attitude?
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1 ReplyWhat's the point moving to another country if you're not going to learn the [i]basics[/i] of the language? Fair enough not being fluent but there's a line.
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I dont care really. Just stop bringing them in so us canadians can get jobs thanks.
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3 RepliesEnglish isn't the language of America, dick.
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1 ReplyIf you want to be part of another country, the best you can do is at least learn some of it's language and it's not that hard thing to do. My grandpa met my grandpa when he was stationed in Spain and she didn't know one word of English. They married and had to move to England, Rhode Island, and Virginia. My grandma learned the english language by watching shows like Sesame Street and from what my mom, aunt, and uncle were talking about the hose. Heck, my grandma made it a rule that NO Spanish was to be spoken in the house or around her so she could learn the language. I'm a Conservative and a big supporter of immigration but just please learn to be a functioning part of your new society.
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I find it disrespectful to move to a foreign country without bothering to learn enough of their language to [i]at least[/i] get by, if not enough to be fluent. It's like walking into a stranger's or loose acquaintance's home and expecting them to change to fit [i]your[/i] needs. Very rude. If it's a last minute or emergency thing and you don't have the time to learn, I can see that as an exception, but even then if you don't try to learn it while intending to make a permanent residency, that's just...no, you shouldn't do it.
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My dad doesn't speak any English and it is annoying translating for him every where he goes.
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I think they should at least put some effort in to learn the basics of the language.
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It is extremely annoying to me. I think they should at least try to learn the basics before coming here.
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I don't hate anyone for it, but there's been times when it's annoyed me.
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You should be in the newspaper for this amazing thread...
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OT: I really don't mind. There are plenty of people in the U.S. who are bilingual and can easily circumnavigate any problems faced in retail. Just the other day I was at a yogurt shop when a Hispanic family tried to check out and had a small problem when they saw that their cashier did not speak Spanish. The cashier simply called her coworker, who did speak Spanish, over to help them out. It was no big deal. The family was able to get out of there in no longer than two minutes. While I do think that it is important for workers and students to easily be unified under the same language, I do also think that we need to understand that the United States has almost always been a melting pot of different peoples, and that we should exert some patience and kindness to those who happen to be a bit different from us.
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I don't give a shit This is Canada, not the -blam!-ing Borg.
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I don't care. Why should I?
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2 RepliesThe less inflammatory way of looking at it but from the same stance is - If I moved to another country, do I have to learn their language? The answer is yes, you don't have to be fluent but you do have to try. It does irritate me when people don't try to speak English when they immigrate here. That being said, English is probably the hardest language to learn for a non native speaker. Like Japanese is a walk in the park compared to English when it comes to pronouncing things. Slow, Slough, Bow, Bough, Stair, Stare. <- Examples. Also, quite often I find Immigrants speak better English than half the inbred natives that roam the streets pissed out of their brains and looking for trouble. <3 21st Century UK
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I agree. Even when I travel abroad, for a week or 2 at the most, I try and learn basic language of that country.
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If I moved to Poland, they would all expect me to learn Polish. Because guess the fu.ck what? They aren't going to adapt to someone who speaks English. I respect different cultures and I respect their languages. But when you come to live in my country where my fellow countrymen and I speak English, we shouldn't have to adapt to foreigners.
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13 RepliesOP there is a very simple solution to your problem. You pull out your smartphone or similar device, go to google, translate what you just said into their language, and boom magically they should understand most of what you just said.
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I'm sorry, but this really isn't something that should be bothering you, or anyone else that has voted that its annoying.
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4 RepliesWow, because the first priority of an immigrant shouldn't be establishing a life and family, it should be taking remedial English lessons.
