Please don't get upset about my rant.

B

BAM

Cathlete
Please know, I have no prejudices, I believe we are all equal and that opportunities are available for all. However, when I call a place of business, and I have to speak with 3 different people to get directions to THEIR place of business, and I still did NOT get clear directions, then I believe there's a problem. I'm sure they want my business but then why not have at least one person who can communicate with people who speak the major language of the country they're in? Am I asking too much? Am I in left field here?????? This is just too frustrating. I don't even want to go there now but I'm meeting my friend shortly. Is there anyone else that understands my frustration? Please don't beat me up. It's just aggravating. This is not the first time this has happened and unfortunately, I know it won't be the last. Thanks for listening.
 
I can empathize. I live in northern Virginia and I experience similar situations all the time. This sounds awful, but when I go to Walmart, I feel like I'm entering a foreign country. It's frustrating having check out people who can't speak English. That's one example, of many...
 
Thanks for understanding workout junkie. I'm running there now. Should I bring a <-------- to English dictionary?????
 
3 words - "Dell Customer Support". I feel your pain! ;) I will say that the guys I have talked to have been sweeties, but it's just impossible for me to understand them and for them to understand me. It's so frustrating. :(
 
I went to DH's employee awards banquet last night and the general manager of the hotel gave his opening remarks. He gave his speech in English but then made certain additional statements (general yet extensive sentiments including, "we are a family here at this hotel and we are glad you brought your loved ones tonight") in at least 2 more languages.

You should have heard the employees when he started using their native language. They knew how hard it was for him to learn the words and they recognized he was trying FOR THEM. I was struck by how much they appreciated his efforts. It was really really great. I really respect him for doing that.

It just made me think about how hard it must be for each of them every day when they don't speak the major language as well as native speakers, if at all.

I'm lucky I do.

(Which is entirely not saying I don't get *just* as irritated, LOL!)
 
I agree Amy. But there are a lot of immigrant workers here (locally)and they've been here years and make NO effort to learn English. I just don't understand why?? Perhaps they don't know where to start?? I can not imagine living somewhere and not speaking the language or not speaking it well.


[font color= purple size=+3]Catherine[/font]

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I live in a neighborhood that is probably 80% non-native speakers. Everyone has a church, a market, and a neighborhood. Their kids are in school and many of them are getting education in both languages. So, in their community, they're fine to not be proficient in English.

I think it's got to be tough to not know English and to pick up a vibe that someone who is a native speaker is frustrated with them. Every place they go. Every place. Every day.

I think they're all working hard to live their lives, just like we all are. I don't know how motivated I would be to learn another language, either. I think if I thought I'd be okay to not know it, I wouldn't.

It's really interesting to me. I've never been outside the US so I don't know how it feels to be someplace I don't know the language. It scares me to think about it, in a way. It's a basic thing I take for granted in my life.
 
I'm an immigrant, born and raised in Hungary. I came here after marrying an American. I could not imagine coming here without speaking the language.
I love when my son wears his "Speak English, this is America" shirt!
 
>I'm an immigrant, born and raised in Hungary. I came here
>after marrying an American. I could not imagine coming here
>without speaking the language.
>I love when my son wears his "Speak English, this is America"
>shirt!
>


I have good friends who are from Bosnia and they feel the same way!



[font color= purple size=+3]Catherine[/font]

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I work with a woman whose family is from Mexico (she's 2nd generation) and she got really upset when she found out a Mexican community celebrated the fourth of July singing the Star Spangled Banner in Spanish. She said "When MY family came here there was nothing more important than learning English. Where is their pride?!" I told her I remember my late mother telling me, when I was a child, "English is the hardest language in the world to learn" to which she replied "All over the world, people learn English and never even live here. How can you justify living here and not speaking the language when so many others who've never had the privilege do?" Logically, I know all that. And singing the Star Bangled Banner in Spanish... not the best move. But I'm one of those people who struggles to learn foreign languages (some kind of freaky mental block or that adult ADD I just know I have?) so I have empathy because I can't very well expect others to do what I haven't been able to. Of course, if I were going to LIVE overseas I'd make learning the language my personal mission.
 
I think that feeling like people who choose to live here should learn to speak English and being prejudice are totally different issues. In the long run, it is to their detriment not to learn the language. We lived in Argentina for 7 years and never expected anyone to speak English, rather we learned Spanish. Often I think it is not the immigrants who don´t want to learn English, but our government which makes it easier for them not to.
 
>I think that feeling like people who choose to live here
>should learn to speak English and being prejudice are totally
>different issues. In the long run, it is to their detriment
>not to learn the language. We lived in Argentina for 7 years
>and never expected anyone to speak English, rather we learned
>Spanish. Often I think it is not the immigrants who don´t want
>to learn English, but our government which makes it easier for
>them not to.

I couldn't agree more!:) This very topic has bothered me for *YEARS*! My very best friend for 25 years is a native of Pakistan. Her and her family (mom, dad and 2 older sisters) came here when she was 6 years old. ALL of them learned to speak english. In fact, her entire family are all natives of either Pakistan or India and ALL of them learned to speak english when they came here. They still speak thier own language amongst themselves when it is appropriate to do so and they cherish thier heritage very much but at the same time realize that they are living in AMERICA now and our native launguage is ENGLISH so they needed to learn it. I think they are the perfect example of how it should be. Our country DEFINATELY makes it too easy for imigrants not to learn the language.

So you see...you will get no flames from me, Bam!;)
 
My husband is in construction and he feels your pain. He'd love to have the time to learn Spanish as it would make things much easier on the job site.

I love it when people keep their native language, but I think that learning to speak English if you live in America is very important.

Maggie:)
 
BAM, no flames from me. We have two Colombian families on our street and we have several friends at church who are from South America, Russia, France and Africa - all who learned English to live here. I don't think that you could be as mad as they are about it, and don't even ask them about illegal immigration!

Missy
 
I don't understand it either. I believe there are many jobs where speaking English is not important. Using Ame's example, hotel staff personnel who have little interaction with hotel guests can do a great job without speaking much English. But when the job is speaking to customers on the telephone, and most of the customers speak English, then I just don't get the hiring criteria there. It simply does not make sense to me.
 
The anti-immigration BS in the form of "Speak English!" never ceases to amaze me.

It seems we've forgotten that we're a country of immigrants. The fact that people who come here and have limited ability to speak English is nothing new; it's just that immigrants are the new political whipping boy.

My great-grandparents arrived here unable to speak English and could only speak a handful of words at the time of their deaths. It's wasn't that they stubbornly clung to their language, it was that they were at an age where learning an entirely new language was extremely difficult - not to mention there were few, if any, English-speaking people from whom they could learn the language anyway. For my family, having non-English speaking family was a source of pride, for my great-grandparents were an authentic, living link to the "old country."

To the OP, you have the choice to do business elsewhere.

To everyone else who encounters immigrants at the store and other places of business, why not be grateful that they're (gasp) working and (double gasp) paying taxes?
 
Another one who agrees. My DH is from India, and speaks fluently - with a cute accent, but that's a good thing. We have a lot of Indian friends who also speak English. When they all get together, they speak Hindi, but that's different. When we go to India, I find I can mostly follow a conversation because the English had populated India for so long that so many words are English, but I did pick up several Hindi words so I could handle basic communication. But for the most part, that wasn't needed because everyone under 30 speaks English fluently. And that's in India! I live in the Bay Area and most of the kids speak English, but many of the parents don't. Now I do understand Grandparents not learning, but parents? I would learn another language if my kids spoke it just to make sure they were staying in line! :p
 
You know there are two sides to every coin and I certainly see the difficulties people face in a country where they don't speak the lanugage. But just because someone thinks that people should learn to speak English does not make them anti-immigration.

There are many implications for people who chose to live here and chose not to learn the language. It's not just about holding a job. What if someone winds up in the ER with a grave illness (heartattack or abdominal pain)? They can not communicate what is wrong and may die before someone figures it out. Yes, many facilities have someone to interpret available, but they may not be on site. So again, that persons health may suffer because of their ability to speak English. So you see, there is much more to it than just a causual encounter with a non-english speaking person on the phone. This can have life or death implication!!

[font color= purple size=+3]Catherine[/font]

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