Speak English! Options

[radhikaeatsraman]

Okay, here's the deal. Hosing (known as Hosing Yu in chat) works in retail twice a week. He will sometimes get customers who don't know English or even bother trying to speak it. It gets him pretty annoyed, and I can see where he's coming from. Yen, on the other hand, believes we shouldn't be angry or irritated with these people and try to be understanding.

I believe that while in the United States, you should at least make the effort to speak English, even if it's not the best. If you don't want to do that, stick with someone who can speak it. Don't go up to people expecting them to speak whatever language. Yes, this is the US, and yes, there are many different cultures here, but there is one language that unites us; that language is ENGLISH. I wish some people would just realize that.

[RCcola]

i have to agree with you that tourists in the US must attempt to speak english.

we don't go to spain without a spanish dictionary, you know?

[*Freaky Krazer*]

well radhika if you feel that way so bad I dare you to knock on every doorstep house where an immigrant who cant speak english lives in and tell them

[me1issaaaa]

True. What irritates me is when people pretend not to know English, when they really do.

[radhikaeatsraman]

I don't need to do that, Yen. I've got plenty of immigrants I could say it to that would agree with me: my entire family.

[RCcola]

True. What irritates me is when people pretend not to know English, when they really do.

LOL there was a funny bit about that in the movie Waiting...

[parallel]

Whoa...Hosing.


Anyway, I think that if people move here from a different country they should know how to speak English, if not, they best start learning

[*Freaky Krazer*]

I don't need to do that, Yen. I've got plenty of immigrants I could say it to that would agree with me: my entire family.

what the pho, in that case have your entire family join you.

[*digital.fragrance*]

Sometimes I take offense to people who speak another language right in front of me... like one of my friends speaks to her mother in her native language, and I can hear my name "rachael" in their conversation. Her mom can understand Engliish.

[radhikaeatsraman]

Don't let it bother you, Rachael. People speak about me in their native language all the time. Of course, it's my family, so it's different...but still. If you feel offended, just talk to her about it.

[*digital.fragrance*]

^ I know... it's just... well it's like she's trying to talk about me and I can't understand it.

[RCcola]

i love it when my family talks about me in tagalog [language of the philippines] and they don't think i understand what they're saying. this happens rarely though, as i rarely understand what they're saying.

[jue]

Hmm, people who can't speak english should defiantley [sp?] at least try to speak it. Or travel with someone who can. But then, if it irritates the Hosing dude so much, isn't there like a translator available?

[AngelinaTaylor]

You must understand that sometimes, you'll bump into people who have recently arrived in the country. Which means, they probably won't know English that much. Will you really get mad at them? Do you know how hard it is? I had to come to Canada three years ago knowing next to nothing. I came home from school crying, almost every day, because I couldn't understand what the hell people were saying to me. It takes time, and it's definitely not as easy as you think.

My point is, don't get angry at people who don't know English. I'm almost completely certain that most immigrants at least make an effort. My dad's the worst.. he knew NO English whatsoever, because all he studied in Bulgaria was French. But he speaks it relatively well now. And you should know that adults have a VERY hard time learning a new language. It's much easier done when you're young.

[*baby_in_blue*]

i have to agree with you that tourists in the US must attempt to speak english.

we don't go to spain without a spanish dictionary, you know?

i know what you mean.

[AngelinaTaylor]

^ Why would it be so necessary? I went to France without knowing ANY French and I was fine :) Well, some people spoke English, but some didn't.

[*lolita kitty*]

My stepmom works in a hospital, and she has the same issue. She tells me that foreign people come in all the time, and she has absolutely no idea what they're saying.

[marzipan]

If you think all tourists should speak English, how would you feel if you went to China and they wanted all tourists to speak Chinese? It just doesn't happen. They're just tourists coming to visit a foreign country. If they were living there, it would be a totally different issue.

[goodcharlotte]

Yeah. I'm sure you can't speak every language in the world. That is the thing about English it seems common sense to us but for others it is another language like arabic or chinese.

[*T0rmented_Soul*]

^ Exactly, we can't expect immigrants to speak english fluently or even understand it, it's like saying we go to some freign place and they expect us to talk their language, but then it's already an assumption if we dont look like we speak the language then people assume so yeah.

[Gigi]

Are you talking about immigrants or tourists?

Because if that's expected for tourists, I don't think that's exactly fair. I'm sure the average tourist with an average intelligence understands that knowing the country's official languages and speaking them would be much more convenient and efficient than waving their arms around or pointing at stuff. If they had a choice, they would use English. Most people simply can't use it effectively, so why even try? Unintelligible English is just as bad as no English at all.

As for immigrants, I think they should attempt to speak English, especially in the United States. I can understand new immigrants not speaking English or French in Canada, considering we have a multicultural policy over here which encourages people to retain their respective unique cultures, but the U.S. is different, more of a "melting pot" of cultures. However, it's still required you know how to speak English and/or French before they accept you into Canada, so I suppose it wouldn't be much different.

[radhikaeatsraman]

I'm talking about immigrants, Gigi.
I can understand if they're new in the country. But shouldn't they make the time to try and learn the language? If I were to emigrate to China, I'd do something beforehand to try and learn a little bit of Chinese.

[lalalaLANUH]

If they're immigrants they should try making an effort to speak english, but for some it can be very difficult. They may have recently started studying the language, but it can be very intimidating when actually trying to carry on a conversation in a diffrent language. Plus they may only know some phrases in English that aren't useful in their situation. And the fact is some people aren't as responsible as you and might not begin studying the language until they actually move to the US, and some people don't bother at all.
For the most part, I agree with Yen. We should be patient and understanding, as long as they try too. But then again, I can see how going through this on a daily basis can be annoying.

[Gigi]

I'm talking about immigrants, Gigi.
I can understand if they're new in the country. But shouldn't they make the time to try and learn the language? If I were to emigrate to China, I'd do something beforehand to try and learn a little bit of Chinese.

Granted, your Chinese is good enough to converse with. Your efforts would be appreciated but it all comes down to the final execution of the language, no? What if you studied Chinese for months and months, and when it came time to talk to a native Chinese speaker, you froze? I don't think you'd appreciate it if your efforts went totally unnoticed.

Of course, this is all hypothetical.

The thing is, there is no way to know if someone's trying or not. How do you know if that one person who so-called, "refuses" to speak English didn't do something beforehand, too? Maybe they're just not confident enough yet. Also keep in mind that English is much harder to learn than most other languages, what with all the bizarre spellings, silent letters and exceptions to certain rules.

But yes, I do agree that long-time immigrants should learn the language. What's the purpose of moving to a whole new country and to live in the same culture as you did before? Why shut yourself off like that?

There's these guys in my Chem class, who I know have been living in North America for many years now and choose to speak Cantonese to each other all the time. Okay, so speaking Cantonese to one another isn't such a big deal. The problem? When they speak English, it's horribly grammatically incorrect and sometimes incoherent. That's the result of years spent ignoring English-speaking culture. That annoys me SO MUCH.

Wow, long post. Sorry about that.

[radhikaeatsraman]

Well, I'm not asking new immigrants to have perfect English-speaking skills. That would be quite unrealistic and unfair. But like you said, making the effort should be appreciated. If someone did try to speak the best English they could to me, I would help them and really like it.

[Jeng]

True. What irritates me is when people pretend not to know English, when they really do.

i agree with that melissa, at work, people[teenages whoa re american] speak all weird and dumb and pretend to order and all i do is, i dont know what your saying, and this one man, he spoke good english, when i asked what kind of shake, he goes straw-be-rey and his family is laughing and i got mad

[*Freaky Krazer*]

^I think when he was telling you what shake he wanted, he was being racist, not pretending to not know english

make sense?

[datass]

It's stupid for people who immigrant to another country but doesn't learn the language there. First of all, it would make life easier if you just learn the language, goddamnit. Second, it doesn't make you look like a complete idiot when you try to tell a local person something.

[ichigofan]

Well if we want to speak the native language of the NEW WORLD then we should be learning Native american languages. Its so annoying when people say SHxT like this its so ridiculous, we are all immigrants the only difference is that some of us were born here and or had money for lessons. Nowadays english classes cost loads of money which immigrants dont have. My mom was unable to learn english when she first came here but she picked up the language when people would talk to her in english.. its alright to be annoyed by it. heck sometimes i get fustrated too but I understand their issue

[broken inside]

Sometimes I take offense to people who speak another language right in front of me... like one of my friends speaks to her mother in her native language, and I can hear my name "rachael" in their conversation. Her mom can understand Engliish.

I do that, it pisses everyone off...not as bad as my grandparents, they speak like seven langauges...o.0;;

[msladyliberty]

Now that the debate of legalizing immigrants in the US is active, I think the ones who should be legalized should at least learn or know English.

It's only common sense...just to communicate and get around this country.

[AngelinaTaylor]

It's stupid for people who immigrant to another country but doesn't learn the language there.

Isn't it ironic how you're talking about learning English, yet this whole sentence was grammatically incorrect?

[datass]

^no, because I don't live in an English speaking country.

[Mr. Slowjamz]

did you know that alot of hispanic immigrants are signing a petition , that states , that spanish should be the 2nd language of America? hmm Spanish would have to be mandatory if this is ratified .

yea but i believe they would have to speak english , it is mandatory i believe and is required in order to have full necessities as a u.s. citizen ....my parents went to school for it when they came up from the P.I. why can`t they ?

[jennyjenny]

well immigrants might not have the money to learn english but want to come here so their children could have better lives.

but i can see where you're coming from and it is hard to understand someone who doesn't speak a word of english as to someone who knows a little. but still, it's like the saying: "When it Rome, do as the Romans"

[anfgirlco]

Everyone speaks English in Highlands Ranch just when you go downtown and other suburbs of Denver when you start hearing diffrent languages.

[AngelinaTaylor]

^no, because I don't live in an English speaking country.

Oh ok good.

[xforgottenlove]

ahh omg i know. it's so annoying. i mean, if you're going to live in the country, you might as well learn the language. it makes it easier for you AND the people around you. ahhh people these days....

[alienshards]

While it is certainly not wise to travel in a country and not know the language, it seems quite unfair to judge based on that. Refusing to serve someone who does not speak English would only perpetuate the view of Americans as conceited and ignorant.

[eternalyfe]

Sometimes I take offense to people who speak another language right in front of me... like one of my friends speaks to her mother in her native language, and I can hear my name "rachael" in their conversation. Her mom can understand Engliish.

Yeah, that's extremely rude. I used to have a boyfriend who spoke German and English as well as his mother. So sometimes when I'd be over, they'd start talking right in front of me in German. Sometimes the conversation would be like five minutes long. I'd just stand there feeling embaressed and wondering what to do.
Sometimes I'd understand parts of the conversation because I take German in school.

[*mipadi*]

did you know that alot of hispanic immigrants are signing a petition , that states , that spanish should be the 2nd language of America? hmm Spanish would have to be mandatory if this is ratified .

There isn't really even a first language in the US. English is the lingua franca, but the US has no "official" language.

[Nymphetamine]

Take it easy everyone!

I got to Belgium few years ago and I spoke NO French and NO Dutch. It's frustrating when you're a kid too! I didn't ask my parents to move to Europe, I had no choice. I hated life at first. The most annoying part was when I HAD to go to a French speaking school.

I learned French in 10 months though. I took French courses 15 times A WEEK.

I find it REALLY annoying when immigrants don't speak a tiny bit of French and start talking in their languages.
In my opinion, yes, you should know a little bit of language or the general things. At least, little things like; hello, can you help me, general things are OK.

It was frustrating when people talked about me in French.

[AngelinaTaylor]

Yeah, that's extremely rude. I used to have a boyfriend who spoke German and English as well as his mother. So sometimes when I'd be over, they'd start talking right in front of me in German. Sometimes the conversation would be like five minutes long. I'd just stand there feeling embaressed and wondering what to do.
Sometimes I'd understand parts of the conversation because I take German in school.

There's nothing wrong with that unless they're talking about you. Sometimes it's easier to say what you want to say in your own language. My family always speaks Bulgarian.

[dancingkait]

i think that tourists should attempt to speak english (or whatever the language is where they are). that way it's much easier to get by in that country. but what bugs me is when people are living here, and have been for a long time, but they almost refuse to learn english. for example the lady that did my nails for grad was talking cantonese i think to all the other nail people around. i felt it was sort of rude towards the customers. i have to deal with it all the time where i work, i'm a receptionist at a car dealership. so i have people phoning all the time to ask me a question but they aren't able to since they haven't learned english. then they get frustrated because i'm not helping them like they want and then i get frustrated becuase there's someone on the phone getting mad at me for something that i can't prevent...not that i'm bitter at all