Foxy Knoxy

[Billy09]

why the f**k would you live in a place that you can't communicate with people? or expect them to adapt for you?

[dakyras]

Edit: could you let the Assembly know that please, I find the bilingual road signs really annoying (even if they do account for about half my Welsh vocab).

[Rufus Gwertigan]

why the f**k would you live in a place that you can't communicate with people? or expect them to adapt for you?

[Langdale Wolf]

could you all pause for a moment.... take a deep breath... and try and remember what point - if any - anyone is trying to make..

[ampersand]

Just because you can't see a reason for this doesn't mean others don't. They accept the language barrier and do their best to get round it generally, they don't normally expect others to accomodate them, that's a peculiar British tourist behaviour.

[ampersand]

It did get back on topic briefly. Very briefly.

[strudders]

yes

going out for a meal. 'oh sorry waiter, can you please speak in my native tongue, cos i've no idea what you're on about'

i've cut my hand and need to go to a&e. 'please treat me, but if you could do it in english please so i know what's going on'

someones just broken into my house and i need to report it to the police. 'but if you could make sure you send some english speaking officers, that would be swell'

why the f**k would you live in a place that you can't communicate with people? or expect them to adapt for you?

[Billy09]

what jobs are these though? and how did they apply for them without reading/speaking english?

[ampersand]

The fact if if you choose not to go somewhere because you feel language is a barrier then that's personal choice but to insist that people should not do they same is a little discriminatory.... if not alot.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Various unskilled/semi-skilled jobs wouldn't require English to be brilliant. Friends/family or professional translators.

I don't know the ins and outs of this, but see Polish families regularly who have a poor grasp of English, but get by. Bizarrely (?) one was a bus driver, where I would have thought English would be a requirement, but there you go.

[dakyras]

yes

going out for a meal. 'oh sorry waiter, can you please speak in my native tongue, cos i've no idea what you're on about'

i've cut my hand and need to go to a&e. 'please treat me, but if you could do it in english please so i know what's going on'

someones just broken into my house and i need to report it to the police. 'but if you could make sure you send some english speaking officers, that would be swell'

why the f**k would you live in a place that you can't communicate with people? or expect them to adapt for you?

[ampersand]

Various unskilled/semi-skilled jobs wouldn't require English to be brilliant. Friends/family or professional translators.

I don't know the ins and outs of this, but see Polish families regularly who have a poor grasp of English, but get by. Bizarrely (?) one was a bus driver, where I would have thought English would be a requirement, but there you go.

[strudders]

Various unskilled/semi-skilled jobs wouldn't require English to be brilliant. Friends/family or professional translators.

I don't know the ins and outs of this, but see Polish families regularly who have a poor grasp of English, but get by. Bizarrely (?) one was a bus driver, where I would have thought English would be a requirement, but there you go.

[Greeny_Musicchild]

So nobody else see's Ampers point of view?

In Spain and Germany you are required by law, in certain time frame, to learn the native language. Maybe not all of Spain, but definitely Catalonia. I would feel like a twat going to another country, to live and work, and not learning the language.

It's not the same here for a lot of different reasons. It's sometimes a good thing, sometimes a bad thing. People get fired from where i work for not being able to speak English. Wales is a terrible example because it's number one language IS English. Those trying to claim that isn't true are crazy.

In British culture there is probably an argument for not requiring people to speak English. We couldn't force people to do it because were all a bunch of ignorant tossers with language anyway. But it isn't unreasonable based on the law of other European countries for Ampersand to take that point of view.

[Langdale Wolf]

So nobody else see's Ampers point of view?

[strudders]

i'm not insisting. i just think it's a pretty good idea to be able to. innit?

[ampersand]

and that is the point.

We unfortunately have the luxury of having a language that is universal.

The fact is you can go to Spain and Germany and France and India and Sri Lanka and Thiland and get by because the local folk there bother to learn English as they view it as an advantage.

The fact is we do not bother in the most part to learn anybodies language because we are spoilt and naive.

The only words I know in a another language are how to order a beer and a prostitute in German and how to tell somebody they are a dickhead in German.

This says volumes for me as I work for an international company, have travelled the world working and I have never had a problem.... because everybody, even the telephone engineers in India, Singapore, Germany, South America all speak English.....

[ampersand]

Funny you should say that as the bus driver who helped me the other day was Polish (or Russian) he spoke very little English but still managed to tell me what buses I needed and got up to tell me to get off at the stop and help me off the bus when it was time.

[Langdale Wolf]

in which case i'd say he has a better grasp of english than you give him credit for.

[ampersand]

Or Strudders has a better grasp of Polish/Russian than you give him credit for?

[Langdale Wolf]

not likely, seen as he wasn't sure which one of the two. might have been romanian

[strudders]

in which case i'd say he has a better grasp of english than you give him credit for.

[Rufus Gwertigan]

Wow! I did not know you where there! You could have helped me!!!

But you are right though.

However

The fact that it took a little effort to get my point across, that I wanted to get to Selsey, I am Blind and cant see the stops so tell me to get off and do I have to go to Chichester to pick up the Selsey bus.......

his reply was reduced to Selsey?, Ah 700, 51 I show you.......

So either he was holding out on me or he did not feel the need, not that it warranted it, to converse using any more words than that.

However when we got to the stop he opened up his little door and showed me off saying 700, 51....

I smiled said thanks and was away on my little trip.

Nuff said.

[Billy09]

but then how do they get them? surely there's a form to fill out, an interview to pass? i know i've fallen at basic interviews cos i freeze through nerves and am unable to impress.

[ralph250]

I messed up ordering drinks in France once, meant to say L'Anglais, but cocked it up and said "Parlez-vouz Francais?" Barman just went "Yes mate, I speak French"

As for the current argument,; personally don't think it should mandatory for integration, but at the same time see an argument that without integration - as most will just segregate into racial groups more - there's a high chance that the problem of discrimination will be further perpetuated.

As such, mandatory no, beneficial yes.