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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5335 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes  Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 49 of 74 30 April 2010 at 6:33pm | IP Logged | |||||
I just wrote a long post on how this reminded me of the situation in the Netherlands but when I was almost finished I hit a wrong button and it was all gone. :( Anyway, what it came down to was that I think the culture, religion and language of all immigrants should be respected as long as they don't conflict with the morals and principles of the county they live in. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| frenkeld Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 6943 days ago 2042 posts - 2719 votes Speaks: Russian*, English Studies: German | Message 50 of 74 30 April 2010 at 6:47pm | IP Logged | |||||
When you talk about "respecting" the immigrants' language, what sort of policies do you have in mind? 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ReneeMona Diglot Senior Member Netherlands Joined 5335 days ago 864 posts - 1274 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC2 Studies: French | Message 51 of 74 30 April 2010 at 7:32pm | IP Logged | |||||
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Well, I actually meant it in a quite basic sense since I was thinking about a Dutch politician who proposed a law a couple of years ago that would ban the speaking of any other language than Dutch in public places. In my original post the quote referred to this and some other examples from Dutch society that I think all come from fear of the minority in question (in this case the Dutch Muslim community) and a sort of irrational paranoid need to protect one's own culture from a perceived foreign thread.
With regard to the commercial this topic was originally about, I think bringing the number of languages drivers test are given in down to just English is a little too extreme. As I understand it there is a significant Spanish speaking community in the US (not sure about Alabama specifically though) as well as other groups of immigrants who don't speak English (yet). In a country like the US where immigration has always been such a important factor in the history and society, I think excluding people who don't speak English in this way is not a very good idea. Edited by ReneeMona on 13 May 2010 at 9:54pm 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| cordelia0507 Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5838 days ago 1473 posts - 2176 votes Speaks: Swedish* Studies: German, Russian | Message 52 of 74 30 April 2010 at 10:25pm | IP Logged | |||||
I agree; People should make every effort to learn the majority language in the country where they are living. If they can't be bothered for one reason or another, then they ought to consider moving back to where they came from. It's disrespectful to live somewhere and ignore learning the language that regular people speak. I totally disagree with the policy of providing free translation services into obscure languages for immigrants to the UK or elsewhere in the EU. If they have been in the country for 6 months they should be expected to communicate. Anyone who can make it from Africa or the Middle East to the UK should also be able to pick up a book and study the language for long enough to learn the basics. I also disagree with the translation WASTE in Brussels. How much good could be done with all that money in poor areas of Europe! If someone wants to be an EU politician/beureacrat they should learn enough English, French or German to be able to cope in one or more of the big EU languages. Or even better; ditch these languages and use Esperanto instead in the EU; Super easy to learn (no excuses!) and much more fair on the smaller countries. In my opinion the requirement to learn local languages holds true for ALL cases of people living in foreign countries, including:
British people who relocate to rural France (quite common). Immigrants (legal and illegal) guest workers.. Refugees Conventional expats, i.e. American corporate employee in Japan, European in Dubai etc. Missionaries.. Foreign spouses The only exception in my view would be people who live in border areas or bilingual areas, where multiple languages are spoken and understood. 6 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5453 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 53 of 74 30 April 2010 at 11:22pm | IP Logged | |||||
Isn't most of the translation money spent on translating all the legal acts into the official languages of the EU, so that the citizens in turn are able to read and understand them? The bureaucrats already carry out a lot of their work in English, French and German anyway. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| DaisyMaisy Senior Member United States Joined 5380 days ago 115 posts - 178 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish Studies: Swedish, Finnish | Message 54 of 74 30 April 2010 at 11:29pm | IP Logged | |||||
hmm, I'm interested in what exactly I wrote in my post that would constitute "throwing something in people's faces"? Quite on the contrary, I view history as being, well, in the past. Not the fault of modern people who weren't alive at the time. However, that said, I think we should look honestly at our past and learn from our mistakes. Mentioning what happened in the past does not have to elicit a knee jerk defensive response.....I'm not sure why you seem so offended by someone who merely has a different viewpoint than you do.... I do agree there are a lot of concerns and potential problems with multiple languages and I do think people who move to another country should learn that country's language. I just think that these sort of punitive measures that seem more aimed at swaying voters are polarizing and not helpful. How is not letting people take a drivers test in Spanish going to really change anything? It does nothing to expand English teaching programs or help anyone. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| tractor Tetraglot Senior Member Norway Joined 5453 days ago 1349 posts - 2292 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, English, Spanish, Catalan Studies: French, German, Latin | Message 55 of 74 30 April 2010 at 11:34pm | IP Logged | |||||
In Europe you can, with your driving licence issued in one EU or EEA state, go to any other member state and drive as much as you want without knowing the language. It's not the lack of linguistic abilities, but rather drunk driving and speeding that cause accidents and deaths. Edited by tractor on 30 April 2010 at 11:34pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Al-Irelandi Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5535 days ago 111 posts - 177 votes Speaks: English* | Message 56 of 74 30 April 2010 at 11:38pm | IP Logged | |||||
How does immigrants from Africa and the Middle East (or any other third world zone) and them 'making it' to the UK equate with them having the ability to pick up a book and study English? What do they have in common with each other? I really don't get it. Edited by Al-Irelandi on 30 April 2010 at 11:41pm 1 person has voted this message useful |
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