Asian women and the English language. - Page 5

garinda · 11-03-2007, 13:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by katex

So ? What's wrong with that? gets you out, socialising, family outing and the big globe has got wonderful blue lights to give you pleasant surroundings ..

Doesn't make you any worse a person than the ones that are attending church.

Nothing is wrong with it. The people need their opiates. It used to be in cathedrals and churches, now it's from malls.

Luckily I am an atheist, and detest shopping.

Better stop now, before I get smacked legs for thread wandering.

katex · 11-03-2007, 17:00

Just another thing that springs to mind is my attempts at learning French at school .. 2/3 periods x 40 mins per week over 5 years !! Came out not being able to hold a decent conversation in French in France !!

Although a 'skimming' is possible to learn whilst still in their own country, not really possible until you actually live with 'us natives' .. different alphabet too.

Think rather a commitment of some sort that once here they will undertake classes and groups to learn our language, otherwise, back out again. Mind you, who will be the judge as to whether their English is good enough to stay. After all, have to learn all the special sayings we have as depicted in one of our threads on Lancashire sayings ..

Can you imagine teaching Asians 'E-by-gum'

Sorry being frivolous.

Lampman · 11-03-2007, 17:09

The thing that makes me a little uncomfortable is when two or more multi-lingual Asians are talking in English with me and then Switch to Hindi/Urdu,to one another.
Am I getting slated? Mind you this used to happen in parts of Wales years ago!

Grin and bear it.

WillowTheWhisp · 11-03-2007, 19:00

I must admit that when I'm abroad I tend to speak English to the English people which I suppose is the same as Asians speaking their own languages to each other - but if I was somewhere long enough I'd probably pick up on the language more.

It always used to be that the English were the laziest about learning other languages.

Ianto.W. · 12-03-2007, 01:09

How much does it cost the British taxpayer to print all the Social Security jargon in multilingual languages, to service these people who cannot or will not learn to speak the language of their adopted country? and where could this wasted money be spent?. When I go on holiday I expect the host country to accomadate me and my lack of knowledge of their language, or otherwise I will spend my money elswhere in a country more congenial to my holiday needs.

Yolanda25 · 08-06-2007, 21:31

I think its disgusting they dont speak english, im spanish and i went to college to learn english, its such an easy language to learn and i mean lets be real, everyone should learn the language of the countrie they are going to live to, why should we have to put up with it, im not racist but asian polish or whatever it is, they should learn the language, in spain we have loads of people from morroco and they learn the language really fast because its the only way of living there.

SPUGGIE J · 08-06-2007, 22:01

I always struggled with other languages even though its handy. The easiest way to learn is to be in an enviroment that its there constant as there is the need to learn it. Yolanda you are lucky to be bi-lingual and you worked for it and I hope you are proud of that. In time people will be bi tri or multilingual its a case of making the effort as you did. I like the way you discribe English as easy to learn as I am English and still struggle with it especially spelling.

WillowTheWhisp · 08-06-2007, 22:01

How easy English is to learn surely depends on the language you are learning from. Some languages are very similar to English and I would expect speakers of those languages to find it easier to learn English just as I find it easier to learn their language than I do to learn one which is very different with a different form of alphabet etc.

SPUGGIE J · 08-06-2007, 22:24

English has so many words that are exact or derivitives of European languages it may be easier. To your point about simularity in languages a Croat and a Czec can converse because of a simularity in languages ie Slavic. Yet the oddity in the european language is Hungarian (Magyian) as its closer to languages from the Indian sub continent. So in theory any European should be able to learn another Euro one but the irony being a person from the Indian subcontinant might find Hungarian easier. I work or should say worked with a Hungarian women and she really struggles with English despite 20 years her.

WillowTheWhisp · 08-06-2007, 23:41

I think I'd struggle with Chinese and Japanese because the way they are written just bears no resemblance to our alphabet. Similarly with languages like Arabic.I once had a go at learning Russian and can still manage to recognise what sound the letters make but that's about as far as I got! Yet in comparison French and German seem quite simple.

Ianto.W. · 09-06-2007, 10:44

When I am in the presence of immigrants they always to a man or woman revert back to their 'mother' tongue, this I personally find very offensive, this is not something that happens occasionally but always when they are in groups, and is extremely bad manners in my opinion. How does one know if they are racially abusing you, or mimicing you as the postmen found out to their cost.
They are not on holiday here, but making one hopes a better life for themselves, and an education for their children. How unfair it is on native children, to have to teach immigrants offsprings basic English, as their parents can not speak the language of their adopted country.

WillowTheWhisp · 09-06-2007, 14:29

Is that merely 'in the presence of' or 'in the company of'? If it's the latter then yes it is indeed bad manners, but if it's the former then why on earth shouldn't they speak their own language amongst themselves? If I was in France with my English family I would speak to them in English not in French even though I would speak to French people in French.

garinda · 09-06-2007, 14:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ianto.W.

When I am in the presence of immigrants they always to a man or woman revert back to their 'mother' tongue

You'd never find us Brits doing that!

Oh, hang on, yes you would. By the hundreds of thousands of us that live in Spain.

yerself · 09-06-2007, 16:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

I would speak to French people in French.

I would speak Dutch to people in Double-Dutch.

spinner · 10-06-2007, 11:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ianto.W.

How much does it cost the British taxpayer to print all the Social Security jargon in multilingual languages, to service these people who cannot or will not learn to speak the language of their adopted country? and where could this wasted money be spent?. .

i must admit im with ianto on this one. those leaflets when printed in urdu are completely wasteful as people who can read urdu generally speaking can read english as Pakistan was a former colony and english has been taught for many years.the majority of people who are unable to read basic english are illeterate and cant even read urdu. i think the printers just make a good living from it.