Asian women and the English language.

Lampman · 05-03-2007, 16:29

I see Jack Straw has put his head above the parapet and asked should Asian women be able to speak English before receiving a settlement visa.
An example given was of one Asian woman who came to our shores in 1954 and was still unable to speak the language.
I trust he singled Asian females out because they can be less liable to mix with general society.
Yet surely this question of language ability should apply to everyone coming here?
While we are at it how about insisting that the would be immigrant has a job already fixed up before entering the country or benefits system!

flashy · 05-03-2007, 16:33

yes i agree with you lampman....it SHOULD apply to everyone who comes into this country......my dads cousin lives in australia and when he's drunk he doesnt seem to be able to speak english

but seriously it should be made law

Lampman · 05-03-2007, 16:45

One of my Asian colleagues,having dealt with two Polish visitors was seen to shake her head,when I asked why she said, 'they couldn't speak very good English.....we are getting a lot of immigrants these days who can't speak the language."
Now this to me shows that some Asians have definately integrated into our society.

cashman · 05-03-2007, 17:41

could be a difficult one that lampman, as we can go and live and work in most of the european countrys without speaking the language. i know as i did this,the differance being if i had something i needed to attend to, i would HAVE TO PAY an interpretor to assist me, to me that was fine it was their country and i couldn,t speak the lingo. you certainly do not get the freebies abroad and rightfully so.

grego · 05-03-2007, 17:50

I think it would be a good idea for all planned immigrants to be able to get by with the language, you'd think they'd want to. I wouldn't want to go and live in a foreign country without being able to speak the lingo. At the end of the day if you cant speak the language how are you going to get a job and support yourself.

Lampman · 05-03-2007, 18:34

Well Grego that could be the point,Asian women who enter the country as wives(perhaps in an arranged marriage) seldom seek work and so become even more isolated and insular.
As for the latest influx of east europeans well time will tell.Our country has always managed to absorb and thrive on immigration.The Irish,Italians and West Indians spring to mind.Though I think of these three examples, two at least shared some common language which helped.

garinda · 05-03-2007, 18:59

If we moved to France we'd have to sink or swim, as there is no offical free translation offered, and offical documents don't come in four languages. It is in French only, and not suprsingly you soon have to learn.

However here, are wooly minded liberal council, amongst others, insist on having offical forms in four Asian languages. This doesn't encourage integration, it just helps people stay even more isolated from the wider community.

I was looking at the website of Accrington's Women's centre this weekend. They offer counselling in Urdu, Gujerati, and Punjabi, as well as English. They can offer courses in hand emboidery and beading for beginners, but sadly not courses in English literacy.

As long as the politically correct loons offer all kinds of things in languages other than English, some people will have neither the need nor desire to learn the language of the country in which they live, thus keeping them in even more isolation.

http://www.womenscentre.org/main.htm

lettie · 05-03-2007, 19:20

I think that anyone getting citizenship of this country should be able to speak and understand English. Unfortunately, I tend to find that this is not the case, especially amongst the Asian community. Maybe that is because my work takes me into the Asian community more than other communities, so therefore, I notice it more. I helped to run an Asian women's group which was very popular in the community. I found that most of the supposed non-English speaking women who attended the group could actually speak and understand some English, but never spoke the language in the presence of men. I also found out through our translator that many of these young women were subject to domestic abuse, especially by their mother-in-laws..

this abuse was condoned by the husband and his family.

Asian women could be the biggest untapped working resource in this country. How many of them will be forced to get jobs when their youngest child reaches 11??

As for the immigration, I don't get how so many women can be allowed to fly into this country when they are heavily pregnant. We have had a few tragedies where women have lost their babies after making a long haul flight too late in the pregnancy. Whether their journey is responsible for their losses is debateable, but coincidental all the same. Many women are coming to husbands who are claiming benefits themselves, so who is supporting these women. Some men also come into the country to be with wives who are not working, which leads me to believe that our immigration policies suck..

I do think that translation services in hospitals, police stations, council offices banks etc should be paid for.

maxwell silver · 05-03-2007, 19:21

A friend of mine who lives down Sussex says down there immigrants sign up for english language courses & at the same time register with an employment agency.As soon as the agency finds them work they never bother to go back to their course,even part time.He reckons they're only intrested in earning.He mentioned east europeans & even south americans but no asians.

Margaret Pilkington · 05-03-2007, 20:30

Like Lettie, my job involved me with women of the Asian community and many of them had been in this country for many years and could speak only very little English.......and all the money that was spent translating documents into their native languages was, in the main, wasted as very few of them could read their own language.

Wynonie Harris · 05-03-2007, 21:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxwell silver

& even south americans

I can tell you one South American in this country who speaks good English - my missus. When she arrived here 21 years ago, she immediately signed up for an English course - and paid for it. She didn't expect translators or even free lessons. The result is that she can now speak very fluent English indeed (especially when she's demanding to know why it took me three hours to go for a "quck pint"!).

In fact, I know loads of South Americans and they all speak very good English, because they're ambitious and want decent jobs, so don't tar everyone with the same brush!

Stuart · 05-03-2007, 21:23

Of course they and any immigrant should be able to speak enough english to get by.

grego · 05-03-2007, 21:26

In order to remain in this country they should have to take lessons and pass a test, I'm sure most would be grateful.

Bagpuss · 05-03-2007, 21:32

To the point, I don't give a fig whether they can speak English because I wouldn't have them here.

WillowTheWhisp · 05-03-2007, 22:27

I don't think it was right to single out Asian women specifically but I do think all immigrants should be encouraged to learn the language. It would surely be better for them and for everyone else.