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Getting upset with the lack of English-speaking people in England.
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Original post by Eva_UK
You now have to pass a basic language test to immigrate to the UK.
This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App
This was posted from The Student Room's iPhone/iPad App
Basic = too easy anyone could pass it.
It should at least be C1 level.
I was about to agree with you when I read the title as I thought you were referring to the monolingual natives.
If you were to take a sentence with bad grammar and show it to the OP, he would probably be less concerned if he were told that the author of the text were white compared to say Asian.
OP is just a xenophobe, plain and simple.
If you were to take a sentence with bad grammar and show it to the OP, he would probably be less concerned if he were told that the author of the text were white compared to say Asian.
OP is just a xenophobe, plain and simple.
Original post by JollyGreenAtheist
Why is it anybody's business what language you speak?
The presumption made here is that people who do not choose to speak English in public are incapable of speaking English. That, in many cases, my be inaccurate. Even if they cannot speak English yet, I doubt that is out of spite to the nation; more likely, it is because they do not have the time or money to make use of the facilities for learning English. It's very easy for TSR, a broadly middle class forum comprising of many people who live off daddy's credit card, to overlook the struggles of ordinary people trying to cope.
On a personal level, I do not care what language people speak. I think there are far more important things to be worrying about than 'British values being eroded'. That noncommittal nonsense is genuinely the least of our worries, further, I do not necessarily see it as a bad thing, if such things as exclusively British values exist. There's an ethnocentric school of thought that the norms and values that British people are familiar with, are superior to all other norms and values, and should be placed on an unchallengeable, untouchable pedestal, as an unquantifiable but eternally integral part of a lump of rock in the North sea (as a previous poster noted). Has anybody considered the possibility of non-English speaking people importing values that ameliorate the UK? Certainly, the immigrants of the 70s had a fantastic work ethic, and I'd wager that many still do, despite the DM doing its best to fuel the hate.
Speak whatever language you like, as long as you respect other people and are happy to cooperate with others in society, I see no problem. "British culture" is an ever-changing entity, as Britain continues to be influenced by a variety of sources. Xenophobia needs to be overcome, and culture needs to be allowed to evolve.
The presumption made here is that people who do not choose to speak English in public are incapable of speaking English. That, in many cases, my be inaccurate. Even if they cannot speak English yet, I doubt that is out of spite to the nation; more likely, it is because they do not have the time or money to make use of the facilities for learning English. It's very easy for TSR, a broadly middle class forum comprising of many people who live off daddy's credit card, to overlook the struggles of ordinary people trying to cope.
On a personal level, I do not care what language people speak. I think there are far more important things to be worrying about than 'British values being eroded'. That noncommittal nonsense is genuinely the least of our worries, further, I do not necessarily see it as a bad thing, if such things as exclusively British values exist. There's an ethnocentric school of thought that the norms and values that British people are familiar with, are superior to all other norms and values, and should be placed on an unchallengeable, untouchable pedestal, as an unquantifiable but eternally integral part of a lump of rock in the North sea (as a previous poster noted). Has anybody considered the possibility of non-English speaking people importing values that ameliorate the UK? Certainly, the immigrants of the 70s had a fantastic work ethic, and I'd wager that many still do, despite the DM doing its best to fuel the hate.
Speak whatever language you like, as long as you respect other people and are happy to cooperate with others in society, I see no problem. "British culture" is an ever-changing entity, as Britain continues to be influenced by a variety of sources. Xenophobia needs to be overcome, and culture needs to be allowed to evolve.
Completely disagree with this.
If you're in Britain, you will respect British culture and speak English.
Not really relevant but the last time I went to London I didn't hear a single cockney accent.
Original post by Anonymous
It doesn't feel like England is actually English any more. At least not in certain cities. I'm surrounded by so many people who don't speak English, it feels like I'm a tourist in my own country. It makes me feel awkward and uneasy. I don't know what they are saying, nor why so many Europeans insist on shouting at each other, whilst the Asians shout at people on their phones. So many people come here and don't make the effort to integrate at all with our society, so subsequently it's getting washed out. England does have a culture, and people who come here should embrace it, not smother it with their cultures from other countries. It's not un-PC to reserve Englishness!
I hate going into a shop and not being understood. I'm English! If you have a job where you are working in England and speaking to English people then you should know English! Why can people like that get jobs when so many of our own can't get them - and no it's not laziness.
It's just really making me upset. I hate the people on here who complain about how **** England is, and have their flags as India or Ghana, but they would never actually live there. If you're English, you're English. If you hate this country, you can piss off.
Unfortunately anonymous because this is spurred on by my girlfriend and her family who keep insisting that I should learn their language. No, you're in England, you learn English!
I hate going into a shop and not being understood. I'm English! If you have a job where you are working in England and speaking to English people then you should know English! Why can people like that get jobs when so many of our own can't get them - and no it's not laziness.
It's just really making me upset. I hate the people on here who complain about how **** England is, and have their flags as India or Ghana, but they would never actually live there. If you're English, you're English. If you hate this country, you can piss off.
Unfortunately anonymous because this is spurred on by my girlfriend and her family who keep insisting that I should learn their language. No, you're in England, you learn English!
In my opinion,your either racist or your just purely upset.
But why would you go out with someone who's not English??
That's what's confusing me!
But then again,you do have a point
I mean I'm Mauritian myself and I'm a multilinguist,but it really annoys me when Asians just shout on the phone!
I feel like my eardrums are gonna burst!
Original post by Scumbaggio
Not really relevant but the last time I went to London I didn't hear a single cockney accent.
Cockneys live in essex now. London isn't an English city anymore.
Original post by moonkatt
I heard that this was a myth peddled by BNP types about curries and struggle to find anything that confirms this to me. Isn't curry pretty much a generic term used in the west for spiced food from the Indian subcontinent?
I had a quick look on Wiki and you seem to be right, but not too sure about the BNP part. I don't think it's not plausible for the original curry to have been made that way, and then as people got the taste for it, they started to use fresh vegetables etc...
Original post by ufo2012
If the foreigners won't make any effort then neither should we.
It is up to THEM to actually learn some basic english and try and converse, if they won't do that, it is not up to us to struggle with their nonsense - after all there are basic courses for that kind of thing and often times they are FREE so what is preventing them for going and making a little effort to learn even some basic words?
Nothing except laziness.
It is up to THEM to actually learn some basic english and try and converse, if they won't do that, it is not up to us to struggle with their nonsense - after all there are basic courses for that kind of thing and often times they are FREE so what is preventing them for going and making a little effort to learn even some basic words?
Nothing except laziness.
If you've noticed, most people do speak English. Perhaps in a heavy accent, but they'll speak it nonetheless.
Also, have you not noticed how lazy we are in comparison? The world uses English for things like business.
British ex-pats refuse to learn the language of the country etc...
(edited 11 years ago)
Britain is becoming more international and there really is nothing anyone can do about it. The British embassies are the ones giving out visas so fundamentally, it's England letting England be like this.
To be honest, the view of England and its values going down the drain is not entirely the result of immigrants. Who run this country? The government and politics control what happens day to day and if immigrants don't integrate with the community, then how can their voices be heard and therefore change society and culture?
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by Party Pack
Obviously you are to dumb to read between the lines, it is not specifically the language but the change of culture,society and demographics derp.
I have sat and watched my neighbourhood turn into a third world ghetto hell hole the past 5 years.
Culture is ever changing but why should it be influenced by third world immigrants ?
I have sat and watched my neighbourhood turn into a third world ghetto hell hole the past 5 years.
Culture is ever changing but why should it be influenced by third world immigrants ?
Are you entirely, entirely sure it's only because of immigrants? I do agree there are quite a lot in this country but how about the people off the Jeremy Kyle show and the never ending flow of yobs and chavs? Being English, doesn't stop you from being an idiot and turning neighborhoods* 'into a third world ghetto hell hole'…
Original post by Anonymous
It doesn't feel like England is actually English any more. At least not in certain cities. I'm surrounded by so many people who don't speak English, it feels like I'm a tourist in my own country. It makes me feel awkward and uneasy. I don't know what they are saying, nor why so many Europeans insist on shouting at each other, whilst the Asians shout at people on their phones. So many people come here and don't make the effort to integrate at all with our society, so subsequently it's getting washed out. England does have a culture, and people who come here should embrace it, not smother it with their cultures from other countries. It's not un-PC to reserve Englishness!
I hate going into a shop and not being understood. I'm English! If you have a job where you are working in England and speaking to English people then you should know English! Why can people like that get jobs when so many of our own can't get them - and no it's not laziness.
It's just really making me upset. I hate the people on here who complain about how **** England is, and have their flags as India or Ghana, but they would never actually live there. If you're English, you're English. If you hate this country, you can piss off.
Unfortunately anonymous because this is spurred on by my girlfriend and her family who keep insisting that I should learn their language. No, you're in England, you learn English!
I hate going into a shop and not being understood. I'm English! If you have a job where you are working in England and speaking to English people then you should know English! Why can people like that get jobs when so many of our own can't get them - and no it's not laziness.
It's just really making me upset. I hate the people on here who complain about how **** England is, and have their flags as India or Ghana, but they would never actually live there. If you're English, you're English. If you hate this country, you can piss off.
Unfortunately anonymous because this is spurred on by my girlfriend and her family who keep insisting that I should learn their language. No, you're in England, you learn English!
Hold up... you're complaining about people who speak other languages, and your own girlfriend speaks a different language? Just lol
Why don't you try moving to a country in which you don't know any of the local language? Try living there for years in a dead-end job looking for better opportunities but feeling like an outcast. That's what many generations of immigrants have done before us, and I know just from reading your post that they work 100 times harder than you ever could. Stop complaining about people who appreciate Great Britain for it's multi-culturalism and come here to work for better lives. If you're so proud of being British, you should be welcoming them here - they make an effort to learn English so why can't you at least try to integrate? What's the harm in that?
This is one of those issues where you have to be very careful to unpick feelings about language from feelings about people from different races and cultures. Would it be beneficial for people in England who can't speak English to learn it? Sure. They would get on better, and other people who speak nothing but English would find it much easier to interact with them. But this is very different to statements with pretty clear xenophobic components, like "England isn't English any more", as if there's some essence of 'Englishness' which is being sucked away by people with different linguistic backgrounds.
There are cultures in Britain, in parts of immigrant communities, where efforts made to learn English are poorer than they really should be. I don't think anybody with a realistic grasp of the situation is denying this. But this is about an ideal case, and not some necessity that makes a non English speaker a worse person if they don't learn it. Brits generally have a very poor understanding of learning languages and of living in countries whose language they do not speak, because we are spoiled by the fact that we can rely on most of the countries we visit having passable standards of English. Because of this, we often seem to have a built in bias towards the idea that other people should always know English (rather than us knowing other languages) and this leads, in some, to strange views about anyone not knowing English being ignorant.
There are cultures in Britain, in parts of immigrant communities, where efforts made to learn English are poorer than they really should be. I don't think anybody with a realistic grasp of the situation is denying this. But this is about an ideal case, and not some necessity that makes a non English speaker a worse person if they don't learn it. Brits generally have a very poor understanding of learning languages and of living in countries whose language they do not speak, because we are spoiled by the fact that we can rely on most of the countries we visit having passable standards of English. Because of this, we often seem to have a built in bias towards the idea that other people should always know English (rather than us knowing other languages) and this leads, in some, to strange views about anyone not knowing English being ignorant.
Original post by de_monies
If you've noticed, most people do speak English. Perhaps in a heavy accent, but they'll speak it nonetheless.
Also, have you not noticed how lazy we are in comparison? The world uses English for things like business.
British ex-pats refuse to learn the language of the country etc...
Also, have you not noticed how lazy we are in comparison? The world uses English for things like business.
British ex-pats refuse to learn the language of the country etc...
Of course and these people deserve credit for trying.
It those people who don't bother to try that I am talking about - there are still some around.
Original post by Chumbaniya
There are cultures in Britain, in parts of immigrant communities, where efforts made to learn English are poorer than they really should be. I don't think anybody with a realistic grasp of the situation is denying this. But this is about an ideal case, and not some necessity that makes a non English speaker a worse person if they don't learn it. Brits generally have a very poor understanding of learning languages and of living in countries whose language they do not speak, because we are spoiled by the fact that we can rely on most of the countries we visit having passable standards of English. Because of this, we often seem to have a built in bias towards the idea that other people should always know English (rather than us knowing other languages) and this leads, in some, to strange views about anyone not knowing English being ignorant.
I think what you are talking about sounds more like us going on holiday as tourists to visit other countries and not knowing the language. Of course this happens. But if you visit that country more than once, you do start becoming familiar with the lingo - even if it is only simple words you grasp here and there.
On the other hand, if these people want to come here to stay (i.e. not on holiday, but here permanently), take the jobs and be a part of the culture (even if they are bringing theirs), they should be forced, yes FORCED to make an effort to learn the basics of the English language. It should be a requirement that they do this, after all - the government already funds it through FREE English lessons - it is simply the laziness of the foreigner if they don't want to do so - as often they are just interested in getting here and setting up their own immigrant ghettos where their own kind can rule and go about their business within their own communities. Except for contributing in taxes (even if they are doing this), I don't see how this can be moving the country forward - it is actually polarising it more.
Original post by EvaUK
You now have to pass a basic language test to immigrate to the UK.
The problem is with those still around who obviously did not undergo this test, or else they are here illegally (don't know which).
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by minimarshmallow
You referred to foreign nationals in this country, I assumed you meant all of them as you didn't specify shop keepers until you gave an example.
If I was in a private hospital it would have been okay (say that was the closest one and I had health insurance)? No, it would not. My chest pain turned out to be muscular, but if it was worse then the having to try and make myself understood followed by the wait for another doctor could have killed me.
Also, several local corner shops and takeaways have all been overtaken by people who speak poor English, do I just accept the loss of local business and end up having to drive for a pizza because I can't understand them and they can't understand me? If you have to interact with people in a country you live in, you should speak their language.
If I was in a private hospital it would have been okay (say that was the closest one and I had health insurance)? No, it would not. My chest pain turned out to be muscular, but if it was worse then the having to try and make myself understood followed by the wait for another doctor could have killed me.
Also, several local corner shops and takeaways have all been overtaken by people who speak poor English, do I just accept the loss of local business and end up having to drive for a pizza because I can't understand them and they can't understand me? If you have to interact with people in a country you live in, you should speak their language.
We meet again… Anyway, awkward times when those local shops and takeaways were opened by foreigners and not 'overtaken.' And you are joking, I have never in my life, ever had to drive for a pizza because I couldn't understand them, why the f would anyone employ someone who doesn't speak english and man phones? From a business point of view, it makes no sense.
Original post by Zelex
I think the problem is "what do we define as racist". If I am honest I have read some comments on TSR that technically have some type racial sentiments attached. However I have also seen comments which I would consider more on the ignorant side rather than racist.
Essentially, ignorance is a part of racism ^.^
Original post by madders94
When you come on holiday to Wales, or anyone else with this attitude for that matter, or you decide to move to Wales, I hope you'll make the effort to learn to SPEAK Welsh before you come instead of expecting us to change our way of life for you!
Uhh yeah… If I'm ever going to visit wales, I'm not going to bother to learn the language...
Original post by ZOMFG_it'sCaiters
Uhh yeah… If I'm ever going to visit wales, I'm not going to bother to learn the language...
That's ignorant, isn't it.
Original post by Bonged.
That's ignorant, isn't it.
It may be, but it's the truth. If I'm going there for a weekend, why would I want to learn welsh? Maybe for novelty, to impress some welsh people but other than that, no reason.
Original post by nonswimmer
I hope your girlfriend finds this, reads this, and dumps you.
Edit: Literally cannot believe how much neg I got for this.
Edit: Literally cannot believe how much neg I got for this.
whoops there's another one
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