applying for a job, but can't speak English

[Android Kaeli]

I agree with Sarah, I expect to speak a country's primary language to the people that know or have learned the local language as a second one, all without having to rely on a translator. If a few people work at a place that speaks only one language but everyone else speaks another, then that's going to cause problems not only with fellow co-workers but with customers as well.

If a place of business hires people who, for some reason or another, can't fully process the primary spoken language or understand it, then they are going to lose customers because of it. I fully expect to go into a store and be able to convey what I want, if I need help, or whatever in my own country without having to learn five different languages because someone decided they were too damn lazy to learn the primary language.

If I moved to a different country, I am fully expected to learn their primary language. At the beginning I'm aware that it'll take a while to have a decent enough grasp to get through the day but after a few years I'd expect myself to know how to communicate with everyone to the point where I don't need my hand held.

[Dasota]

The people that own my store and about 9 others are Middle Eastern of some flavor or another, and at my store the AM and a few regular employees are as well. This has been a bit of an issue as of late since the new night baker I've worked with is about 80/20 on his English. He gets MOST of it, which is great, but because "we Americans" speak too fast, about 20% of it gets lost to him. His reading comprehension is great, which I applaud him for, but the communication is key were I work. I need to be able to TALK to the only coworker I have in my store.

I went out of my way and took about 3 hours to write a step by step walkthrough for him since I cannot devote the time he needs for someone to be back there and help him with a lot of little stuff that he was never trained for, or was confusing to him.

I feel for him, great worker, but the communication barrier is irritating and all hell.

I agree with others that people should prepare and at the very least try to learn some basic English before moving to America. I would do the same if I was moving to another country where English was not a Primary language.

[linguist]

I agree with others that people should prepare and at the very least try to learn some basic English before moving to America. I would do the same if I was moving to another country where English was not a Primary language.

the difference is that you're fortunate enough to live in a country with easy access to education. many of the people being complained about are poor people coming from countries where education is a luxury of the wealthy. until everyone everywhere has easy access to education, expecting all immigrants to know any level of english prior to coming over is unfair and unrealistic.

[Fryk]

You can't really expect it, you don't always know the situation of the ESL person in question. However, the ones that piss me off are the ones that get mad when you don't speak their language. No one should be expected to cater to ANYONE. Well, except caterers.

[jackfaire]

What I am saying is that if you come here (or were born here) into a community where the language you speak is the primary language then you have no real reason to learn the language that a lot of other people use.

In the US we don't have an official language. The reason most of us default to speaking American is because it is the easiest and even though that is the agreed upon primary language it is always changing as we add words, make up words, or assimilate other languages.

[Fryk]

Haha, I make up words all the time! How flibdijuous of you to say that!

[blas87]

I wouldn't expect to move to France or Germany and be always "helped" to speak and write French better. I'd probably be practically spat upon for moving there and not knowing how to get around and be understood by others.

But this is America...where now, people spit on you for not knowing Spanish. To Hell with that.

[powerboy]

This is why people should need to know english before coming to America

Amen to that. Like what was said before. If I move to another country, I should really learn the language. It is hard enough for just English speaking people to get jobs already. But the ones that needs help or knows no English gets jobs left and right. Fuck that shit, it is not right at all.

[jackfaire]

I feel you should learn the language of the community you move into not the country that happens to claim your community as part of there country.

IE Some parts of Wales they speak Welsh other parts they do not.

[bunnyboy]

I wouldn't go THAT far, Red Panda.Learning a new language is difficult at best. And english is one of the hardest ones to learn to read.

What I've actually hard from linguists is only Mandarin and Certain Sub-Saharan African languages are harder, and that's mainly due to the use of tones as a semantic device (for instance Chinese ma has 4 different tones meaning mother, hemp, horse and something else I don't remember.)

English just has it because it's the result of Norman Men-at-arms picking up Saxon Barmaids, and is no more legitimate than any other thing coming from that.

[infinitemonkies]

"The problem with defending the purity of the english language is that english is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. English does not so much borrow words from other languages as it does chase them down a dark alley, bludgeon them about the head, and root through their vocabulary for words to steal."

I don't know who said that, but if anyone does, let me know.

In Canada, we have 2 national languages; english and french. Every food product in Canada is required by law to have all ingredients listed in both languages, and if you go into a government office, it is your right to get service and/or forms in either language. I have never heard of a public school in Canada that does not teach french classes, and in Ontario, at least at the time I went to school, you are required to take at least 3 years of french to get your high school diploma.

This is despite the fact that I have never met anyone who speaks French as their primary language who wasn't born and raised in Quebec, nor have I ever met a Canadian who speaks only french. Though I understand a significant minority of Quebecois are in fact francophones. Out here in BC, there is an even larger minority of residents who speak only Mandarin or Cantonese than Quebec has Francophones, but nothing is done on any official level to accomodate them.

If you're going to live somewhere, learn to communicate, and don't expect anyone to cater to you if you don't speak the local language. If I were gonna go to Italy, I'd learn at least conversational italian. If I moved to Brazil, bet yer ass I'd learn me some portugese.

[muses_nightmare]

If you're going to live somewhere, learn to communicate, and don't expect anyone to cater to you if you don't speak the local language. If I were gonna go to Italy, I'd learn at least conversational italian. If I moved to Brazil, bet yer ass I'd learn me some portugese.

This.

I live in Vancouver, and I can't believe the amount of people I run into that don't speak English or French (though on the westcoast I suppose the french part makes sense), there was an East Indian man in the hospital with my late father-in-law and he couldn't speak a word of English, they had trouble just informing him of what his medications and such were. And in the hospital my husband was at half the nurses barely spoke English, or at least chose not to speak it. Now how does that happen? How does one get a nursing diploma without being able to speak and understand the official language fluently?

[Plaidman]

This is why people should need to know english before coming to America

Indeed....NOT.

This country is a melting pot of different lanagages and cultures.

That and you want to go off on how English was first here, it wasn't, so don't try to think that English is the native langage.

[McDreidel09]

At my place of work, we are starting to hire non-English speakers and quite frankly, it is pretty annoying, especially if something bad were to happen and communication is needed. I wouldn't have much of a problem because I do know Spanish, but not everyone knows it. In fact, one of the non-English speakers was promoted to crew trainer, a position that is 90% communication and 10% demonstration. While this crew trainer can do the 10% for demonstration, it would be rather difficult to communicate with other coworkers who do not speak Spanish.

Am I saying she shouldn't have a job? Absolutely not. She should be able to have a job, but she should do what she needs to be able to do her job, which would be to learn the primary language of the community, which is English.

[insertNameHere]

This is why people should need to know english before coming to America

Your so intolerant is what my one ex always told me on this subject. But that is exactly what I believe, sure we won't have an offical language but Um its been English for over 200 years and I think we will stick with it, learn it, I refuse to go to McDs in the country I was born and raised in to ask for a numerio Uno