no tolerance!

StingShark425

I am going to say sorry ahead of time if I offend anyone--i'm incredibly irritated.

I have no tolerance/patience for people who are in this country and do not speak a lick of english. How do they survive? I can understand to some extent when they come here and they live w/ family members who only speak their language. I really do understand that it is hard to learn a language when you live w/ people who only speak that language.

But I think there is a point when they should have to learn the basics...I dont expect an extended vocabulary. but something..

We have this patient come in and she speaks no english, she is hatian. She has been in the US for 18 years. she speaks no english! Then gets aggravated at us...uhm?

I'm sorry. I hope no one is offended, but i think there is a point where some basic english should be required.... She works for the school board in our county?uhm how?

DrRenea

How can she work for the school board if she doesn't speak English?

StingShark425

uhm. she doesnt teach, she has some other kind of job. still. i don't know.

DrRenea

I guess I feel the same way sometimes, because it can be really frustrating to deal with a person who does not speak the same language.  However, until we have a national language there is no real expectation that people learn English to be able to adapt to American society.  And that being said, there aren't a ton of Americans out there who feel that it is rude to travel to countries where they do not speak a lick of the local language, which many foreigners find equally offensive (because we would expect them to speak English as well).

StingShark425

I understand about us not speaking the language when we travel. but we are not living there. We go, visit, travel. leave. we do not make that our new home country. I know we dont have an official language so we can not demand, or expect I guess but gosh!

kelcat

I feel the same way.  I feel that if you making the move to become a citizen of this country you need to make an effort to learn the language.  I don't expect to go to a foreign language and everyone cater to my language needs.  This has always been a pet peeve of mine.

StingShark425

I am glad that I have not been flamed yet.  It really gets me when they get mad at me bc I don't speak their language and dont have anyone inthe office that does.? im okay as long as they dont get mad, but i mean really what do you want me to do? i can't magically produce someone who speaks your language! agh!

iteachkids81

I think if she has lived in the US that long then yeah, it is her responsibility to learn the language of the country, or to bring along a translator with her to places where she needs it. There are many sources (usually available or advertised at public libraries) that will provide translators at little or no cost to immigrants who need it.

?

And for what its worth, even in Canada where we have 2 national languages (English and French) there are people who speak neither of those. (and places where they speak mostly French and get very mad if you don't try to speak French to them) But it all depends on where you are and who you are. Some people are stubborn about only conversing in one language, and others who are more fluent in one will at least TRY to communicate in the other. ?

Ashley Connour

I completely agree! It drives me crazy. Especially with her case of being here for 18 years now, she should definitely have some English down by now. In high school, I actually had an English teacher that was Vietnamese and english was not her first language. It was really hard to learn anything from her when she pronounced everything wrong and half the time the class didn't know what she was talking about. Crazy