Non-English in the workplace

What has happen to the south-western USA.

Every place i go into, there is some guy named Jesus who can barely speak broken English, he now starts naming off tons of diffrent things, in some Broken english, i can't understand a word, i would have understood more i f he was talking in Mexican. It took me a good 10 mins just to understand what this guy was saying, and even longer to get him to understand me.

Frusterated, i eventualy walked out of the place screeming, 'Thank you Jesus, for nothing"

OUr country needs to do something before we have compltly lost our idenity.

The only thing i can think of is making it a law that English be used in the workplace, and have a law counter to that, that if people are comunicating in a foreign lanugauge, in front of customers, that they be given a FINE, at the least!

I agree. We are too liberal on this issue.

I remember a few years back I had to take a series of management courses for my job dealing with sensitivity, diversity, sexual harrassment and the likes.

At some point during the course, it was exhibited that is not proper conduct to speak to another (who also speaks the language) in your native tongue while others who are unable to understand are present.

The thought being that someone unable to understand may perceive this as that they are being talked about, and this considered offensive.

Yet still, I see this happen all the time in a professional atmosphere? One day I'm just gonna have to say something to somebody.

Then they will be offended at the thought of them perhaps offending someone........sheesh. What a mess.

:bash:

I can understand your frustration at the event you described. The exact same thing has happened to me on a couple of occasions as well. I am afraid, however, that there is not much that individuals like us can do. We could ask that the legislative bodies from the towns on up to the national level pass the laws that you suggest. There is one thing that would stop that process dead in it's tracks, though: it would not pass muster of the court system in this country, as they would toss these laws out as violating the rights of the people who's English isn't so good. And there is no way that we can keep legal immigrants from working here in the U.S. It is frustrating all the way around, I know. We just have to bear with it and make the bst of a bad situation.

Exactly the same situation you describe in the US has happened to me in my own country, where english IS NOT the official language. A lot of US people were part of the staff for years and they didn't bother to learn a single word in our language.
And the same applies for British (mainly), Australians, and so on. They took advantage of our speaking their language. They took for granted that understanding them was a must for us.

So you're not the only ones to complain.

By the way, Mexicans speak... spanish.

Heh.. at my school, Pre K. - 12th, there are only a handful of students who dont speak spanish...
Me, my bro, sis, and a few guys are like the only ones i can think of that doesnt speak it..
So all we hear all day long is Spanish, about 8 out of 10 or more kids in the school can speak English and Spanish very fluently (sp?)
Some, only speak spanish and thats very difficult. Two or Three guys in my class know VERY little english.

Anyways, Because I live in Florida, Spanish is like the main language where Im at..and its a whole lot easier to find someone who only speaks spanish, than finding an english speaking person.. :shk:

When I first moved here, it drove me insane!! But Im starting to get used to it I guess.. Still annoys me sometimes though. :bnghd:

Oh, and I have a Spanish Final on Thursday.. :bnghd:

I hate spanish with a passion!!
I can only speak like two words of it!! >.<



[edit on 14-3-2008 by minnie]

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?

Bilingual.


What do you call someone who speaks three languages?


Trilingual.


What do you call someone who speaks only one language?


An American.

Fortunately, my attitude towards learning foreign languages has been and still is completely different from yours, minnie.

I practise those I can speak as much as possible. Let me give you an advice. Try to do the same with Spanish and when you're grown-up you'll find yourself with a small treasure. To help improve your working capabilities, to understand and be understood when travelling to very large parts of the world.

Be fluent, my friend.

Fortunately, my attitude towards learning foreign languages has been and still is completely different from yours, minnie.

I practise those I can speak as much as possible. Let me give you an advice. Try to do the same with Spanish and when you're grown-up you'll find yourself with a small treasure. To help improve your working capabilities, to understand and be understood when travelling to very large parts of the world.

Be fluent, my friend.

Originally posted by ceman43
Fortunately, my attitude towards learning foreign languages has been and still is completely different from yours, minnie.

I try to learn, and people try to teach me, but I cant get it. I have a very hard time with it especially since I already have trouble pronouncing R's right cause i have a lil speech problem..

So it makes it harder.. And I find French to be easier.. but thats just my opinion.

reply to post by minnie


I had a 95 in French and a 30 average in Spanish, until I quit. I went to a private school in Hollywood Fla. with quite a few French-Canadians.
But, I can mainly only remember Spanish.
I was in 9th grade and I had to learn a spanish poem by Joaquin Dicenta(sp?)
At lunch time for 6th period. I can STILL remember much of that poem. Over 20 years later. El amor es la vida.

I have needed a LOT of Spanish in my work at schools, Bi-lingual pays better, too, I'm told.

[edit on 14-3-2008 by Clearskies]

Originally posted by Clearskies
reply to post by minnie

 

I had a 95 in French and a 30 average in Spanish, until I quit. I went to a private school in Hollywood Fla. with quite a few French-Canadians.
But, I can mainly only remember Spanish.
I was in 9th grade and I had to learn a spanish poem by Joaquin Dicenta(sp?)
At lunch time for 6th period. I can STILL remember much of that poem. Over 20 years later. El amor es la vida.

I have needed a LOT of Spanish in my work at schools, Bi-lingual pays better, too, I'm told.

[edit on 14-3-2008 by Clearskies]

Yeah.. I know I need to learn it mainly cause of where I live, And I go to a private school right now and in 9th. lol XD

One of my friends know English, Spanish, and Italian fluently. His history book is all in Italian even. =/

reply to post by ceman43
What you have posted here is right on the money. I've tried learning Spanish myself because there are a lot of Spanish speaking people in the building and neighborhoos I live in. It has helped us all get along better with understanding.

Learning a foreign language enriches you, and now I'm not referring to money. Spanish being my mother tongue, I started with English when I was a child, I've always loved it so it hasn't been a sacrifice to improve it as much as I could.
For me, it was a pleasure traveling to London several years ago (third visit) and speaking with a cockney in Camden Town flea market, for instance. Their accent is complicated and unless your knowledge of the language is a very good one you miss almost every word.
I read English books, see original versions of British or American films, as you can see I enter this site and participate in discussion threads like this one.
English has been in my life almost from the beginning and I know we'll "never part". If I can avoid it, of course.

Reply to Clearskies' question:

Joaquin Dicenta sr. was a poet and journalist, who died in early twentieth century. Joaquin Dicenta jr also was a threater writer who died in the sixties decade. Manuel Dicenta, their son and brother respectively, was an actor and died in the seventies decade.

Let me just make a few more points...

I speak Spainish VERY well, i lived in a Spanish speaking country for 3 years (Venezuela) and became FLuent, when i moved back to the states i was in FLorida, and i did not need to speak much spainsh, so naturaly, most of it left me.

Fast foreward to one of my jobs, quite a few Cubans worked there, so i picked back up on my spainsih... the CUban Dialect is distinctly diffrent then the Venezuelan dialect that i knew...

Then i moved here to California, and had to get familiar with Spainish with a Mexican dialect, quickly, a large % of california now resemble Mexico more then California. So i used Spainish all the time here, at the bank, store, at the school cafeteria, or at a resturant if i wanted my food to be correct.


Throught the years i have noticed a TRUE diffrence in the laungue between the diffrent countires and the people friom the countires.

Thus, i have taken it upon myself to give the diffrent Dialects diffrent names, similar to the way Portuguese (which i know a little of) broke off from Spainsih, but kept almost the esame launguage, same as with the Americans, who have furnished thier own dialect of English (which can be broken into many diffrent sub-catagories that are as complex as thier own sepertate lanugaes, such as Texas Talk, NY Talk, and West Coast talk.)

So i have choose, on my own will to seperate these dialects.

So i know:
Venezuelian Spainish
Cuban Spainish
Mexican Spainish
Old English (my mum is Brittish direct decent)
American English (Versed in the West and East coast dialects)
Some Brazilain Portugeese


Thats that...


And Minnie, have fun living in Cubaimi.. do well on your Cuban test...


[edit on 3/16/2008 by TKainZero]

Originally posted by TKainZero

And Minnie, have fun living in Cubaimi.. do well on your Cuban test...

ugh.... yes.. Im not looking forward to that.. :bnghd:

Originally posted by TKainZero
OUr country needs to do something before we have compltly lost our idenity.

Why, is the identity of an American more important than a Mexican? Was not this country founded on being a melting-pot?

So it is a mixed blessing, however we have created our borders and boundaries.

It is fine to speak a foreign language in the workplace, so long as the dollar keeps them enslaved in sweat shops of other lands though, right OP?

[edit on 16-3-2008 by ben91069]

It’s the same over here in Australia; I’m getting sick of a lot of people not being able to speak English. The even more annoying thing is that when you can go sit for your driving test, you can choose what language you want, or when you take the citizenship test you can study for it in your own language, HELLO! If you can speak and understand English then you shouldn’t get citizenship.

I think the problem here is that Australians put up with it and let it happen.

I am currently at University, and in 4 years will be moving back to Europe permanently, I will be moving to Paris, France. Now, I know that they speak French there, it’s the official language and I think anyone wanting to live there should respect that and learn the language. So obviously, I’ve been learning French (part of my degree). I think it would be so rude and wrong for me to move to France and expect people to put up with me talking in English or broken French.

Why can’t immigrants here make the same effort and accept that the country they are moving too speaks a different language, so bloody learn it!

Mikey


[edit on 16/3/2008 by Mikey84]

reply to mikey84:
Yes, you can be sure that in France people speak french. But not always, they also have (as many other developed European countries) a lot of immigrants: from Morocco, Algiers, ex-URSS countries such as Romania, Poland, etc.
People from Latin America normally emigrate to Spain, because of the language. Even tough there are differences in the language called "americanisms" (words that have been kept from the original pre-colonialist dialects, or even words belonging to the old Spanish language now forgotten in Spain) the written and spoken language goes in the same way as to construction of sentences, verbs and so on.
The question is, I think, to have the will to communicate with others, don't you think so?

I do feel that if you go to live in a certain country than you should learn the main language that is spoken there. If you go to visit another country, you should at least try to learn some basic most common words before going there. I know a lot of Americans do not abide by this as well. I have heard people dear to my heart say that everyone in every country should speak English...which is very ignorant.

However, you do not learn to speak a language fluently overnight, and I have came across a lot of Spanish speaking individuals who don't even try. So honestly, if I came in contact with a person who was at least trying to speak and learn the language, even if it came across as broken and hard to understand, I would give them credit for attempting to learn. English is one of the hardest languages to learn as I understand.

Sometimes I can't even understand people who were born here in the US and raised here. There is this guy at my work from South Carolina who has a really thick southern accent and I can't understand a word he says.