You know, I'm going to go out on a limb here and probably sound like a racist bastard, but it reeeaaallly pisses me off when people come to my country and expect me to speak their language. I mean, it seriously pisses me off. Big time.
Not all immigrants are like this. Some actually do make an effort to learn at least a little bit, and that's enough for me. At least they're trying. However, it's the people who walk up to me or call our office and start jabbering at me as if I'm supposed to understand them that really annoy the hell out of me. I find it very disrespectful and incredibly rude. I wouldn't go to another country and expect people to speak English to me. I wouldn't approach someone and assume they'd know what I was trying to say. I'd at least make an effort to get my point across in their native language, even if I looked like a complete idiot doing so. I'd rather look like a fool than a presumptious asshat.
Ten years ago I worked for a company where there were many Hispanic workers (over 500). I worked in the personnel office and saw all of them five days a week, sometimes six. I tried hard to learn to speak some Spanish, to make things easier on myself and them. I met several very kind people who worked hard to teach me, and several of them were about as skilled in English as I was in Spanish. However, I had many, many people disregard me all together and blatently refuse my help because I couldn't speak well enough for them. Several people approached my boss and told him to fire me because I wasn't Hispanic. His reply to them was, "It's her country. You learn to speak her language." (my boss was from Ecuador)
Anyway, I came away from that job understanding more Spanish than I ever learned in highschool. It was probably the biggest bonus I got from working there. I still suck at speaking, but I can understand quite a bit, and if I need to, I can muddle my way through simple instructions and coversations.
However, when I run into someone who immediatly assumes I speak Spanish and just starts talking to me like I'm supposed to know--I play dumb. Like the guy today at the store asking how much the beer was in the back ( I don't even work at that damn store! I was buying a pop!). I just stared at him blankly for a moment, then asked him in English if he wanted a case of Pepsi. He stared at me a minute, then asked about the beer again, to which I replied, "The cases of Mt. Dew are at the back of the store, I think." He got mad and stomped off. I saw him again at the counter while I was getting my soda. He storms up and starts talking to the clerk in rapid Spanish and the poor woman could hardly keep up. So finished paying for my stuff turned to the woman and said, "He's telling you he's got five dollars in gas outside."
And then there was the lady who called the office accidently. She was trying to get a hold of the local highschool, looking for her son, Ricardo. Not once did she try to talk to me in English. I kept telling her she had the wrong number English, but she didn't seem to get it. Finally I got sick of this woman and told her, "No está aquí." Big mistake. She really flew off the handle, still thinking I was the school and her son was skipping out. After I repeated, "No entiendo", a couple of times, she hung up on me. I hope the kid didn't get in too much trouble. Maybe his mom should stop being such an entitlement foriegner and learn enough English to understand what, "Wrong Number" means. Jesus...
Now I figure a lot of people are embarassed about poor speaking skills. That's understandable, but I for one would rather have someone at least try. If they make an effort to speak to me in English, I'll make an effort to use Spanish.
Where I live, we've catered to native Spanish speakers to the point that in certain areas of town, it's almost impossible to find signs, documents, etc., in English. This pisses me off too. Why the hell do we enable these people who refuse to learn English in the US? And I'm not just talking about Spanish speakers, though they tend to be the majority where I'm from.
Is it like this in other countries? I'm curious. Are immigrants catered and coddled the way they are here in the US? Are the native people forced to learn foriegn languages just to do business? I mean, if you were to walk into a bank to fill out a deposit slip, would you be able to find one in your language without having to ask a teller? Or would there be deposit slips written in every other language BUT the native language?
I'm all for American's learning new languages, but I believe it should be a personal choice and not shoved down our throat because several million immigrants decide to move here and not speak the language.
It's not racist to demand immigrants learn to speak English if they choose to live here. No one is asking them to give up their native language; just to learn another one. However, in the US, any pressure applied to making our immigrants learn English is met with severe resistance and cries of outrage. WHY? I'm sick to death of the bleeding hearts and PC parahnas that have this country by the balls.
"Don't make immigrants learn English! It's racist!"
"Don't call us black, it's offensive. Call us African American instead. Wait, don't call us African American, not all of us are African. Call us People of Color. But we'll still call you 'white'."
"So what's it going to be? Are people crippled, disabled, invalid, handicapped, differently abled, people with disabilites, or physically challenged? Or are we going to go back to using 'disabled' again for the third time?" (yes, these were all PC terms for handicapped people at one time. NOTE: I used an "offensive" term here (handicapped), but I don't give a shit.)
"They aren't fat! They're plus sized!"
And my favorite:
"You aren't American! The Americas just don't consist of the USA! You guys are USAers."
Shut.The.Fuck.Up.Asshat.
USA stands for the United States of America, for all the dipshits that don't get it. If it makes you feel better, you may say United States Americans or something like that. But USAers (USAians) is just fucking retarded (ohno!another offensive term!). Shut the hell up and step out of the whambulance already.
Jesus Christ on a pogo stick...the world has gone all sorts of batshit insane. You can't open your mouth without someone having a herd of cows about something. I'd use sign language, so I wouldn't have to open my mouth again, but I only know one hand gesture. Oddly, it seems to suit the way I'm feeling right about now...
I hope that wasnt the ricardo i know.....@,@
Posted by: Cagalli at July 24, 2005 12:21 PMOoooy, I know how you feel. I sell shoes in a department store and we get tons of people. Anytime it's a Hispanic person I'll usually take them since I'm learning Spanish anyways (and my co-workers stare at me because they don't want to deal with it). But I hate it when we get people who speak little English. It goes something like this.
Customer comes up with a shoe.
Me: What size do you need?
Customer has the blankest of all blank stares.
Me: Um. 7? 8? How big?
Customer: Oh! 10, 10, 10.
Me: Okay, hold on a moment while I get the shoe.
I come back with the shoes.
Me: Do they fit alright?
Customer: ????
Me: Comfortable?
Customer: Uh, yeah, yeah. Nodnodnodnod.
Me: Would you like me to ring them up for you?
Another lovely blank stare.
Me: Buy them?
Customer: Nodnodnodnod. Asks me stuff until I realize they're asking about a sale.
Me: There is no sale on these shoes. No sale. Shakeheadshakehead.
Customer blinks and then looks sad but still wants the shoes.
Me: Okay, they're blahblah dollars.
Customer: Uh?
I turn the screen so they can see the cost.
They pay without too much trouble, at least they understand what the numbers mean.
Me: Thank you and have nice day!
Confused smile.
What's even better is when they ask for shoes in European sizes. Also, it's scary when they come in hoardes. If we're lucky, they have at least one translater.
English is the official language. People should speak it.
Also, you are a good writer. Random, yes. But true.
Posted by: Anarchy Sky at July 24, 2005 03:45 PMLOL I know. I don't mind if they speak a little, just so long as they at least try. The ones who really irritate me are the people who seem to think I should speak their language just for their sake. That pisses me off.
Posted by: Zoso at July 25, 2005 09:40 PM