I know that if it is one thing the British are guilty of.....
I know that if it is one thing the British are guilty of, it’s swanning around the world as if they own the place, while expecting to be able to speak English and be understood by everybody. If they can‘t be understood in English at a normal volume, they shout in English instead.
While we’re certainly very much in need of improvement to our language skills abroad, I do find it very frustrating to almost need a smattering of practically every language in existence to communicate with all the different races in Britain today. Like any topic that involves the word "race", there are always plenty of hand-wringing do-gooders wanting to twist the words of anyone raising a concern. This is why nothing gets done to try an improve things, nor is it likely to anytime soon. We’re all too scared to try.
The way I see it, the opportunity was missed many years ago to insist on fluent English being the goal of anyone looking to make their home here. This situation hasn’t dropped out of a clear blue sky. It’s been allowed to develop and get to the point where it seems all too common for some who weren‘t born here, but who may have lived here for decades, to have to rely on their British born children to act as interpreters in many everyday situations. While they may now carry a passport that says "British Citizen", many still cannot understand what other British people are saying and the end result is that they are cut off from mainstream society. It could even be said that they are an underclass, as they seem to exist within their own community in a kind of tiny version of the country they left behind before coming to Britain.
Putting it incredibly bluntly, what use is someone that doesn’t speak the language of the country that they are living in ? What jobs can they do when they’re fluent in a language most of us don’t speak ?
Such a situation must be incredibly isolating and I can’t help but wonder how happy this can really make someone. As well as the obvious dangers that could face a someone that doesn’t speak English very well, maybe misreading a sign or not being able to relay vital information to the emergency services, they must be missing out on so much.
As published in the September edition of "The Kemptown Rag"
While we’re certainly very much in need of improvement to our language skills abroad, I do find it very frustrating to almost need a smattering of practically every language in existence to communicate with all the different races in Britain today. Like any topic that involves the word "race", there are always plenty of hand-wringing do-gooders wanting to twist the words of anyone raising a concern. This is why nothing gets done to try an improve things, nor is it likely to anytime soon. We’re all too scared to try.
The way I see it, the opportunity was missed many years ago to insist on fluent English being the goal of anyone looking to make their home here. This situation hasn’t dropped out of a clear blue sky. It’s been allowed to develop and get to the point where it seems all too common for some who weren‘t born here, but who may have lived here for decades, to have to rely on their British born children to act as interpreters in many everyday situations. While they may now carry a passport that says "British Citizen", many still cannot understand what other British people are saying and the end result is that they are cut off from mainstream society. It could even be said that they are an underclass, as they seem to exist within their own community in a kind of tiny version of the country they left behind before coming to Britain.
Putting it incredibly bluntly, what use is someone that doesn’t speak the language of the country that they are living in ? What jobs can they do when they’re fluent in a language most of us don’t speak ?
Such a situation must be incredibly isolating and I can’t help but wonder how happy this can really make someone. As well as the obvious dangers that could face a someone that doesn’t speak English very well, maybe misreading a sign or not being able to relay vital information to the emergency services, they must be missing out on so much.
As published in the September edition of "The Kemptown Rag"
posted by Mister H at 6:45 PM
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