Translation
- Thread starter Pete_the_Knife
- Start date
Do we really want to exclude all Liverpudlians and Cockneys from joining up, on account of their supposed inability to speak properly? What do we mean by not speaking "correct English" anyway?
Oh but hold on... I just seen the error of my ways... 8O
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6173441.stm
Oh but hold on... I just seen the error of my ways... 8O
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6173441.stm
I probably fall close to the bleeding heart liberal end of the RR spectrum but even I believe people should be strongly encouraged to learn English. Perhaps it could be tied to the benefit system somehow? Having grown up in the north of England I'm not in favour of ghettos. Pity we didn't think of it 30 years ago. Remember 'Mind your language'? It would also give a tererific boost to the adult education system which is suffering a bit at the moment.
Following this lodgic does this mean that any Brit wishing to ply his trade in the Middle East must first speak Arabic. Well that the Army, Crabs and Pusser home not withstanding most of the expats in the Gulf. So all ex-pats in HK must speak Chinese. Nearly a million Brits in Spain must speak Serbo Croat.
Get real people
Nutty
Get real people
Nutty
Nutty
Buisness is different Nutty, but if you go to live in another country, yes you should learn the local language out of principle and curtesy.
I've seen Brits abroad, particularly in Spain, who think shouting louder and putting an O on the end of words makes them Spanish speakers :lol: Either that or they live in one of those ghetto's of English speakers refusing to learn the language.........................
RoofRat
I've seen Brits abroad, particularly in Spain, who think shouting louder and putting an O on the end of words makes them Spanish speakers :lol: Either that or they live in one of those ghetto's of English speakers refusing to learn the language.........................
RoofRat
Ok I am going to have to come out as a Channel Islander, there is a real minority for you! And as such I was brought up with French and English and as a result am not afraid of learning new languages.
If you are intending to spend a long time in a place, you should learn the language and its customs. That doesn't mean you should forget where you came from and its language and traditions.
Given there is much more opportunity in the modern world to move from your country of birth, you should expect to make yourself understood in the place you choose to live.
If you are intending to spend a long time in a place, you should learn the language and its customs. That doesn't mean you should forget where you came from and its language and traditions.
Given there is much more opportunity in the modern world to move from your country of birth, you should expect to make yourself understood in the place you choose to live.
I totally agree Roofrat. People who get sent somewhere on ops have no real choice and merely go where they're sent. If you choose to live somewhere however, and English isn't the native language, you should learn the local language. It actually really p1sses me off to see brits in Spain making no effort to speak Spanish, only mixing in the expat communities and shopping in the supermarkets that only stock imported British food. If all they wanted was the suntan, they should have just joined a health club! I'm not tarring all brit expats with the same brush; some make a great effort to integrate. I do recall an incident when my wife and I were on holiday and we got chatting to an expat couple in a bar, they were talking about where they lived and mentioned that no foreigners lived there, everyone was British.
It didn't occur to the dullards that in Spain, they were foreign.
Really p1ssed me off.
And before anyone asks, both my wife and I are qualified military Spanish Interpreters, so we did hold the moral high ground.
Edited due to mong spelling
It didn't occur to the dullards that in Spain, they were foreign.
Really p1ssed me off.
And before anyone asks, both my wife and I are qualified military Spanish Interpreters, so we did hold the moral high ground.
Edited due to mong spelling
Pete you really hit the nail on the head, Brits think everybody should speak fluent English especially if they are in the UK but when they move to another country normally for financial reasons, Oh why is that Polish man in my town if not for financial reasons, then they only have to speak the local dialect a bit. Double standards me thinks.
Nutty
British Expats do not offer a good example, the biggest single thing is the language. How many of these people complained if immigrants to the UK couldn't speak a reasonable standard of English? I know someone in Cyprus who said they have yet to meet an expat Brit in Cyprus who knows more than 2 words of Greek, and even those they pronounce so horribly wrong it's embarrassing. They have seen Brits standing in shops, banks etc. in Cyprus demanding in a loud voice that the assistant go and get someone who can speak 'proper English'. Can you imagine the headlines if a Pakistani in the UK did the same in a shop, demanding that an Urdu speaker serve them?
Squirrel
Living in Southern Spain you can very easily get by never ever speaking Spanish except when you come up to the NHS, Police, Town Hall, Social Security. Everywhere else both the Spanish and ex-pats in business have ensured that when they want to sell a service or products to mostly affluent Ex-pats they provide both the service and goods in a form that the purchaser wants. THAT BUSINESS as another contributor wrote. If Germans, Brits and Dutch, the three main groups want products from home people will provide this.
I have recently spent over €4000 (Euros) on a kitchen, after visiting three show rooms and being unable to communicate to the standard we felt was needed when spending that amount of money we came upon in a small non ex-pat town, a large Kitchen/Furniture/Electrical Goods Spanish supplier. As soon as we opened our mouths in the show room and indicated an interest the assistant sent for the Logistics Manager his English was far better than our Spanish and after a visited to our Casa and a few photographs. The deal was concluded, why because its business. Yes we are taking Spanish lessons and agree that a working knowledge of the language should be learnt.
I am not sure why you claim the moral high ground when the Forces have paid you to learn Spanish or is it you or your family have a Spanish back ground and you were half way there with the language before going for Interpreter Standard.
I hear Brits in bars who are house hunting say "We want to buy in a small Spanish Village where there are no Brits". No you don't you want to buy in an area where there are Brits who can help you ease into the Spanish customs, rules and regulations. What ever it is someone will have done it and point you in the right direction.
Lets take car tax for instance. Like the UK you pay annually but in a region all cars are taxed on the same day, here its the 1st May but you have 90 days to do it. Take log book to Town Hall, man prints out form with amount to pay dependent on Engine Size and type. This you take to one of six nominated banks and pay within the 90 days. You will also be charged at the same time for any out standing fines registered to that vehicle which must be paid. Note. registered to that vehicle not the owner or driver, so if you buy a car without making checks you could also gain 20 parking fines. Local council taxes, loans, mortgages etc go with the house not the owner, so if you buy a house on which the previous owner had a €50,000 mortgage and your Solicitor does not discover this, then you now owe the bank €50,000. Locals will assume you know these things cos they have grown up with them
Starting to get the message of why you need the security of a few friendly Brits around until you are up to speed to move to your non-ex-pat village.
Nutty
Living in Southern Spain you can very easily get by never ever speaking Spanish except when you come up to the NHS, Police, Town Hall, Social Security. Everywhere else both the Spanish and ex-pats in business have ensured that when they want to sell a service or products to mostly affluent Ex-pats they provide both the service and goods in a form that the purchaser wants. THAT BUSINESS as another contributor wrote. If Germans, Brits and Dutch, the three main groups want products from home people will provide this.
I have recently spent over €4000 (Euros) on a kitchen, after visiting three show rooms and being unable to communicate to the standard we felt was needed when spending that amount of money we came upon in a small non ex-pat town, a large Kitchen/Furniture/Electrical Goods Spanish supplier. As soon as we opened our mouths in the show room and indicated an interest the assistant sent for the Logistics Manager his English was far better than our Spanish and after a visited to our Casa and a few photographs. The deal was concluded, why because its business. Yes we are taking Spanish lessons and agree that a working knowledge of the language should be learnt.
I am not sure why you claim the moral high ground when the Forces have paid you to learn Spanish or is it you or your family have a Spanish back ground and you were half way there with the language before going for Interpreter Standard.
I hear Brits in bars who are house hunting say "We want to buy in a small Spanish Village where there are no Brits". No you don't you want to buy in an area where there are Brits who can help you ease into the Spanish customs, rules and regulations. What ever it is someone will have done it and point you in the right direction.
Lets take car tax for instance. Like the UK you pay annually but in a region all cars are taxed on the same day, here its the 1st May but you have 90 days to do it. Take log book to Town Hall, man prints out form with amount to pay dependent on Engine Size and type. This you take to one of six nominated banks and pay within the 90 days. You will also be charged at the same time for any out standing fines registered to that vehicle which must be paid. Note. registered to that vehicle not the owner or driver, so if you buy a car without making checks you could also gain 20 parking fines. Local council taxes, loans, mortgages etc go with the house not the owner, so if you buy a house on which the previous owner had a €50,000 mortgage and your Solicitor does not discover this, then you now owe the bank €50,000. Locals will assume you know these things cos they have grown up with them
Starting to get the message of why you need the security of a few friendly Brits around until you are up to speed to move to your non-ex-pat village.
Nutty
Nutty,
I'll happily stand chastised on a few issues there, seeing as you are living there and doing it, you know far better than I, who only visits a few times a year, and I avoid the costas to be honest and head for Central Castille or Galicia, so I'll admit to not being an authority on the problems faced by Brit Expats in Spain.
I do feel though, that just because one can get by without speaking Spanish, doesn't mean that you therefore don't need to bother. I know that's not what you're saying, as you mention that you and your good Mrs are taking Spanish lessons. Out of interest there, do many other Brits bother? (Geniune question - not rhetorical in any way)
As per the moral high ground thing, probabaly a bad choice of words on my part, I do have the potential to be an arrogant tw*t on occasion, sometimes it just slips out. I sat the MOD interpreter exam in Spanish but didn't attend the course as I had studied Spanish in school and college up to A-level, and have spent a lot of time in Spain since. I just picked up some past papers and studied my arrse off, watching Spanish TV and visting Spanish internet sites really improved my reading. As for Mrs Squirrel, well that's a fair one, she's the RAF equivalent of a CT and studied Spanish at the Defence School of Langs so yes, she's been paid to learn it...cow.
Very interested to learn about the property and car thing, with fines and debts being tied to the property, I didn't know that myself!!!!
Thanks for the dressing down and apologies for any offence caused nutty, however, I still think that there are far too many people over there who don't lift a finger to bother. Just angers me to see it, whatever the reason, as we would be quick to slag off an immigrant here who made no effort to learn English.
Squirrel.
I'll happily stand chastised on a few issues there, seeing as you are living there and doing it, you know far better than I, who only visits a few times a year, and I avoid the costas to be honest and head for Central Castille or Galicia, so I'll admit to not being an authority on the problems faced by Brit Expats in Spain.
I do feel though, that just because one can get by without speaking Spanish, doesn't mean that you therefore don't need to bother. I know that's not what you're saying, as you mention that you and your good Mrs are taking Spanish lessons. Out of interest there, do many other Brits bother? (Geniune question - not rhetorical in any way)
As per the moral high ground thing, probabaly a bad choice of words on my part, I do have the potential to be an arrogant tw*t on occasion, sometimes it just slips out. I sat the MOD interpreter exam in Spanish but didn't attend the course as I had studied Spanish in school and college up to A-level, and have spent a lot of time in Spain since. I just picked up some past papers and studied my arrse off, watching Spanish TV and visting Spanish internet sites really improved my reading. As for Mrs Squirrel, well that's a fair one, she's the RAF equivalent of a CT and studied Spanish at the Defence School of Langs so yes, she's been paid to learn it...cow.
Very interested to learn about the property and car thing, with fines and debts being tied to the property, I didn't know that myself!!!!
Thanks for the dressing down and apologies for any offence caused nutty, however, I still think that there are far too many people over there who don't lift a finger to bother. Just angers me to see it, whatever the reason, as we would be quick to slag off an immigrant here who made no effort to learn English.
Squirrel.
I think that this must have come originally from the BBc have your say site.
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5001&&&edition=1&ttl=20061213103741
What Pete the knife is asking (tongue in check) is simply, "How long before the armed forces need the same services"?
http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?threadID=5001&&&edition=1&ttl=20061213103741
What Pete the knife is asking (tongue in check) is simply, "How long before the armed forces need the same services"?
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