Posted January 27, 2006 Through church I've known several 19 year olds go to foreign lands for 2 years not knowing any of the lingo. When they come back they generally say they just struggled for the first year trying to pick it up, and that's with trying to speak it/hearing it constantly for that period. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2006 1) Britishness is more than the goods that are purchased. Being british is being strong, defiant & individual. 2) i dare anyone to move to Italy and open a fish & chip shop there and see how long you last? there is a massive outcry in Spain because some brits have gone over there and started their own community totally self sufficient. so that they can be brittish with the good weather. they are not mixing or anything. 3) i agree 100% that if you move somewhere to live you should learn the language. easy or not. how hard is it to learn 10 words to try and communicate? once you have done that then it will be easier to learn the language. but "ethnics" (i hate that word it should be asians, africans or europeans) dont even try and that pisses me right off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2006 This was what a Swiss gentleman who has lived in this country for most of his life gave as his reply on a forum when asked what he thought it meant to be British. "Being British is about driving in a German car to an Irish pub for a Belgian beer, then travelling home, grabbing an Indian curry, an Italian pizza, or a Turkish kebab on the way, to sit on Swedish furniture and watch American shows on a Japanese TV. And the most British thing of all? Suspicion of anything foreign." Something to think about? Not really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2006 1) Britishness is more than the goods that are purchased. Being british is being strong, defiant & individual. I'm sure every country has that planted in its national character. 3) i agree 100% that if you move somewhere to live you should learn the language. easy or not. how hard is it to learn 10 words to try and communicate? once you have done that then it will be easier to learn the language. but "ethnics" (i hate that word it should be asians, africans or europeans) dont even try and that pisses me right off. 5 years of language education in schools, and many still drop by the bucket load when it comes to the grades. These people are taught languages in a way that can be communicated to them, yet they fail. Sorry bud, but it takes more then ten words to pull off a head start in language. Else, I'd be the most linguistic mutha fucka in the world. Throw yourself into a world where you're past the age of school, and have no way to learn a language since no-one is teaching it in your current language, and you'll have a hard time coping. And ethnics don't even try? Yep, that's why we have many ethnic workers in professions from doctors to teachers. I love how every ethnic person is defined by the minority that can't cope. 2) i dare anyone to move to Italy and open a fish & chip shop there and see how long you last? there is a massive outcry in Spain because some brits have gone over there and started their own community totally self sufficient. so that they can be brittish with the good weather. they are not mixing or anything. What is this? You're defining classes of people by the actions of few. I'm sure there was an outcry in spain. And I'm sure there have been outcries here. Stop digesting the stories that are convenient to your tastes. The Sun isn't a reliable source for opionated subjects. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2006 I'm sure every country has that planted in its national character. i am sure that alot of countries do but i am saying that brittishness can not be defined by what people eat drink or wear. 5 years of language education in schools, and many still drop by the bucket load when it comes to the grades. These people are taught languages in a way that can be communicated to them, yet they fail. Sorry bud, but it takes more then ten words to pull off a head start in language. Else, I'd be the most linguistic mutha fucka in the world. i believe you are confusing the teaching of language to students as an option with it being a neccesity. when i said 10 words i wasn't being literal but i was meant to emphasis the fact that making an effort is needed even if it is at a slow pace. perhaps i should explain every detail so that people do not get confused. What is this? You're defining classes of people by the actions of few. I'm sure there was an outcry in spain. And I'm sure there have been outcries here. Stop digesting the stories that are convenient to your tastes. The Sun isn't a reliable source for opionated subjects. i was deffending the "brittish" stigma of hating foreigners. there are more foreigner in brittain than in any other european country. yet we are the ones who are branded as hating foreigners. in italy you are hated if you come from the south and dare wonder into mid land territory. i wonder how well you know me? Making remarks about the information i choose to digest when you have no idea what my tastes are. i appreciate that people have different oppinions but when it come to personal remarks i believe that those are best left for people who actually know me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2006 i was deffending the "brittish" stigma of hating foreigners. there are more foreigner in brittain than in any other european country. yet we are the ones who are branded as hating foreigners. in italy you are hated if you come from the south and dare wonder into mid land territory. That's a good point actually. Though we hardly accept all the immigration without complaint do we? Back to the language thing, I don't think you can say that no one who comes to live here even bothers to learn the language. And what Athriller says is true, there are a lot of foreign professionals in this country, doctors and such, who we need to stay alive. Yeah what I said before about going to another country and not wanting to learn the language was a bit off the mark. What I meant was described better by Athriller about the difficulty of learning English. I mean, half the English speaking people on this forum can't spell that well. English must be rock 'ard to learn. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 27, 2006 I don't think anyone is suggesting that immigrants should become fluent in English overnight. What's important is that they make a real effort to learn the language, and at least try to converse in basic English in shops, restaurants etc. I do when I'm abroad, so why can't immigrants to the UK? The same goes for integrating into British culture. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 28, 2006 It is very impolite I must admit, we make the effort when we go abroad so what gives them the exception? Our Culture will always change, no doubt about it. Its shaped by the people in our community, the events in our community and the fact about how close we are with the world now with communications will no doubt shape us differently, we now have a totally different upbringing. Our culture is pretty strong on the different cultures here too, the muslim culture used to be the father is to be the head of the household and he would make every decision. And now that the muslim culture is moving into britain, muslim children and family are rebelling against there favours. Everything will change. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 28, 2006 I don't think anyone is suggesting that immigrants should become fluent in English overnight. What's important is that they make a real effort to learn the language, and at least try to converse in basic English in shops, restaurants etc. I do when I'm abroad, so why can't immigrants to the UK? The same goes for integrating into British culture. Alright alright, but personally, I've never met a foreigner who couldn't speak English. Never. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 28, 2006 Alright alright, but personally, I've never met a foreigner who couldn't speak English. Never. You havent? Its mainly down to were you live, but i live 30 miles from london and ive seen tons of german kids last year and most of them have never spoken english (I know this because many friends work in the town and every german kid they've met cant speak english apart from hello), and not all at once. My town is hardly historic or tourist friendly, so god knows why they were there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 28, 2006 Alright alright, but personally, I've never met a foreigner who couldn't speak English. Never. Come visit where i live for a day then you will see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 28, 2006 I take it that most of the 'there are where I live' repliers live further South than me. I'm in Manchester, I guess there must be a lot more immigration down there due to the capital city and the link to France and all... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted January 29, 2006 I take it that most of the 'there are where I live' repliers live further South than me. I'm in Manchester, I guess there must be a lot more immigration down there due to the capital city and the link to France and all... Yeah i guess thats why, im in the south east but im above london and I couldnt possibly see why any foreigner would want to come to this town. Theres another place in the north were your likely to see loads of them, i've heard the name being used so many times.. EDIT: I've just realised im making this sound like im playing foreigner spotting, honestly, im not. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
