Sign of a bigger problem

[martinw-48]

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-17/queensland-police-learn-chinese-launch-operation-against-crim...

Why are people driving if they can't communicate effectively in English.
I had an Asian hit my car and couldn't communicate effectively with him.
Why do I have to learn other languages.
Where do you draw the line.
There are so many different languages now spoken in Australia do we really have to learn them all to make them feel better

[go-tazz]

No citizen of any country should need to learn to learn a foreign language if foreigners/refugees come to their

country to live.

Any foreigner that wants to live in Aus needs to learn to speak English so that everything can be dealt with

in a language that's understood by all.

Too many refuse to assimilate and just continue in their own language without any attempt to "blend" in.

With some of the Chinese they may believe that eventually China will take over Aus so it will become the

spoken language so they have no reason to change.

[zanadoo_56]

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@go-tazz wrote:

No citizen of any country should need to learn to learn a foreign language if foreigners/refugees come to their

country to live.

Any foreigner that wants to live in Aus needs to learn to speak English so that everything can be dealt with

in a language that's understood by all.

Too many refuse to assimilate and just continue in their own language without any attempt to "blend" in.

 -

With some of the Chinese they may believe that eventually China will take over Aus so it will become the

spoken language so they have no reason to change.

---

I imagine the older you are when you arrive here and perhaps how educated (or not) you are as well might make learning English more difficult.  There also may not be much incentive to learn if you have family members to translate for you.

At the age I am now I would probably struggle to learn Chinese or Arabic.....especially the written forms.  My ancestors (5 generations ago) were Italian and came to Oz during the gold rush.  Assimilation clearly happened over time - my grandfather was the last in the family who spoke some Italian but it seems he had a talent for languages anyway.  He also worked on the docks and spoke Cantonese as a lot of the dockworkers were from Canton, and he picked it up from working with them.

I have worked with Chinese people but none have ever suggested China will take over Oz, but they sometimes make a clear distinction of their chinese origins being more important - someone might be described as Australian-borm Chinese for example.

I think assimilation is not a quick thing, and if I was in a foreign country I would not like the pressure of learning a new language and customs to be expected to occur at breakneck speed.

[*kazumi*]

You do not need to know a language to drive in other country.  I got my international driving license before I went overseas, and drove all over Europe without speaking the languages.

To learn a language takes years.  Especially when people are older, and when they work with people who speak their language.  The Italians and Greeks were the same; many of the older people did not learn much of English.

[springyzone]

I think that anyone who goes to live in another country should make some attempt to learn at least some basics of the language.

That doesn't mean I would expect them to use it in their home, but surely it would make everyday life easier if you could read a few basic signs, knew a few basic sentences.

I do realise it can be harder for workers who come here then are in an environment where they are surrounded by others who only speak their language & so rarely get exposed to English. I think this is far more likely to happen to women.

I don't see it as a problem to cater for those without English, to some extent. But we can go overboard. I remember at my school, the prin talked about distributing the newsletter in multiple languages. trouble was, the school population was large with about 40 or more languages spoken in the homes.

My feeling is that these days, a lot of documents and so on are online & the newsletter certainly was, so let the parents use a a free online translator.

People won't learn anything till they are motivated either by need or interest.

[*kazumi*]

Of-course, it is in people's interest to learn English, but to understand official papers is not easy, and not including other languages would totally marginalise many people.  Also, in case of having been involved in car accident people go into shock; even if normally they are quite capable to communicate, they might just freeze.  Also if the other driver is shouting at them they might be less likely able to understand or form coherent reply. 

Just because you see peple on the street speaking their own language does not mean they cannot speak English, and signs on Asian shops might not be easily translatable into English and may depict Asian items or food stuff we do not use.  I really cannot see why people who do not shop in these shops anyway get their knickers in the twist.