Why Foreigners Should Learn to Speak English
The following post is from the ArmaniTalks Newsletter
The phrase “learn to speak English” is nowadays equated with “go back to your country.”
It’s seen as a racist phrase.
If you tell someone that, then apparently, it means that you’re not a fan of their culture.
I had 2 people install a washer and dryer at my place recently.
They both spoke Spanish.
By the time they were almost done, one guy pulled me into the laundry room and began talking to me.
He was telling me something was up with the dryer in broken English.
I kept asking him to repeat himself because I had no clue what he was saying.
I’m normally pretty good at deciphering what people with strong accents are saying.
But there was no hope with this guy.
I was hoping he was about to call a boss to explain what’s going on, so the boss can explain it to me in English.
Or at least pull out a translator.
But rather than doing that, they used less English and more Spanish hoping that I would figure out what they were trying to say.
Then they left.
I called Lowes and told them what happened.
The representative said:
‘Okay, let me pull up your ticket and see what the service men wrote.’
Once she pulled up the ticket, in a concerned voice, she said:
‘Oh… it looks like they wrote their notes in Spanish. Let me see if I can get that translated.’
Wait, they wrote their notes in Spanish too??
It’s one thing if they spoke broken English.
But it’s completely different when they disregard English altogether to speak their mother tongue at the expense of others.
The representative got a translator app and translated the words.
She said:
‘I think the service men wrote….’
Lady, I don’t want to hear “I think!!’
Now I don’t have confidence in your message.
I really respect people who try to learn the language of the country they are moving to.
If you’re going to move somewhere new, it should be your goal to learn their language.
You shouldn’t be shamed into doing it.
If there is a modicum of desire, you’ll often learn the language by accident after living there for 8+ years.
But if for whatever reason you don’t want to learn it, then YOU should be the one pulling out the translator app in your phone.
You should be the one writing your message and then translating it, and then posting it on the Lowes ticket, so the representative doesn’t have to translate it!
It shouldn’t be the burden of the person who speaks English in a predominantly English-speaking country to understand another language.
It’s a few that ruin it for the many.
I think most people who come to the US are putting in an active effort to learn the language.
But every now and then, people get lazy.
Rather than adjusting to the customs of the new country, they do nothing.
They speak their mother tongue and expect others to understand.
And if others don’t understand it, then they get pissed.
