Speak English

[Catwoman2965]

I could care less about what language people speak, except if they are helping me either in a store, restaurant, etc. Then you need to be able to speak to me, and understand me. We had a lady in our caf one time who spoke ONLY spanish, no engligh. It was quite frustrating to try and convey to her that I wanted a bagel with cream cheese, not butter, and so on. In those instances, if you're dealing with the public, you need to be able to speak the native language of whereever you are.

I have a couple spanish-speaking co-workers at my PT job. Every now and then, but not often, they will converse in Spanish. I can understand enough to know they are not talking about me, so it doesn't bother me. And sometimes they will speak to customers in spanish. Again, that's ok.

[raudf]

I guess having lived on military bases for a good portion of my life, it doesn't bother me to hear other languages out in public. I know just enough in a few languages, like Icelandic, to say that I don't speak the language.. or to be able to curse in public in the good ol' USA (Being able to curse in Icelandic at the age of 12 made middle school MUCH easier to deal with. Actually, in general, spring and summer tend to be highly amusing in our area, with people cursing about the "skeeters," and the Icelandic for poop sounding like "skeeta.")

I do refuse to speak Spanish, because some of the local immigrants seem to think that I should accommodate them and speak it too. Mind, there are some who are rather elderly that have a hard time learning it, but usually they'll call on a grand kid to translate. Just not this group. Ticks me off to no end, because English (well, the butchered American version of it) is the common language of this area. Okay, more like very Southern Redneck, but still... it's kinda like English... I think...

[Cia]

My aunt is a native German speaker, when she and my uncle moved from Colorado to Idaho her employers, a bank, tried to get her to stay because there were quite a few German speaking customers who would use that branch because my aunt worked there and would speak German to them.

[dalesys]

Professor Higgins decreed that the English can't speak Englidh.


Can you imagine his dicta re: Merkun?

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

People used to bitch and moan about my former shift lead always yaking on her phone to her parents in Russian.

I can count up to 4 in Russian. Which makes me eligible for a spot in the Russian Upper Class Twit of the Year competition.

[Seshat]

Kultoorney!

If the US had an official language, it would actually have two: English (Webster's Dictionary/Chicago Manual of Style dialect), and ASL (American Sign Language).

Australia has two: English (Macquarie/Macquarie dialect), and Auslan (AUstralian Sign LANguage).

Sign languages for many countries are actually intelligible across countries - Auslan 'speakers' and ASL 'speakers' and British SL 'speakers' can communicate, as can, I am told, most Euro SL 'speakers' with us and each other.

It's one of the closest things humanity has as an international language right now.

<sighs> And it's dying out, being replaced with lip reading (highly language-dependant) and teaching the deaf to speak as best they can verbally.

[SongsOfDragons]

I luuuurrve sign language. I know some BSL and only wish I had the monies to go on a proper course.

AFAIK ASL is based on the French sign language; you fingerspell differently to us, using only one hand.

I'd also love to teach any future babbys I have to sign