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sunshinemiss -> RE: I didn't need a passport to get here...... (6/1/2011 4:00:00 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: AlwaysLisa
I say, let those who take up residence in this country, learn the language.
I'd like to weigh in on this debate if I may.
First of all - learning another language at an intermediate level even is difficult at a certain age (like Linnea I pick up languages relatively easily, but there are some that I just can't - Korean being one of them). I do live in a foreign country. I do not speak the language. I know enough to get by, but NOT enough to even have a conversation. What I do though is talk to the Koreans who speak Spanish and English - works out well (except that whole Espana lisping /s/ thing which boggles my mind).
What should we do with the people that are fleeing poverty, death, war, etc? Require them to learn English while they are trying to save their lives? Of course not. And I know there are people who will go down the rosy path of, live here, learn our language... Well it's not all that easy. Besides the money, time, travel, etc. expense of it all (and dealing with family issues that come up as a part of that), learning another language is HARD and FRUSTRATING with very little bang for your buck.
Anyway, prior to living abroad, I worked with a lot of people of many different nationalities who spoke many languages. In fact the people who needed translators were always given to me becaause I enjoyed the process and the connecting - even when we couldn't use words.
In that previous job I worked with people who spoke Cambodian, Vietnamese, French, Spanish, or ASL predominantly. There were certainly other languages, but those are the ones that I worked with FREQUENTLY. It would do me not a dang bit of good to have a French speaker with me if the person were from Cambodia and spoke only their local language.
Requiring bi-lingualism, say for the Cambodian Refugee Program, that is - someone who speaks that language, just plain makes sense.
I also want to add that I have no intention of learning to speak Korean. I get along just fine without it. Sure, I miss out on 25% off deals, and I sometimes end up on the wrong part of town because I hopped on the wrong bus, and yes, I need my doctor / dentist / optician to speak English (and by the way, they DO), and I don't get the opportunity to speak with some of the every day people, but I can live with that. I have learned that all over the world, people are very open to non-verbal communication and interaction. Only in the USA (and some in France) have I encountered this deep-seated disdain for people who don't learn the native language.
I am no different in Korea than the Mexican woman who lives in her barrio and doesn't venture into the English speaking world across the road. I'm no different than the African man who stays with his children who are bilingual and watches the French television station because it's the only one he understands.
I am quite content in my inability to speak the language of the country where I live. It is not worth the effort to try to learn. And for people learning English in the USA, the Americans sure don't make it worth the effort - the nastiness over mistakes, the ridicule and mean spiritedness that Americans often display toward people who actually ARE learning the language would make me never want to learn English over there. Americans forget that learning a language is a process. Do you know why it is forgotten? Too many of them don't speak more than English. They have no experience, they have no compassion.
Nueva Vida -
I would like to clarify something based on what you asked.
quote:
Just curious, if part of their client base was deaf, and they required their candidates to know ASL (American Sign Language), would you consider that to be discrimination?
The question can't even be asked without this clarification - where is the person? If the person is in the USA, that's one answer. If the person is elsewhere, it is another answer. It is a common mistaken belief that deaf people speak ASL. Deaf AMERICANS do, but not DEAF people.
One night I was at a bar here in Korea, and a group of deaf people came in with some guy from OZ who just happened to meet them. They were able to communicate enough for him to invite them to join him for a beer. Well, it became clear almost immediately that the group were all deaf Koreans (they worked for LG - the plant hired only deaf people in the noisiest part of the factory. That makes practical sense to me, by the way.... but I digress). Anyway, when the Ozzie introduced me, I naturally started speaking in ASL with them. Their eyes lit up. One guy, as it turned out could speak both American Sign Language AND Korean Sign Language. He interpreted my ASL into KSL. So here's how it went.
People around the bar speaking English -> Sunny translating into ASL-> Deaf man translating into KSL -> Other deaf people responding to original statement-> Deaf man translating KSL into ASL -> Sunny translating ASL into English.
Everyone gave us a wide berth that night so we could all talk. One of my fondest memories of my first year in Korea.
best,
sunshine
(I know it was long, but it's a topic dear to my heart)
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