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Polish people getting 'abuse' from the natives
Martin Blank
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I currently reside in a seaside city down south. My workplace employs many people from eastern europe.
A story was batting around yesterday about a couple of Polish girls the work with us who went for a drink in a pub, started talking in Polish to each other and were subsequently told to "get out, we don't want your kind in here"...by one of the glass collectors.
They brushed it off, went into a second pub, again started talking in Polish only to receive an ear bashing from a local female along the lines of "my English son now goes to his local school that's 80% foreigners and is branded an outcast as none of the eastern europeans will mix with any of the english. Polish people taking our jobs....blah blah blah"
Is the backlash beginning? Totally unacceptable? Can you sympathise with the woman who's son is branded the outcast?
A story was batting around yesterday about a couple of Polish girls the work with us who went for a drink in a pub, started talking in Polish to each other and were subsequently told to "get out, we don't want your kind in here"...by one of the glass collectors.
They brushed it off, went into a second pub, again started talking in Polish only to receive an ear bashing from a local female along the lines of "my English son now goes to his local school that's 80% foreigners and is branded an outcast as none of the eastern europeans will mix with any of the english. Polish people taking our jobs....blah blah blah"
Is the backlash beginning? Totally unacceptable? Can you sympathise with the woman who's son is branded the outcast?
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Where in that story did it say they can't they just spoke polish when speaking to each other to go back to work and tell the story I guess they must speak some English
The 'kind I don't want around here' are the ones that come out with that sort of abuse. They don't speak for any 'we', as far as I'm concerned.
Perhaps they were mistaken for droids.
I beg your pardon?
I agree, or at least try to fit into the country - learn the language at the very least!
They have shops and supermarkets especially for them here, what next - change the flag?
I was in the 99p store and a girl at the checkout was asked for ID, she had no clue what the checkout person was saying!:eek:
You could say the same about British expats living in mainland Europe! Learning the local lingo is neither a requirement nor very high on their list of priorities!
You could, but that's a separate issue.
I guess a Muslim/Catholic coupling works quite well, does it not?
A lot in common.
On the other hand, I'd hate to live in a world where you have to stay put in the place you were born in. I've loved living here, there and everywhere, so I hate that *go home* mentality. We did always pay for our son's education and our health care, though.
How is it? Its free movement of citizens of the EU to live or work anywhere within EU states! Are you saying that only those who come over here to work must learn the language or only those who move to Britain must learn English?
I have no problem with people moving here to work but I do have a problem with people moving here and working for less than minimum wage or moving here to go straight onto benefits! I signed on for a while last year and was amazed at how many people needed translators to sign on each fortnight! I also have no problem with people moving here and starting up businesses but I do have a problem with those who start businesses and disregard UK employment legislation!
If they don't like what, exactly? Verbal abuse?
They will do once he has changed her.
They obviously know the language. Tell me, are you that much of a fascist that two people can not choose the manner which they communicate o each other?
Yes that clearly makes sense. There's shops opening offering goods for the expat community everywhere in the world. Not to mention the ubiquitous Irish pub/s in every major city. Let's change all the flags.
What do you need IDing for in the pounds hop?
A lot of immigrants arrive in their new country with just the basics, but get stuck in and gradually become more proficient.
It's not always feasible to acquire full fluency before arriving, for various reasons.
While I am in no way denigrating them for it, how many ex-pat Britons can hold a conversation in Spanish after having maybe lived in Spain for two or three years.
It is only natural that if two Britons went to a bar in e.g. Murcia, they would feel more at ease conversing in English.
Ditto the Polish girls with their language.
Regarding the situation in schools, that is a thorny subject.
I'd never heard of immigrant children not wishing to mix with indigenous children, but I have heard rumblings of discontent from parents
whose children are being held back until immigrant children have a sufficient grasp of English, so that the class can learn together.
One of my sons married a German girl and lived and worked in Germany for almost twenty years.
He enjoyed it there and spoke the language fluently, but with the advent of more and more Russian and Polish immigration to Germany, his younger son
was learning nothing while the immigrant children, (through no fault of theirs), were learning enough German to join in the learning process.
Finally, exasperated, my son, armed with his engineering qualifications, upped sticks and went to Brisbane, Australia.
On a humorous note, my German grandsons, although word perfect in English, no doubt due to having bilingual parents, speak with a German accent,
vine gums for wine gums, venn vill you come to Australia Opa? (German for grandpa.)
I speak to them via Skype and they say, "They all speak English here Opa, but they haf a funny accent!"
It's a separate issue because this thread is about people who come to Britain, not people who go to other countries.
I don't think it's unreasonable to expect people who come to work here to have at least a basic grasp of English.
Lighters
and I am not a Fascist, it's just quite uncomfortable if you are in the company of two people who are speaking a different language - they could be unknowingly slagging you off.
OMG!!! What is it with people not understanding analogies these days! Its a reasonable analogy or comparison to use when dealing with attitudes regarding the seemingly very common belief that all foreigners setting foot on our green hills for longer than 2 weeks, should be as fluent in English as a professor of English Language from Oxbridge!!
we get along fine. I will probably marry her.
We talk about religion, but we have agreed we will not impose our beliefs on each other.
I must say I find you comment down right rude, I will give you the benefit of the doubt and kindly say not to make comments like this about me again. Thank you.
So what if they were! Do you have the same issues with people speaking Punjabi or any other of the Asian languages which have been spoken between members of those communities within this country for about 70 years!