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**LillFilly** · 07-09-2009, 12:03 AM

I like! Not right when people think it's ok to talk about someone if you can't hear/understand them. I'm tempted to learn spanish; bet I'd get a lot of ownage on people!

**raw456** · 07-09-2009, 12:32 AM

I'm with you flea! And good on you for not taking their shit.

My favourites are the ones who go all, "me no understand english" when you wont do what they want but seems understand just fine when you do what they want.

I once had a group of Idian/Sri Lankan students who lived in the flat next to mine and insisted of having loud parties everynight

One night about 1am I knocked on their door and asked them to turn the music down (sighting it was 1am and a Tuesday) and got the "Um..... No understand English" speil.
My response? "Well here's your first lesson in English. Immigration and Deportation."

I was not serious, but frustrated at these people for their lack of thought to other residents, but I must have hit the nail on the head. The guys face paled noticably, he quickly rattled off something to his freinds, the music went off and 2 days later, they vacated the flat.

When I have travelled overseas, I have made a point of trying to at least speak some basic phrases to get me buy. If you want to live in an english speaking country, you need to learn to speak and read the language

**Irving Patrick Freleigh** · 07-09-2009, 12:43 AM

I could make a snide comment about the first two, but I won't.

Quoth AdvancedFlea

Me: (smiling at the girl who just insulted me thinking I couldn’t understand her) vous voulez dire deux filles non-laides et une limite qui regarde comme elle a été frappée dans le visage avec une cosse ? Numéro. Ne m'insultez pas jamais chient encore tête et obtiennent la baise hors de mon magasin (You mean 2 borderline not-ugly girls and one who looks like she’s been hit in the face with a spade? No. Don’t ever insult me again shit head and get the fuck out of my store )

The icing on the cake would've been an argument between the three girls on which two were borderline not-ugly and which one was hit with the spade.

**Giggle Goose** · 07-09-2009, 01:00 AM

Quoth AdvancedFlea View Post

PC: Yes. English too hard to learn
Me: you live in England?
PC: Yes. Here live

That is all.

Quoth LillFilly

I like! Not right when people think it's ok to talk about someone if you can't hear/understand them. I'm tempted to learn spanish; bet I'd get a lot of ownage on people!

Nah. You'd probably just be too disgusted about men's comments on your ass...at least that's what I learned after minoring in Spanish

**Bandit** · 07-09-2009, 01:45 AM

I'll have to chime in here with a "back in the day" story of some great language pwnage.....

Back in the '90s I worked in a high-tech company whose founders were Chinese. My boss - and his boss were Latvian. The company was about 70% Chinese.

One time, in a long meeting/conference call, there was a potty break called. The managers and founders decided to talk amongst themselves in Chinese. My boss, and his boss looked at each other and started chatting in Latvian.

The founders were right pissed and told them that they didn't like it when they didn't understand what they were saying.

My boss simply said "Now you know how we feel."

Shortly thereafter, a corporate policy came through where it was declared that English was the "Official language of the company for meetings."

I loved that boss - a rare guy. Always had your back and didn't sugar-coat the shit.

</threadjack>

B

**friendofjimmyk** · 07-09-2009, 02:11 AM

The girls - I can understand putting them in their place. However, the others - I don't know - I kind of feel for them. Who knows their circumstances that led them to your country to begin with. Now, if they are being rude to you because you don't speak their language - that's unacceptable, but if they just are having a hard time adapting to the language and customs of your country - I can't help but think that treating them harshly makes assimilation that much harder.

**protege** · 07-09-2009, 02:22 AM

Let's not turn this into a foreigner-bashing thread, OK?

Some people find English to be a hard language to learn. Hell, some of the *locals* can't speak it

Seriously though, I've heard stories that my Norwegian ancestors knew enough English when they arrived...but chose to speak their native tongue for the most part. That's why little Norwegian communities were all over the US--mainly in Minnesota, Michigan, and other cold places. Well, except for the one in Iowa... But, that didn't last forever--those communities were eventually assimilated.

**dalesys** · 07-09-2009, 02:31 AM

And the OP's why when my dad's business needed to negotiate tent production in China... he chose to learn Mandarin Chinese. At the age of 70!

**coldcupofjoe** · 07-09-2009, 02:41 AM

At my new location the only guy who worked there who knew any Spanish is the pothead who got canned. Most of the customers at this shop are Hispanic with less than half knowing how to speak English.

I've been learning alot from one older guy in the neighborhood who I guess has nothing better to do than sit around and translate for me. I've asked, he doesn't work here. He's not being paid. It's pretty cool, cuz if he weren't around I don't what I would do.

**tropicsgoddess** · 07-09-2009, 02:45 AM

That was some epic pwnage with those French SC's!!!

**crashhelmet** · 07-09-2009, 03:13 AM

Quoth protege View Post

Some people find English to be a hard language to learn.

It's probably the hardest language to learn to speak. Coming from someone who learned to speak Spanish first and then English second, I can tell you how confusing it gets when it comes to using all of those words that sound the same but are spelled differently. Red, Read, Read, Reed, Reid for example.

But anyway...

Quoth bandit

My boss simply said "Now you know how we feel."

This is the reason my dad wouldn't let us speak Spanish when he was home. He didn't understand it and thought it was rude. If we did, he start spouting off in Japanese (He spent enough time station in Japan and Okinawa to become fluent in it).

Great pwnage though. I love it when I get those opportunities.

CH

**Eireann** · 07-09-2009, 08:41 AM

Quoth crashhelmet View Post

It's probably the hardest language to learn to speak. CH

Try speaking Czech sometime. It's so hard to pronounce, even some Czechs can't make certain sounds. The grammar is also so difficult that, once again, there are native speakers who don't use correct grammar.

Learning to speak this language is an interesting experience. Some people are overjoyed to hear a foreigner at least trying to speak their language. Some roll their eyes and sigh loudly. Quite a few people of my acquaintance (who ARE Czech) have told me that there's no reason for me to learn it, since I can't use it outside the country. (Oh, no? I can't use a Slavic language in another Slavic country? I doubt it.)

Masculine, feminine, and neutral nouns. Masculine animate and masculine INanimate. Seven noun cases. Perfective and imperfective verbs.

SUCH fun!

**Hemily** · 07-09-2009, 09:35 AM

I can understand being annoyed when they just won't learn the language of the country they've moved to, but a thing is... learning a language does not take 5 minutes.

The Polish working at the mechanic next to where i work, are learning Norwegian pretty well, it's just not happening in an instant by snapping your finger.

What's more annoying is the customer we got, he's lived in Norway for years, came over from the UK, and he can't understand Norwegian that well, my boss can't speak English that well, cue me having to act as a translator...

then there was the Polish guy that came looking for work, not able to speak a word english or norwegian XD yeah... he really got far

he even brought a translator... he spoke english! which my boss does not speak... now that is what i'd call epic fail XD

**AdvancedFlea** · 07-09-2009, 01:41 PM

Quoth raw456 View Post

One night about 1am I knocked on their door and asked them to turn the music down (sighting it was 1am and a Tuesday) and got the "Um..... No understand English" speil.
My response? "Well here's your first lesson in English. Immigration and Deportation."

XD!! OWNED!

That, I have to say, was pretty funny, weather you were serious or not. Add to that the fact they left a few days later.

Quoth friendofjimmyk View Post

The girls - I can understand putting them in their place. However, the others - I don't know - I kind of feel for them.

I'm not saying that they didn't leave their countries in horrible circumstances but the majority of foreigners I deal with are polish. Poland is not a third world country where you get your hand cut off just for looking at someone in the wrong way.

I know it's not a quick job learning another language. Took me 5 years to be able to speak french well, but if you're making no attempt and you think that country should bend over backwards to talk to you in your language then you shouldn't be in that country

Quoth protege View Post

That's why little Norwegian communities were all over the US--mainly in Minnesota, Michigan, and other cold places. Well, except for the one in Iowa... But, that didn't last forever--those communities were eventually assimilated.

I actually have no problem with what people want to talk in when they are in their own homes or their own communities. Truth be told, I love how other languages sound, Particually spannish and italian. Hell, I come from a house of 2 engineers and one computer geek (That would be me) people have said that we appear to be speaking our own language sometimes. Poor non-nerdy people lol

My problem is when people from other countries, people who are otherwise good, honest and hard working people, just don't bother to learn the language of the country they choose to live in.

Quoth Hemily View Post

I can understand being annoyed when they just won't learn the language of the country they've moved to, but a thing is... learning a language does not take 5 minutes.

Oh, this know from experience. It just annoys me that people from other countries think that we should bend over backwards to them for their language, their laws (I'll not say Their beliefs because; quite frankley, whatever you want to believe in is fine by me as long as you're not hurting anyone) and way of life.

When it really aggrivates me is when people come in to where I work and just expect me or another member of staff to be able to speak their language because they can't or won't learn the one we speak. My attitude to them is "well, I can't/won't learn yours" I'm not going to say Engish is an easy langugage to learn. i's very vague, we have a lot of words that sound the same but mean different things, or different meanings for the same word ( "Love" ) but it's not the hardest langugage to learn either.

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