SPEAK ENGLISH! OR MAYBE SOMETHING ELSE!

A postmaster in Nottingham, England, will refuse to serve people if they cannot speak English.


Quote:
Deva Kumarasiri, who moved to England from Sri Lanka 18 years ago, runs the Sneinton Boulevard Post Office.

Mr Kumarasiri said he could not serve people if he did not understand what they were asking for.


Source:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/7951778.stm


"I am part of a service but how can I serve them if I don't understand what they are asking for?"

The 40-year-old felt he was only asking people to make the same efforts he had done himself.

"I was born and raised in a different country, my language was different, my religion was different. But when I came to England I obeyed the British way of life, I got into the British way of life. That is what I ask everyone else to do - respect the country where you are working and living."

Ina Norgate, 49, from Sneinton, said: "I agree with him. It's a bit ignorant to come here and not speak the language. If you went to France you would have to learn French."

But Mohammed Ahmed, 22, also from the area, disagreed. "This is a multicultural society and this is not right really," he said. "If they come here to work, it's their right to stay here even if they speak their own language. Some people can't speak English but they can learn the language once they come here."

Afzal Sadif from the Nottingham Racial Equality Council said Mr Kumarasiri's stance was "unacceptable".
"This is a public service, the Post Office is there for everybody and we seriously have to look at the stereotypical view he's coming across with. In the long run, I believe, if we're living in Britain, over the course of the years, you have to speak English to get by but you can't force it upon people."

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I am of two minds about this. On the one hand, I can understand that multilingualism is neither necessary for daily life nor something that can be enforced. On the other hand, learning another language is not as easy as the monolingualists fondly make it out to be.
[Oops, wait - that's really the same hand! Oh well.]

English, as you may have heard, is not the easiest language in the world (even though a derivative of English, known as Tokpisin, arguably is). We need not even mention the insane spelling of this language (strictly for the birds).
And there are some parts of the world where English has pronunciations and usages which deviate ENORMOUSLY from standard speech - among others: Karachi, Mumbai, and Yorkshire. This adds a dimension of dificulty.

Nevertheless, how hard is it to communicate with someone who wishes to give you money? It isn't as if the two of you will be discussing deep philosphical concepts, analyses of theology, or a recent Swedish movie filled with angst and weltschmertz.

"Goot efternun! Ee vish to be aporchessing wan stemp. Hit iz for mey emblop, that iz tu be gowung tu Salamibod in Pekkiston. Vich is laik Hindia, tatahpi reet nixt dawar. Eeh yes? Ewe 'nerstending pliz? Hir er saveril koo-ins, vitch iz tu sey, wan pawand & fir shilleng. Ee think ewe, hazoor."

See? How hard is that? Just take the money.
Weltschmertz absolutely requires fluent English. Commerce, meh, not so much.


Anti-Irish attitudes haven't been acceptable, even in Britain or Massachusetts, in several decades.

Welshmen and Valley Girls are a different matter.