Translation costing public £100m

[Deportivo Seagull]

And your point is?

You are comparing apples with bananas, English migrants to Spain are typically financially independent and emigrate - in the main- for a more hospitable climate, most of them sit around all day drinking and playing Golf.

but funnily enough one of the complaint from the 'locals' is that they can't afford housing in the expats area because the 'rich' expats are buying up anything that resembles a house.

Last time I was in Spain there was TV program looking at the expats on the southern coast, the TV crew went to an expats club, and 'found' that less than a 1/3 could speak Spanish to an acceptable standard, the expats relied (or in a few cases expected) the locals to speak a good level of English, to be fair the Germans (though a smaller community) were worse.

Fortunately Galicia doesn't suffer from English expats as it rains for 260 days in the year, it's f**king cold in the winter and the sea water is freezing. Mind you, 'they' have to put up with the muppets from madrid and barcelona during the summer months, quite frankly I'm not sure whats worse.

 

[Skint Gull]

And your point is?

You are comparing apples with bananas, English migrants to Spain are typically financially independent and emigrate - in the main- for a more hospitable climate, most of them sit around all day drinking and playing Golf.

The migrants we are accomodating in the UK from places like Bangladesh and African countries-in the main- are economic Migrants who come here with no little money and therefore should have the means to support themselves, I imagine an inability to speak English might hinder them in that.

English migrants who leave the UK to work in foreign countries do learn to speak the language of their destination country, otherwise they starve.

Great post!

 

[Guinness Boy]

If 100M is peanuts can I have it please? I'm starting a very important study on the impact of business class tourism on Malaysia, Fiji, Thailand and the Gold Coast of Australia - it could take several years. Hope you don't mind.

Seriously I agree 100% with Toronto Seagull on this. I learned Japanese in Japan and Chinese in Taipei and in no way did I have to as both places have large ex pat friendly communities and the locals actually want to practice their English on you as it is both 'cool' and the business languge of the world. Learning my hosts' tongue just seemed polite.

 

[Parson Henry]

Er. I'm sorry i wasn't talking about the lack of question mark. just that "Are you saying that in travelling from a to b in your home town that it causes you to ponder if almost all of the conversation is in a foreign tongue" if i read it right is strange question and i don't know why i was asked it

Perhaps I misunderstood your point 'Why would being on bus where most people be worrying in anyway?' but did not take sufficient time to provide clarity in my response, which was intended as a question.


My take was that you did see it as an issue to be travelling on a bus in England and have an incessant jabber of at least three alien languages in your 'shell like'. I sought to explore the matter with you.

Thanks

 

[Lammy]

£100m represents about 0.025% of what the government has to spend each year.

 

[Parson Henry]

£100m represents about 0.025% of what the government has to spend each year.

and even a lesser % that of Mourinho's pocket money.

 

[Mr C]

I agree that there are some immigrants who do want to learn English and do want to integrate and become productive members of society.

The thing is, this whole translation thing is just a symptom of a wider problem - immigrants not wishing to integrate, and wanting to (in some cases) foist their ideas and cultures on the natives.

 

[Meade's Ball]

If mastery of the English language was either a working requirement or requisite of citizenship, then surely the majority of us slang-drowned, Americanised, televised dunces ought to be forced into it too.
In North London i am surrounded by those of a separate tongue, and i am never sickened by it. It's always something of interest.
At work, for those applying to be UK-based health professionals, we ask for those whose mother tongue is not English to provide the results of an IELTS or a TOEFL or a TOEIC. For EEA applicants. though, we can ask nothing of the sort. Does this upset me? No. I fail to feel the invasive ingredient of my linguistic relish. Same as feeling sickened by another country's garb. I wouldn;t want to talk or dress as me. Apart from paid impressionists with more handsome faces.

 

[Rookie]

Don't think the point is the 100 million being spent but more to the point that couldn't this money be put into better use, such as hospitals/schools or our underfunded armed forces rather than what it is currently being spent on.
If it was the other way round and we emigrated to a non english speaking country do you really think that they would spend that amount on us, or would they tell us to learn the language?

 

[Publius Ovidius]

100 million would probably buy half an hospital with no equipment or staff in it!!!

 

[Rookie]

what about paying the staff in a hospital currently running at a loss, but really think you missed my point!

 

[Lammy]

I'd like to see the money go towards yof clubs and the like.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

what about paying the staff in a hospital currently running at a loss, but really think you missed my point!

No I didnt miss you point at all.

of course if we didnt look to replace trident, then that would save us £13,000,000,000,000( american or UK billion?) as opposed to £100,000,000 which would build shed loads of hospitals, schools, day care centers, nurserys, and co-incidentally football grounds ( or one in particular South of a very pretty village in Lewes)

 

[Shizuoka Dolphin]

English migrants who leave the UK to work in foreign countries do learn to speak the language of their destination country, otherwise they starve.

Some may do, some may not. It's extremely easy to get by in this world with just English, and many take full advantage of that.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

What a depressing retread of a thousand and one other threads started by the why oh why brigade.

 

[bhafc99]

Another argument is that £100m spent translating things like social security documents, medical information and the like actually then SAVES several times that amount, which would otherwise be spent assisting non-English speakers in the relevant situations.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Some may do, some may not. It's extremely easy to get by in this world with just English, and many take full advantage of that.

True, but I suppose there is another difference, migrants from poor third world countries who come to the UK with no English are actually planning to stay here forever so I reckon they have a vested interest in integrating, most Brits who work overseas tend to do it for a finite period consequent to work or whatnot, so the need to learn the indigenous language is less (plus the language of business is English).

What I meant was, say I decide that I am going to move to Germany with no money, no skills and not speaking German, but I plan to stay there indefinitely, I reckon it would be in my interest to learn German pretty bloody quickly or I would be in serious shtuck...unless I knew that upon my arrival I had a community from my country already there who would accomodate me, get me sorted out with benifits, arrange my paperwork and then assign me an interpreter whenever I needed free medical care or more money.

All those here who reckon that this is not the actual case needs their bumps felt, and anyone who thinks this is acceptable for society long term..ditto.

 

[pasty]

Maybe a proportion of the 100M could be used to provide English lessons?

 

[Norman Baker suck my lozenge]

£100m represents about 0.025% of what the government has to spend each year.

Sure would go along way to keeping Worthing hospital open,but then again the new labour project can't be seen putting money toward the people that pay into the system,nah give it all to freeloaders and parasites eh.

 

[Goring Gull]

I've got no time what so ever for these immigrants that can't and won't learn the english language - they piss me right off.

Up here we have communities in which some of them never leave so they never intergrate so how the hell do they expect their kids etc to get on in this country.

Something needs to be done. Mayb eth emoney should be iused to assist with English lesson - i have no problem with anyone coming and living and working here asl long as they make an effort to learn the language - I would say exacltly teh sam eof brits going abroad to live and not learning the lingo.