Timmy Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 I have an issue that really gets me worked up since I've started nursing. This issue is namely people who migrate or seek residency in Australia who can't speak a word of English. While I respect there beliefs, religion and what not I find it quiet rude that they still can't speak English even though they've been living here for a number of years, in some cases 40 years. I understand some individuals have migrated to Australia under some trying circumstances but this is no excuse. We provide good quailty medical care to these people at a quiet substantially reduced cost due to there circumstances yet they still get frustrated, combative and complain that there not receiving appropriate medical care and make allegations that were racist because were not able to reach your family or get an interpreter in a timely manner, well I'm sorry, you chose to live in a rural are and these resources aren't always accessible at the drop of a hat. We do the best we can and I've got enough on my plate learning about nursing, I have no time to learn another language. When you ask about there personal life, jobs ect they normal say they stay at home, stay within there little groups of become house wives. What do they do with there day? Surely they can go down the street, pick up a cheap English conversion book and read it for an hour a day or even better, get English tutoring. But none of them seem interested in being pro active, taking part in the community or anything that will benefit there stay here. What does everyone else think? Do you have a similar situation? Is there a some sort of program that can be put in place? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sirduke Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Hell yes we have a similar situation, in the US, especially where I live, the Hispanics, the Hatians, etc have come in droves to do farm work. They have no desire to learn english. We have to deal with them more and more, and the burden it has placed on the economy is immense. A very small majority of them have any insurance, so reimbursement is nil. Then there is the language barrier, how can one adequately treat them if you cannot obtain history, or even specifics of the cheif complaint. Of course, if it is glaringly obvious, yes, like trauma calls, but then again, they very seldom hang around the scene of any incident, so the trauma calls to them are fewer than one would think. Take a look at the Neatherlands, where they've had a large influx of Muslems, who not only have the language problems, but also the culture differences and they try to force their culture and beliefs upon the native community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akflightmedic Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 I know what you mean Timmy. I currently work with an overwhelmingly large number of Aussies, Canadians and Brits. It is so frustrating when they do not speak English, which is most of the time. I can not understand a damn thing they are saying and then add their twisted slang on top of it and man it is just a mess. When are these guys going to learn and speak English??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted October 30, 2008 Share Posted October 30, 2008 Lo siento. No habla. Hasta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwiology Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 I know what you mean Timmy. I currently work with an overwhelmingly large number of Aussies, Canadians and Brits. It is so frustrating when they do not speak English, which is most of the time. I can not understand a damn thing they are saying and then add their twisted slang on top of it and man it is just a mess. When are these guys going to learn and speak English??? Oh my god that was funny. I spent the summer working with Americans, Brits, Canadians, South Africans, Germans and I think one or two Ozzies and I couldn't understand a word they said Nah just kidding; but seriously tho we have a simmilar problem here with the Indians and Asians who come over and allbeit most speak English to some degree; its pretty piss poor most of the time. I don't believe you should have to learn English as if you were born here to live here but surely you could make at least some effort to learn some. But then again, on the other side of the coin, if we all moved to ______ would we make the effort to learn whatever lingo they spoke there? (OK silly question, I guess we would) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B the EMT Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 The T-Shirt saying is "Welcome to America, now learn and speak English!" Some of the folks I have met would remind us, the "furriners" came here, and should assimilate to "us", not the other way around. I volunteer in a political office, so I help register voters for within the New York City area. I have seen mail-in registration forms in several languages. There was a time, 40 or so years ago, if you were a citizen, even a Naturalized one, you had to speak English to register. (Side note, and sidetracking myself, if you are a US citizen who is registered to vote, Tuesday November 4, 2008 is Election Day, Your mission is, sometimes during the day while the polls are open, VOTE!) The general consensus I seem to have found is, at least in New York City, to get around linguistically in EMS, you have to speak (in no particular order) German, Russian, Serbian, Croatian, Italian, a minimum of 5 Chinese dialects, Urdu, Farsi, Hebrew, Yiddish, Polish, French, Swedish, and some crazy language called English. This is not including whatever the native languages are called (sorry, I don't know the actual names) of the Souix, Pawnee, Arapaho, Navajo, Mohawk, and other "Native American/First Nation" people, commonly known as "Indians". I was reminded by my mom recently, her father had an arrangement within his household, English was spoken by family members outside the house, and primarily, German inside the house. My dad, although born in Brooklyn, learned English as a second language. His parents, my grandparents, spoke Russian, Polish, and German, in addition to Hebrew and Yiddish. when they wanted to talk in front of him, they'd switch to either Russian or Polish, which my dad didn't speak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott33 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 As a British expat living in the States, while it may be common to expect everyone to speak English who comes to the US, it should be noted that "English" and American English are two different languages with many similarities. Talk to any real English-speaking individual from anywhere in England, or the rest of the UK, and you will probably find yourself struggling to understand what they are saying. British English is not as basic as American English, and is peppered with slang terminology going back many hundreds of years. Profanity is also part of the language in certain social circles (and yes the dreaded C-word has many different meanings and uses in British English...and while we are down there, it is impossible to poop out of your "fanny" :roll: ). I could name any major City in Britian, where the dialect is so heavy, it would be hard for other natives of differing cities to understand, and impossible for your average Yank. (Newcastle, Liverpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, Aberdeen [forget it], parts of Devon and Cornwall, Birmingham etc, etc). Oh, and the Gecko on the Gicko commercial is supposed to be English - Cockney to be precise. Please don't call him Australian, it annoys me. Also, the guy who plays House, is an English comedian putting on a fake accent, that only brits seem to be able to spot, though obviously more convincing than Dick Van Dyke's Cockney accent in Mary Poppins. How many will admit to understanding the vocabulary in one of Guy Richie's movie, or if you think you can handle Scottish, Trainspotting WITHOUT the subtitles. I fully agree that those who come to the US should learn the native language, just need to come up with a proper name for it as "English" it is not. Wikipedia has a good article on the main differences. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_...ing_differences Rant over :evil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B the EMT Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 You spoke of different accents just from within the UK. I hear different regional accents from within Brooklyn (county), New York, as the true students of the spoken language, which I actually am NOT (Surprise!), recognize, amongst others, as Flatbush, Red Hook, Bensonhurst, Canaries, and Greenpoint, with a couple more. These "true students" can supposedly determine which side of 13th Avenue you were born on. And I also mention that Mel Brooks, who provided the voice of so many of the Warner Brothers cartoon characters, is supposed to have combined some East Flatbush with some north Bronx (another of the 5 counties that make up the Greater City of New York), and the result became the speaking voice of "Bugs Bunny". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard B the EMT Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Didja notice I didn't even refer to going over to my friend's house, by toity toid and toid, to help him fix his erl tank? Dis is sumpin usually brought up when discussin regional accents, like that I'm from Noo Yawk Ciddy, altho I seem ta be Lawn Gyland. Youse guyz wanna make sumpin ovvit? (Typing in dialect? I'm not even going to try using the spellcheck! The Ozzies and Kiwis will most likely return in kind, too!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott33 Posted October 31, 2008 Share Posted October 31, 2008 Didja notice I didn't even refer to going over to my friend's house, by toity toid and toid, to help him fix his erl tank? Dis is sumpin usually brought up when discussin regional accents, like that I'm from Noo Yawk Ciddy, altho I seem ta be Lawn Gyland. Youse guyz wanna make sumpin ovvit? Definitely lots of different regional accents on the US, but all pretty easy to comprehend due to the lack of isolated slang terminology. I find Lawn Guy Land talk becomes pretty easy to mimic if you just try to "tawk" while chewing gum, or sliding in an unnecessary "W" into words like coffee (cwoffee) office, (Owfiss), or my least favorite, that mecca of vacational hot spots, Montauk (Mawn-tawk). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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