"Damn immigrants need to learn proper english!"

[pomology]

OK, pomology, just for the hell of it I'm going to have a go at translating this with Latin and French. I don't speak Italian, but do read it a little. I am not using Google, ok, and I am resisting the temptation to look up anything.

You said:

A little. I am on an Italian course. I decided to study Italian because I like the language languages very much (literally: it pleases me much) and for me language courses are very easy for the first year (?) [essentially, I was trying to figure out how to say first-year languages courses...I'm not sure I did it correctly] Next Last term I will be was in three (history?) courses, and I needed to stay That is a correct translation of what I wrote, but I'm an idiot and actually meant 'to be' in another easy class. I thought that Italian would be amusing (fun) and easy, and (totally not sure about 'avevo ragione'; but I think it's 'I had a reason' (for doing so.)) Avevo ragione = I was correct I had thought about studying French, but Iunderstand heard that the French professor is was) terrible. The only thing I really[/b ]find difficult is the prepositions. But I do really like the language. It is very beautiful, and I enjoy comparing it with Spanish. My problem is that when I try to talk in Spanish I say 'di' instead to 'de' and 'non lo so' instead of 'no se'.

Please correct?

That was fun.

Isn't it? I love going to the French or Catalan or Portuguese or Ladino pages on Wikipedia and tying to understand what it says. It's the weirdest hobby ever.

ETA: I don't claim to be an expert in Italian in any way shape or form, so if somebody here does actually speak Italian, I apologize for whatever errors I may have made.

[evenstar210]

So "dover/et/rim/rot" is a noun?

Yes. My Oxford dictionary translates it as: "speaker, spokesman." And the male plural form would be "dovrei."

[defrauding]

Yes. My Oxford dictionary translates it as: "speaker, spokesman." And the male plural form would be "dovrei."

To clarify, it's "dovrei" if you're using it in the construct state (דוברי עברית, Hebrew speakers), but "dovrim" if you're using it by itself (דוברים, speakers).

Edit: Oh, I forgot to respond to the actual topic. I don't understand why people who are upset with immigrants are rarely upset with the companies that hire the immigrants.

Edit 2: And of course I went and made a bone-headed typo in my grammar explanation. It's an Internet law, I believe.

[Sola]

I know a few words and phrases of Welsh as my best friend is basically fluent. I couldn't hold a conversation though.

Nos da, cariad!

Cara 'ch hefyd :D

Gallaf hefyd siarad ychydig o Gymraeg, rydym yn mynd yno ar wyliau bob blwyddyn. Yr wyf am i fyw yno un diwrnod.

[RR88]

To clarify, it's "dovrei" if you're using it in the construct state (דוברי ערבית, Hebrew speakers), but "dovrim" if you're using it by itself (דוברים, speakers).

Edit: Oh, I forgot to respond to the actual topic. I don't understand why people who are upset with immigrants are rarely upset with the companies that hire the immigrants.

Thanks so much for the information, everybody!

[RR88]

To clarify, it's "dovrei" if you're using it in the construct state (דוברי ערבית, Hebrew speakers)

Yes, but דוברי ערבית are actually Arabic speakers...of which I'm quickly becoming one. :D Nice avatar, by the way.

[pomology]

I think geniebelle should listen to the song "Everyone's A Little Bit Racist" from Avenue Q. It addresses the fact that this type of thinking about language is, in fact, racist.

[Third]

My husband saw the thread title and reminded me how I used to cringe when I first moved to the states. People around here say "Where's that at?" or "Where you at?" not "Where is that?" or "Where are you?" and it used to bother me so much! Yet I would be admonished for not speaking "proper English".

[freejoytoo]

Cara 'ch hefyd :D

Gallaf hefyd siarad ychydig o Gymraeg, rydym yn mynd yno ar wyliau bob blwyddyn. Yr wyf am i fyw yno un diwrnod.

My Welsh doesn't stretch to actual sentences :oops: I know a few words! What does it mean? I wish I could actually read it!

I love that Welsh for microwave is poptiping!

Have you ever seen that Welsh soap, Pobol Y Cwm? I always watch it if I go on holiday to Wales. I can't understand a word of it and if it was in English I wouldn't even want to watch it and yet somehow it fascinates me :lol: There's another one which I can't remember the name of but my friend loves it.

[evenstar210]

To clarify, it's "dovrei" if you're using it in the construct state (דוברי ערבית, Hebrew speakers), but "dovrim" if you're using it by itself (דוברים, speakers).

Edit: Oh, I forgot to respond to the actual topic. I don't understand why people who are upset with immigrants are rarely upset with the companies that hire the immigrants.

Thanks for clarifying that. I'm not a native speaker although I've studied Hebrew since the age of 3 (all the more proof that it is HARD to learn another language in all its nuances).

I love Avenue Q! "What Do You Do With a B.A. in English" is practically my theme song.

"Jesus was white! No, Jesus was black! Guys, guys--Jesus was...Jewish!" :lol:

[pomology]

Yep.

"Everyone's a little bit racist sometimes. Doesn't me we go around committing hate crimes. Look around and you will find no one's really color blind. Maybe it's a fact we all should face, everyone makes judgments based on race."

"Not big judgments like who to hire or who to buy a newspaper from."

"No, just little judgments like thinking that Mexican busboys should learn to speak goddamn English!"

"Right."

To be honest, I don't agree with the song that just because everyone's a little bit racist we should stop being upset by racist things. But I really like that it points out a lot of small things we do that are racist that many people are not aware are racist because for some reason we're taught that racism is only forcing black people to sit in the back of the bus and we solved that decades ago.

Also, as I approach my college graduation, I'm pretty sure my life is beginning more and more to resemble Avenue Q.

[Sola]

My Welsh doesn't stretch to actual sentences :oops: I know a few words! What does it mean? I wish I could actually read it!

I love that Welsh for microwave is poptiping!

Have you ever seen that Welsh soap, Pobol Y Cwm? I always watch it if I go on holiday to Wales. I can't understand a word of it and if it was in English I wouldn't even want to watch it and yet somehow it fascinates me :lol: There's another one which I can't remember the name of but my friend loves it.

It means:

"I love you too. I can speak a little Welsh, we go there every year on holiday. I want to live there one day."

We don't usually watch that much TV on holiday. Mainly because we go to the wilds of Snowdonia and reception is crap. If you can pick up a signal you'll start watching something and then after a couple of minutes you end up with a snowy screen again. When we have I can pick up some parts of what is being said, but usually it passes me by because it is spoken too rapidly. I have a few Welsh friends who are bilingual and what I know I have picked up from them. One of them I see quite regularly, either she comes up here for the weekend or I go down there. She's taught me most of the Welsh I know.

[freejoytoo]

We don't watch much television on holiday either but sometimes we switch it on after tea (usually the reception's not very good there either and it turns to fuzz!)

I just know a few words from my friend - I should get her to teach me some more!

[defrauding]

Thanks for clarifying that. I'm not a native speaker although I've studied Hebrew since the age of 3 (all the more proof that it is HARD to learn another language in all its nuances).

Oh, I'm definitely not a native speaker! I just happen to be taking a Hebrew class in my spare time that reviewed the construct state recently.

And that reminds me of the other point I wanted to make. Someone having difficulty with your order at Subway may in fact be making a serious effort to learn your language. For some reason, though, foreign language classes rarely have units on "dealing with xenophobic idiots at Subway who probably mumbled their order in your direction while talking on their cell phone with a friend."

Yes, but דוברי ערבית are actually Arabic speakers...of which I'm quickly becoming one. :D Nice avatar, by the way.

Thanks! And Skitt's Law rears its ugly head again, even though I was only clarifying a post. Dangnabbit.

[Sola]

We don't watch much television on holiday either but sometimes we switch it on after tea (usually the reception's not very good there either and it turns to fuzz!)

I just know a few words from my friend - I should get her to teach me some more!

We usually end up taking a few DVDs for the kids to watch. We can sometimes get BBC, but even then it is snowy. We can't get channel 5 at all!

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Yep.

"Everyone's a little bit racist sometimes. Doesn't me we go around committing hate crimes. Look around and you will find no one's really color blind. Maybe it's a fact we all should face, everyone makes judgments based on race."

"Not big judgments like who to hire or who to buy a newspaper from."

"No, just little judgments like thinking that Mexican busboys should learn to speak goddamn English!"

"Right."

To be honest, I don't agree with the song that just because everyone's a little bit racist we should stop being upset by racist things. But I really like that it points out a lot of small things we do that are racist that many people are not aware are racist because for some reason we're taught that racism is only forcing black people to sit in the back of the bus and we solved that decades ago.

Also, as I approach my college graduation, I'm pretty sure my life is beginning more and more to resemble Avenue Q.

There's an interesting blog out there http://www.microaggressions.com/ which just collects instances of microaggressions - the little things that are said and done because someone just isn't THINKING (usually because they don't have to - they've got privilege in the area) and build up annoyance over time. It's little assumptions people make, that you'd think "well, it's not so bad" but they build up when it happens day after day after day.

Everyone knows that burning crosses on the lawn and forbidding women from wearing pants on the job is not okay in 2012. But there's still plenty of little barbs out there. Probably anyone reading it will find some they've been on the receiving end of as well as some they've unthinkingly done. It can make you think a bit about how little assumptions we make all the time can affect people.

[holierthanyou]

love the link, thanks gardenvarietycitizen!

[Artemis]

Thank you for the microaggressions site. I'm going to have a look at it regularly - just to check my own responses.

[pomology]

There's an interesting blog out there http://www.microaggressions.com/ which just collects instances of microaggressions - the little things that are said and done because someone just isn't THINKING (usually because they don't have to - they've got privilege in the area) and build up annoyance over time. It's little assumptions people make, that you'd think "well, it's not so bad" but they build up when it happens day after day after day.

Everyone knows that burning crosses on the lawn and forbidding women from wearing pants on the job is not okay in 2012. But there's still plenty of little barbs out there. Probably anyone reading it will find some they've been on the receiving end of as well as some they've unthinkingly done. It can make you think a bit about how little assumptions we make all the time can affect people.

That's a fascinating site. The point is we are all a little racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic etc. It's hard to escape it being socialized into any society that exists in the world today. So, like, I don't think it's the worst thing in the world if somebody makes a less than politically correct comment. But if we don't even recognize that these microaggresions are cases of racism, sexism, ableism homophobia etc. that is problematic because it means that we can't get better. And if we actively ignore that they are, then it means that we don't want to get better. And, well, if we don't care about trying to fight racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia...well, that doesn't say anything good about us.

[RR88]

I always say that we all have our prejudices, but the best of us are aware of this and try to work on them.

[Guest Anonymous]

Wow! This is actually shocking. But I agree it's something Smuggar would say - it reminds me of the ignorant things they said when they came to England and said things like: "is this real food?" So, definitely agreed that this is a Smuggar thing to do.

[dairyfreelife]

Wow! This is actually shocking. But I agree it's something Smuggar would say - it reminds me of the ignorant things they said when they came to England and said things like: "is this real food?" So, definitely agreed that this is a Smuggar thing to do.

Or when both JB and M said that people in England drive on the wrong side of the road. :roll: Not once, but they each said it at least twice. The Duggars were just as rude at the Ethiopian restaurant in DC about the food and environment. I blame the parents though. They lack common courtesy and made a mockery of themselves in other countries. I understand asking "What's bubbles and squeak? I've never heard of it before." When people ask questions about the food or things, they show an interest in learning about another culture or place. Going around asking if the food on their plates are real food and talking down towards those who have a different culture is never okay imo. It's flat out rude and obnoxious.

[Guest Anonymous]

Or when both JB and M said that people in England drive on the wrong side of the road. :roll: Not once, but they each said it at least twice. The Duggars were just as rude at the Ethiopian restaurant in DC about the food and environment. I blame the parents though. They lack common courtesy and made a mockery of themselves in other countries. I understand asking "What's bubbles and squeak? I've never heard of it before." When people ask questions about the food or things, they show an interest in learning about another culture or place. Going around asking if the food on their plates are real food and talking down towards those who have a different culture is never okay imo. It's flat out rude and obnoxious.

Agreed :) Although I think if I had never seen tater tot casserole before, and was at the duggar's home, I wouldn't put it past myself to ask if it was real food or a recipe for obesity (ahem... Josh.)

Also, wrong side of the road?! Quite a lot of countries drive on the left - and I don't see what problem they had with saying other side of the road! :roll:

[tankgirl]

I started to get a talking to, when a Brit thought I was going to say they drove on the "wrong side". I laughed and explained, that the car we are getting is a left hand drive, so it has the wheel on the wrong side, for a country that drives right side cars, which will make it a bit trickier to drive. Once explained, he understood, and told me he found it a bit tricky to drive on holiday in his car, in France. I never assume other cultures dothings "wrong" because they don't do things the way the culture I came does things.

Ok, that's mostly true, I believe culturally anyone but those from or in Mexico or California are wrong about Mexican food. Texas keep your damn corn out of most all of my Mexican food! Middle states, ranch dressing and Mexican food do not mix! And Europe I love you but, no really, just no. I will speak up and tell you, your making Mexican food wrong ;)

[Guest Anonymous]

I started to get a talking to, when a Brit thought I was going to say they drove on the "wrong side". I laughed and explained, that the car we are getting is a left hand drive, so it has the wheel on the wrong side, for a country that drives right side cars, which will make driving a bit trickier to drive. Once explained he understood, and told me he found it a bit tricky to drive on holiday in his car, in France. I never assume other cultures dothings "wrong" because they don't do things the way the culture I came does things.

I refer to driving on the 'wrong side' when taking my own car to a country that drives on the opposite side of the road to us. It feels very wrong, but somehow I feel safer than driving a hire car which would have the steering wheel on the culturally appropriate side of the car. :mrgreen: