Law would forbid immigration to the UK for non-english speakers.

America has a massive amount of first language Spanish speakers (who, in many areas, were there before English speakers). My home country has two official languages, a large Russian minority and the indigenous Saami. India has a dozen languages, and while it has conflicts, those are mostly between religions and linked to, oh, you know, hundreds of years of History.

And yeah "English as a second language" is a red herring. English is technically my third language, but I consider myself pretty fluent, yet in one of your alarmist statistics, I'd be another number for GASP DESTRUCTION OF ENGLISH IDENTITY.

...and then you go on about defending purity of language. I mean, do you KNOW what English is doing to the Celtic languages?

edited 28th Jul '11 12:01:16 AM by JethroQWalrustitty

the statement above is false

If England did not want multiculturalism, it should not have invaded other cultures.

And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?

Yes, blame the actions of rich people 200 years ago for a current domestic problem. That is completly fucking fair.

Learn English; simple as that.

The immigration policy it's related to...yeah

Learn English, yes, but they ought to at least allow short-term visas on condition of learning the language. At least well enough to pass some crappy made-up exam the government thought would be a good idea to introduce.

@ Jethro

That's odd, I thought I remember my French teacher back in middle school saying that English was harder to learn than most languages. Then again, he might be a biased source. XD

---

@ Greenmantle

I'd blame the employer, then, for putting employees in a role they aren't ready for. Even as someone who speaks English I'm not sure I'd wanna work for that kind of boss.

edited 28th Jul '11 6:58:08 AM by HiddenFacedMatt

"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon Stewart

@OP: I think that law is stupid. It's one thing if the person never learns English ever, but maybe they're coming to England to learn English. Just a thought.

Here are some simple counterpoints. Read them.

1. Learning a second language is always harder, and many of you, who I presume to be monolingual English speakers, don't seem to understand this because you've never been put in the position where you need to know any other language than English. If significant parts of the US adult population had to seek refuge in Mexico, how many would be willing and/or able to "just learn Spanish" right away?
2. The optimal age for learning a language is when you're under 12 years. Adults, who this law would most strongly affect, are disadvantaged from the get-go.
3. While I support an equal treatment of all immigrants, I would note that people seeking immigration via marriage are probably more likely to adjust to the new society, and if they have limited language skills, they at least already have someone there to translate.

edited 28th Jul '11 12:14:17 PM by JethroQWalrustitty

the statement above is false

If you're going to Mexico, you'd learn Spanish. When you move to a country, it's your responsibility to learn the language and culture of that country; simple as that. Learning a new language is difficult, not impossible.

The best way to learn a language is to immerse yourself in it, so keeping nonspeakers out is rather self-defeating.

Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.

@Kino: I'm not saying people shouldn't learn the language. I'm saying it's not that easy. And agian, taking the hypothetical situation of mass US refuge in Mexico, would it not be likely that Americans would gravite together, and where there'd be English speaking communities, some would not feel the need to adapt?

If you look at the situation just through the privileged lesn of someone who 1. speaks the lingua franca as their first language 2. lives in a first world country with no forseeable reason to suddenly move to a different linguistic area, you don't really see where most of the people harmed by this legistlation are coming from.

the statement above is false

@ Matt:

It's more desperation, really. I mean, most of us can speak English, despite most of the non-front line staff not being British — including the drivers, most of which are British or can speak it...but one or two, and one — he's not the best, but a bit of a legend at the same time.

You can't have it all, it appears. And no, I don't want to work for that kind of boss. I've overqualified and underemployed, and I've been looking for another job for months now, had interviews but not managed to get a role...

Keep Rolling On

Technically, you'd learn Mexican Spanish. Or Texican. Depending on how snooty you want to be.

Fight smart, not fair.

"Yes, blame the actions of rich people 200 years ago for a current domestic problem. That is completly fucking fair."

The real problem that I see is people perceiving multiculturalism as a problem.

And better than thy stroke; why swellest thou then?

Well duh. It's not moving toward the extermination of culture, that's a problem.

Fight smart, not fair.