FabSwingers.com forum: Do I laugh or cry?

By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago

Professor Wendy Bennett professor of French philology and linguistics at Cambridge university is quoted in the Daily Mail today as saying: ' it’s very important to think of integration as a two-way street.'.

'I would like to see more opportunities for British people to learn some of the community languages of the UK, such as Polish, Punjabi and Urdu, particularly in areas where there are high numbers of those speakers, so that there is some mutual effort in understanding the others' language and culture.

She goes on.

"For most people, language is at the very heart of their identity...

We need to respect and celebrate this and to see English as adding to their multilingual and multicultural identities, rather than trying to force immigrants to suppress or even lose their home language and culture."

Our privileged, Oxbridge-educated, ivory tower liberal has the nerve to say we are suppressing and forcing immigrants!? Since when!?

But I'm being too harsh.

The eminent prof must be leading from the front and will impress us all with her fluent knowledge of Polish, Urdu and Punjabi!

Like fuck!?

No mention of any of the above according to her Cambridge profile, all she's ever done is French...including 17th century French...very handy in Rotherham!?

Clearly the plebs should learn these languages...to integrate better with the immigrants...but she's too important to do so herself!? But then again commuting between exclusive residential areas in Cambridge and Paris she's hardly likely to ever meet one...pleb or immigrant!

And they wonder why we voted to leave the EU!?

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By *isandreTV/TS
over a year ago

Durham

It really annoys me when I go to Spain and not one of those fuckers knows English. Not one.

I have to talk very loudly to get by. Grrr!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Professor Wendy Bennett professor of French philology and linguistics at Cambridge university is quoted in the Daily Mail today as saying: ' it’s very important to think of integration as a two-way street.'.

She goes on.

"For most people, language is at the very heart of their identity...

Our privileged, Oxbridge-educated, ivory tower liberal has the nerve to say we are suppressing and forcing immigrants!? Since when!?

But I'm being too harsh.

The eminent prof must be leading from the front and will impress us all with her fluent knowledge of Polish, Urdu and Punjabi!

Like fuck!?

No mention of any of the above according to her Cambridge profile, all she's ever done is French...including 17th century French...very handy in Rotherham!?

And they wonder why we voted to leave the EU!?

It's true. If the system or community doesn't make an effort to integrate they cannot successfully integrate. The key is the word "inter". It can take a child to learn English in 6 months. But schools leave those children behind and they get behind and get bored. So they become trouble.

The Dutch do not integrate either. Even though they do speak English, they switch to it if you speak broken Dutch. After 4 years I didn't learn the language because the "inter" is one way.

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By *awandOrderCouple
over a year ago

SW London

She goes on.

"For most people, language is at the very heart of their identity...

Our privileged, Oxbridge-educated, ivory tower liberal has the nerve to say we are suppressing and forcing immigrants!? Since when!?

But I'm being too harsh.

The eminent prof must be leading from the front and will impress us all with her fluent knowledge of Polish, Urdu and Punjabi!

Like fuck!?

No mention of any of the above according to her Cambridge profile, all she's ever done is French...including 17th century French...very handy in Rotherham!?

And they wonder why we voted to leave the EU!?

I know a few words to communicate in each of the above languages .... but really not sure why this type of thing bothers you so much, OP

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By *bandjam91Couple
over a year ago

London

-----------------------------------

She goes on.

"For most people, language is at the very heart of their identity...

Our privileged, Oxbridge-educated, ivory tower liberal has the nerve to say we are suppressing and forcing immigrants!? Since when!?

--------------------------------

I think you're reading this wrong.

The article also says

"Prof Ayres-Bennett said the reports reinforced the importance of languages in social cohesion as 'she supported the recommendations for immigrants to learn English' [emphasis added].

She said: 'Without English, immigrants are likely to develop exclusive social networks and alternative labour markets."

So she supports immigrants having to learn English.

I think the point she's trying to make is that the so called lefty elite shouldn't view this as suppression.

Instead they should view it as part of the very multiculturalism that they promote.

Which I personally think is a good point. I also think that if English people are interested in learning other languages then this is a good idea too.

Maybe some people would enjoy it given the opportunity to learn for free.

And surely it could only help in better understanding which seems to be something sorely lacking these days.

-----------------------------------

But I'm being too harsh.

The eminent prof must be leading from the front and will impress us all with her fluent knowledge of Polish, Urdu and Punjabi!

Like fuck!?

No mention of any of the above according to her Cambridge profile, all she's ever done is French...including 17th century French...very handy in Rotherham!?

And they wonder why we voted to leave the EU!?

--------------------------------

As I say above I think you've taken her words and gone way off the intended meaning.

But in your defence the article also shows my issue with the Daily Mail.

It's actually written very neutrally in that there's no attempt by the journalist to give an analysis. It just reports what she said and you've jumped to massive conclusions yourself.

And I think the rant that's resulted demonstrates why that kind of reporting is just irresponsible given the current divisions in this country.

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By *imiUKMan
over a year ago

Hereford

People learning other languages without being forced to?

Whatever next!

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Is it a bad thing that in multicultural societies migrants learn english/native language, and that the young national population learn to speak the dominant secondary languages??

I dont think it is. I doubt britain will deport thousands of poles, Italians, punjabi's...so if itergration is an issue, why dont both groups try and meet in the middle.

I mean yes. Someone coming to live here should learn good english. Just as a brit moving to retire in spain should learn spanish...i dated a spanish girl and one of her biggest complaints when me, her and my family discussed this was "little england communities fencing themselves off" and "brits complaining about migrant intergration, but then retiring here and sticking with spanglish."

In short don't bitch and moan unless you want to help the process of intergration and unless you get that it works both ways.

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By *abioMan
over a year ago

Newcastle and Gateshead

"It really annoys me when I go to Spain and not one of those fuckers knows English. Not one.

I have to talk very loudly to get by. Grrr!"

loudly and slowly....

i have seen the same sort of difficulties in portugal as well......

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