YDI for cursing when you're not supposed to.

"The person who don't even know english"? Sounds like yours could use some work.

I hear this sentiment all of the time. Most people that express it have never bothered to try and learn another language, and they have no idea how hard language learning is. I've been studying Spanish for six years and still can't claim to be completely Bilingual. Don't think that people who speak no English aren't trying to learn it; I have several Hispanic friends who have been trying quite hard.

#14 I think if you read over your response, you will see that your own English is horrible. I don't get why some people think you should know English to be in the USA, it's not like we're in England. This country is suposed to be diverse.

And there is no federally specified official language in the US largely for that reason. English happens to be the most frequently used, but it is all just a numbers game, and in many places english is a minority language. In any event, given that the OP is in a Canadian province, this is rather absurd, as Canada does have multiple official languages federally defined. Beyond that, most people that do come to a country for the long haul do end up learning the language, especially given that it is often a basic requirement for naturalization. Perhaps unsurprisingly, animosity in this context seems to be wholly isolated to monoglots. Incidentally, BC is also home to a very diverse set of minorities, so it's doubly bizarre to see this sort of policy applied. FYL for working for an ignorant employer.

@20# speaking as one actually from england even here we arent wholly english speaking, in london especially theres whole areas that are primarily polish, spanish, mandarin, bengali etc. plus I'd like to point out to the "learn the language of the country you're in" guy that english is made up mostly of other languages, stop being a retard and learn about the language yourself before you go judging.

It's still common decency to learn the language that is most widely spoken in the country you're residing in. In Germany we have this problem with a lot of Russian, Polish and Turkish people. And it gets even better when they start complaining about how it sucks here and how their country is so much better...in that case all I can ask myself is: Then WHY the f*ck did you come here? So I partially do share the sentiment of #14. I worked in the US (Texas) for a couple of months last year and it starts to get old really fast when there's people who only speak Spanish that get upset with you because it just so happens that it's one of the languages you DON'T speak. And #17, not all people who share #14's sentiment never tried to learn a foreign language. I am fluent in German, English and French and happen to understand a lot of Spanish and Italian as well because I learned Latin in highschool, also I can read the Russian and Greek alphabet...so I consider myself to have a rather broad education concerning languages and I still hate when people think they can immigrate to a country and don't even have to TRY to adapt. Speaking Spanish is fine, nobody's saying they shouldn't. But honestly, what could possibly hurt you when becoming bilingual? If anything it's an advantage...as far as immigrants in Germany go, I wouldn't give a crap if they're speaking to me in horrible German, it shows me they're trying and we tend to appreciate that. After all the more you talk and listen in a language, the easier you'll pick it up.

I completely agree, #14. If you are are visiting, then I am fine with you not learning the language; a few phrases would be good to know, and carrying around a pocket guide would be useful, but I completely understand. If you are new to a country, I also completely understand. I don't expect people who just arrived in the US to speak fluent English. Hopefully they will know a little, but that is not always possible; I personally know several refugees from several different countries, and they didn't have a chance to learn English before moving to the US. However, if you are here legitimately, there are plenty of ESL courses offered to help you adjust. The US may not have an official language, but it is by far the language most of its citizens speak, so out of respect to the country and its citizens, people should make an attempt to learn it. There may be pockets of other languages scattered around, but if you come to the US, you will most likely encounter English-only speaking people, and you should be prepared to communicate in their language. You should not move to a country expecting to change it, or for the people to cater to you. I would not move to Germany and expect everyone to speak English (even if many of them do); I would not expect to start my own little community of English-only Germans; I most certainly would not get attitude with Germans who knew only German. A country should have a unified language in order to be truly unified. Why do you think Mandarin exploded in use? There are so many dialects in China, but the rulers realized the need for a unified language/dialect. And while it may not be official, English has been the predominant language of the USA since its founding. I understand that it is very difficult for some if not many individuals to learn new languages; I am one of those people myself. However, I currently have no use or necessity to speak another language. If I planned to move to another country, I would study my bum off to learn my new country's language as well as possible; I would be terrified and embarrassed, and certainly not expect the people to cater to me. Should the US break out in war or its economy completely collapse in the future, and I have to flee, I may not know any of my new country's language at first. However, once in my new country, being thrown into the middle of a new language, I would certainly make every attempt to learn their language. I do not expect any immigrant to speak completely fluent and perfect English; I am completely accepting of strong accents (I know I would certainly have one if I learned another language); and I am understanding of broken English. My biggest problem are the people who do not even make an attempt. I have Italian great grandparents who landed in NY. They learned the language. They did not expect the US to cater to them and offer driving tests and official government documents in Italian, even though there was a huge population of Italians at the time. They learned English, and were still able to hold onto their Italian roots. They taught my grandmother Italian, but they certainly taught her English as well. My grandmother did not choose to carry on the Italian language in our family, but if she had, that would have been perfectly fine. I also have Polish and German ancestors who immigrated to this country, and again, they learned English. I don't know, maybe they had pretty strong accents and were hard to understand, but they still learned. They respected the country that was kind enough to take them in and learned the predominant language of its people. I used to live in Miami, and the situation down there is sickening. Not only do MANY of the people not speak a word of English, but they don't even try! And worse, they get attitude with you when you don't speak Spanish! (or their butchered version of Spanish) I learned more Spanish in my short time in Miami than many of them learn in their entire lives in the US! I didn't even try to learn Spanish, but you cannot help but pick it up; yet many of them cannot learn English because they refuse to; they are adamantly opposed to it! That is shameful and incredibly disrespectful! ESL classes should me mandatory, with mandatory progress points. I don't care if it takes 5 or 10 years, people in any part of the US should learn enough English to functionally speak it. PS - I know the OP lives in Canada, but obviously the situation also pertains to the US.

wow a german racist, thats a novel idea, jesus christ you lot do you even ever listen to yourself spewing out this bullshit?

So did all of you learn Cherokee?

blah blah blah blah... some ppl just like to hear themselves talk. Study your bum off.. lol. If bums studied, they wouldn't be standing at the side of the road asking for money.

hmm... maybe they are takng the time to learn english? as an adult, it takes longer, and depending on their living situation, it will take a LOT longer. ex: if their entire family still speaks spanish, and if where they work speaks some spanish, where are they going to learn english? some people don't have time to go take classes... my cousin recently won a green card in the national lottery, and he's been living here for 2 years. he's from a hispanic country, but hasn't been able to learn that much english, because, while he works places where english is spoken, many of his co-workers speak spanish. also, he lives alone in an apartment. he doesn't have time to take classes, he has to jobs. sometimes, people don't get the chance to learn english. besides. the whole IDEA of the united states is that it is originates different nationalities and has multiple cultures (although most people forget this. there are by far more racists in the United States than any other area. and that really makes no sense, considering the history of how our country came to be) Also - what if those people choose to live in their own little place? such as China Town, Little Italy, Little Poland, etc... those places EXIST because those people wanted the chance to live here, but maintain their heritage. Who are you to say that they MUST learn English? "to cater to the rest of the country" how about you cater to them? The world is globalized now, and especially just within the united states. The whole point of learning other languages is so you learn to accept other cultures and people, instead of being stupid and saying "english is the language of the US!" or "cater to english because it is the most widely spoken!" someone's ability to have time and to be able to learn a new language depends on so many things, so many factors of what is going on in their life. people shouldn't be so quick to judge.

the person in this case is actually in canada..

#47, Maybe if the Cherokee had territory in DC, I would have. Or if I had moved to Kentucky or Tennessee a few hundred years ago and they were kind enough to allow me to live with them, then I most certainly would have learned it.

I agree with #50: you have to have a pretty decent lifestyle to be able to go take classes to learn that many languages - not many people have that much leisure time to go learn something new, especially once they're out of school.

maybe they moved there for a better life..

i despise when people say that people should learn to "speak english!" when they hear someone struggling with the language or speaking another language. first of all, they probably are trying to learn the language of the country they are living in, but (surprise!) leaning a new language takes TIME. second of all, the majority of people who say this travel to other countries without giving two ***** about learning the language of that country. until people do that, they should keep their mouth shut. the other point is that them not speaking english usually isn't making YOUR life that much more complicated. if anything, its only going to make THEIR life more complicated because they moved somewhere without fully knowing the most common language of that country. chances are they are already struggling with it, probably trying to learn the language, and don't need extra attitude from a dick like you.

45- Where I live, there are also many Spanish-only speaking people. I hate that most of them don't make an effort to learn english, even when they have been living there their ENTIRE lives. My parents moved here not knowing any English, but they have been trying for so many years to get a grip on it. My brother and I have been helping them (because we are fluent in English and Spanish), and it just kills me to see people who have been living there since yet were children, and REFUSE to learn English. It's a wasted opportunity my parents wish they had had.

Do you go to, say, France and learn to speak French? Most people don't. I really don't understand how many Americans seem so entitled that they can speak English anywhere but if someone doesn't speak it, it automatically makes that person rude. Stop acting like a hypocrite.

Akai #27, if this happened to you, you'd say to the customer "Please go away, we only serve English speaking customer", or rather "Go home to your country, you don't belong here"...

You really are an idiot. The customer only spoke Spanish. The poster's only alternative would have been to decline them service. Why any other customer should be put off by the sight/sound of a shopworker helping a customer in Spanish, I have no idea. The poster earned their business $2300, and displayed very impressive customer service skills. Think a little, please.

I think what 27 was saying was that other customers get irritated when the woman asks them if they speak Spanish so she doesn't have to speak English. But that doesn't seem like it was the case here. It sounds like the customer made it clear that they couldn't speak English, and the employee responded appropriately. If anything the employee should have been rewarded for this.

One day in the future, someone will tell you "Life would be so much simpler if you just learned Mandarin"

#32, I completely agree with you! Your post makes me think you must live in Miami. If so, you have by deepest sympathy!

so basically you are saying that people should learn your language because it is better? why don't you just learn spanish? then no one would have to hear you complain anymore :)

I understand that it annoys you when employees are speaking in a language that you don't understand instead of helping you. But honestly, "[i]f she was a tourist well still shame on her for at least not having the basic concept of the language"? Really? If you had the opportunity to travel to France or Germany, would you? Do you speak French and German? Probably not. I seriously doubt you would say, "sorry, I can't go on a two week trip without learning the language first." Think before you berate someone for something that is completely natural.