It was in the news today that a local authority have put up road signs in Polish to help Polish migrants.
If they are coming to live in this country why can't they learn English? Is this just another
example of barmy councils bending over backwards for the needs of a few and ignoring the majority?
What do you think about it?
2007-02-15 03:33:17 · 27 answers · asked by David 5 in News & Events ➔ Current Events
Oh dear Paul B - Note that you don't accept e-mail so here goes.
Yes - There were Polish helping in the Battle of Britian & we are grateful to them and the other allies for their help. But you miss the point - If it was not for UK standing alone THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO RAF FOR THEM TO JOIN IN THE FIRST PLACE. As for the stats you said well, Many reasons for that, including you may be comparing fully trained Polish pilots to 'newbys' - remember many of the RAF pilots in the Battle / Brit had hardly any air time. Also there was the issue that there was a distrabution of fighters - many of the allied air-man were in the south while others were around the country.
As for 'sending them home' - After Hitler was defeated they WANTED to go home to their freed country.
"not allowed to march in the Victory parades" ??? Never heard of that are you making it up? Also they ARE remembered Nov 11th each year along with all those others who helped in WW2.
Get your facts straight.
2007-02-15 04:26:12 · update #1
Probably like alot of people I work with many Polish and find them to be hard working and I think they are very welcome here.
It is totally unnecessary to have roadsigns in Polish as those that have come to live here almost always are very good at speaking and reading English. Those that aren't can soon learn the few words that are used on road signs.
2007-02-18 10:10:34 · answer #1 · answered by seamer100 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well this shows how dim people can be, because ALL European road-signs have a standard format if they are related to specific warnings or instructions, and they can be understood internationally.
This means that any "Polish road-signs" would have to be additional ones for specific purposes, such as may be found at docks, where trucks have to enter specific areas, go into specific lanes of traffic or follow quite complex instructions. In such cases, it is quite common to find signs written also in French and German, alongside English, which are the three other principal langauges of the EU. Because Polish is a Slavic language, it will be understood by Czech, Slovaks, Hungarians, Poles, Croatians, Bosnians, Albanians and people from other countries also.
That said, there are certain road-signs which are not restricted to symbols alone, but use words, and these can be very difficult for foreign-drivers. Where there is a high concentration of foreign-drivers such as at docks, airports and industrial areas, anything which assists traffic-flow and safety is a good thing, not a bad one.
There is now a very high volume of traffic moving backwards and forwards to and from the EU, and anything which assists that process is entirely welcome.
Perhaps the questioner should take the time to read better-quality journalism and learn the INTERNATIONALLY AGREED road-sign symbols, before accusing anyone of anything.
2007-02-16 23:10:26 · answer #2 · answered by musonic 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The reason supporting the use of a handful of temporary road signs was also explained. In recent months Polish drivers have driven past English closure signs causing chaos on busy road re-construction sites whilst also putting the workforce at risk. The cost to the taxpayer due to the lost time alone makes it well worth putting out a handful of signs. If a road worker was to be killed in such an incident the cost to society would be massive. No question that the County Council did the right thing. Other highway authorities should take note.
2007-02-16 06:09:22 · answer #3 · answered by Niacnon 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It does seem strange. However if it prevents accidents or makes our lives easier then it can't all be bad.
People should learn the language of the country where they live/work. However maybe it's all to easy for us to say since we are lucky that English is such a widely spoken language.
Going back many years places of interest around the world had erect signs written in English for holiday makers and foreign workers.
In Wales and place in Ireland they have signs written in different languages. Likewise on the borders of some European countries.
It is a blame on the local authorities for proving so much help that there is no real need to learn english. Having said that anger should be directed towards our leaders and councils, not the poor Polish Truck Driver who's trying to earn his bread.
2007-02-15 03:43:36 · answer #4 · answered by Mariam 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Barmy Council. Most of them are just potty, and filled with PC do-gooders. Many Ukrainians came to live in and around Derby during the war. Derby library was still filled with Ukrainian books in 1971 when I last lived there. You are right; immigrants should learn English, and councils should start concentrating on real issues.
2007-02-18 06:09:25 · answer #5 · answered by David S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
next time you go to spain are you gonna learn spanish?
when my polish grandad was a teen he was told if he didnt join the german army then his family would be killed. he had no choice, he has not seen or heard from his family in poland since that day.
when he got over here he led a group of lads and men and snuck over to the english trenches in the night with white flags and their hands up and crying. they took with them maps and plans from the german army. 2 of his friends were shot on the way and 2 others turned back as they were too scared.
he has stayed in this country ever since and will not return home as he has no home back in poland. he wont talk about the war.
he speaks perfect english, german, italian and of course polish.
how many of you can say you are fluent in 4 languages? he is a very proud man and rarely speaks anything other than english. he doesnt need polish signs but i'm sure he would appreciate them for the other polish that have not learnt the language yet.
he has just celebrated his 80th birthday and now needs an operation on his heart or he will die. he has already had 2 triple heart bypasses, the last was 10 years ago.
i am so proud of him for being so brave and having the guts to do the right thing. if he had not switched sides then i would not be here.
the polish come here to work, not as refugees or trying to get a free houseand money for all their families. they come here as skilled workers and are headhunted in poland.
again get all your facts right before condemning them.
2007-02-15 12:07:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
So is it really for Polish migrants or Polish lorry drivers? Pity you didn't give a web address where we could check it out for ourselves.
Having said that, in parts of Tower Hamlets the roadsigns are in English and Bengali; and the Bangladeshis have lived here for forty years. In fact the majority were born here.
2007-02-15 12:04:03 · answer #7 · answered by pwei34 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In my country, we've got everything for British people... English named restaurants, pubs, road signs... And nobody complains about it coz we're very helpfull to tourists. We don't want them to get confused when they come over here.We want them to have a good time and enjoy... I don't say they have to speak my language if they wanna come here!! They can even buy their own land and put their own flag up to their roof... Noone complains coz we're indulgent... We like to help them... Those people coming to your country to earn money and look after their family. Unless i know wrong, they work really hard maybe 24 hours a day... So how do you think they will find a time to sit down and learn English. But don't worry they will speak in English at the end coz they live with English people...Don't get too upset, i can understand your concern about it.. . Don't be so touchy.. It's just a help to other people...Everybody has a right to speak their own language.. You can't say they have to speak yours... that's not fair. But still at the end, you end up learning the language coz you have got to communicate with other people. when you go out shopping, when you need to ask something...etc..
2007-02-15 18:34:22 · answer #8 · answered by :( 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
i imagine its slightly daft, as in the previous suggested Welsh is an good language and there are more beneficial Welsh people in the united kingdom than Polish. in trouble-free terms six hundred,000 polish! why substitute signs and indications for a minority? whos going to study them?! I say all signs and indications in the majority community languages, English and Welsh.
2016-12-04 05:17:44 · answer #9 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In France, where I live, there are numerous road signs in English - especially in the areas near Channel ports - reminding drivers to keep right and warning of other hazards. We don't hear British visitors ranting about 'political correctness'. Oh no, that's different, isn't it?
2007-02-18 18:00:32 · answer #10 · answered by edwin 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋