Should immigrants should learn to follow their chosen countries culture?

Question

By this I mean the all the lovely ex pats who live in countries like Spain and are proud not to speak a word of spanish. You know the ones that open British theme pubs and serve british food. Or maybe Britain should have taken on the countries cultures of that they took over during the time of the british empire, instead of just getting them to join the British Army

Perhaps now its a bit hypocritical of us to expect any person from other countries who emigrate to us to follow our culture instead of their own. I mean we even complain if they speak english with a foriegn accent, but then you turn the tv on to Marbella Belles on a Tuesday night and see a woman who is proud, after living in Spain for 5 years, only being able to speak two words in Spanish. And mis pronounce them.

Hobbes - I have no problems communicating in my native tongue - and I am on the ENGLISH speaking Yahoo Answers in Great Britain not United States (note - there isnt one for america, just United States). These two are joined as they are both English speaking nations

Jellicoe - No I'm certainly not jealous, I hope to work abroad at some point in the near future - I will just make sure that I speak the language of the country I go to so that I dont look like a total **** that things they are above everybody but really looks like a completely ignorant fool

Answer 1

Your point about British ex-pats is spot on and well made, I was shocked to meet people exactly like that, still getting the Daily Mail delivered to them in Spain, and complaining about the government they pay no tax to.

Migrants do not need to assimilate ("make themselves the same as") to the culture of the new country, but common politeness, and the desire to get the most out of the new situation financially and socially, suggests that they should try to fit in as well as possible. Guess what, that's why the huge majority of immigrants to the UK make huge efforts to learn English!

EDIT to a poster above, you criticise someone's English mistakes, what is " yahoo answer's "????

Answer 2

In defense of people from other countries, I imagine it's hard not embrace American culture when it's constantly being force fed to them through the various forms of media (including the web).

If I lived in a third world country and saw images of how "wealthy" Americans are I would probably hate America too. Think about this, just watch any of the shows on MTV, particulalrly my supersweet 16. I live here and I want to puke when I see the poor values being instilled in these kids. (poor little diva didn't get her Range Rover).

Here is an example from my own personal experience. When I was in the Navy, I saw a Mc Donalds in the middle of Dubai. At that moment I began to understand why the US is so disliked.

How is a person from Dubai supposed to embrace thier culture when they have to walk by McDonalds and all the other Western (American brand names on a daily basis). Just something to think about.

Answer 3

Yes. I wish the lovely Mexican Ex-Pats who live in the US would speak English while they are here. I have known people (went to school with them) who acted like they couldn't speak any English(they were fluent in school) and got pissed off at me because I called them on it. If I didn't/don't know them I don't assume either way. I know several families that have been here for 30 years and the parents are proud that they don't speak or understand a word of English. They always have family with them to act as translators for them. I would think that it would get tiresome after a while. I just don't understand why people do this. You have made a point I have been trying to make for years!

Answer 4

Absolutely true, during many years, people even in BBC had being amazingly aggressive with tourist and immigrants and now that 300 000 English are in Spain they are making one by one the mistakes they had been complaining about earning themselves an stunning fame of closed mind, uneducated and narrow view, one friend of mine sells Cable in Spain and English wants urgently the cable waiting to see Big Brother...when they buy a house, before to know anything they want to know the distance to the "local pub"...and my friend...we are speaking about people in their 50s and 60s, while children of small villages in Spain speaks already some English, French and German for example...so at the End it happens that outside of England suddenly they discover that the cosmopolitan educated London is built buy foreigners much more than themselves...thanks God...

Answer 5

Yes...Life would be boring if we were all the same. I love different and want it to stay that way..I wish people would get over it and focus more on stopping hatred and racism and crime etc..Im American and am not proud of that because our country is full of hate and that is something i don't want to be a part of or even put in relation to which i am because i live in america.

Answer 6

Immigrants should learn to assimilate, and this includes the language. If they don't want to speak English - a must know for the business world and spoken in every nation - they shouldn't bother applying for US citizenship either.

Answer 7

Certainly immigrants should. Heck, even visitors or residents should make some effort to learn a little of the language and respect the culture.

Answer 8

When in Rome, do like the Romans....
If I moved aborad, I would deliberately learn the language and culture so I could be a part of the community. Just as much as I would expect someone coming here to subscribe to our values, language and culture.

Answer 9

Speaking as someone who lived in Tokyo for 4 years, if you don't learn the native culture/language you are really just shorting yourself on an otherwise incredible experience.

Answer 10

yes of course u should learn first the language like me i didn't spoken English 2years ago. i went to learn still continuous. how u can met the people,find a job....if you couldn't speak the language of the country. culture we need to learn,understand and respect. following no it's depends should be condition sinequanon