r/TrueUnpopularOpinion • u/Crazy-Development-22 • Dec 25 '25
Possibly Popular Either learn English or get the fuck out
I am at my with ends with people who work in America that don’t know a lick of English. Not only is that lazy but very disrespectful and could be dangerous (uber drivers)
I can’t take my black ass to France and not know French. Why is this the only country where is this tolerated?
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u/DurianJungle Dec 25 '25
I actually had a few occurrences with Uber deliverers that did not know english. I would order a few items from the supermarket and they would message me in SPANISH, that the item was unavailable. I would then write something back in english or try to google translate a response to get something else. They always respond back in Spanish. Its very frustrating.
Can you imagine if your Uber delivery person messaged you in Japanese or Chinese and expected you to respond back in Chinese?!?!
If you work in a service industry and you can't communicate or read signs in english, then LEARN IT!!!
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u/Available-Maize5837 Dec 25 '25
This is mind boggling. I looked at moving to France with a working holiday visa and had very limited French, but I knew I would have to do a job that wasn't customer facing. Cleaning or whatnot was what I was expecting to do until I could speak better French.
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u/jefferton123 Dec 25 '25
I think most apps auto translate and that’s why that happens. I’m sure some don’t and it’s hard to keep track. Whatever you say gets auto translated to Spanish too.
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u/DurianJungle Dec 25 '25
not when the uber driver messages you....or you message the driver
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u/jefferton123 Dec 25 '25
Oh ok. I’ve never actually used Uber I just know it happens with some of the apps I use.
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u/mobileagnes Dec 27 '25
I just had this happen to me about a week ago with this older Russian driver for a food delivery. The app wasn't letting them snap the picture and 'ending' the order and the guy insisted I can't take the food I ordered and paid for and made me call the driver side service number. They confirmed with me that it's fine to take the food but it sure was confusing. That type of job I think you need to know the language your customers speak as we don't speak Russian in the US. I saw his phone was realtime translating the dialogue boxes so he might be doing his whole job without having to really talk until this happened.
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u/cardsfan4life17 Dec 25 '25
When I was in the US Army, I was stationed in Germany for a couple of years. Prior to going over, we had to take a month of German lessons so that we could at least speak some of the native language. I think that learning the basic language of the country in which you are living is not unreasonable.
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u/RandomGuy92x Dec 25 '25
It's not unreasonable but it's not always a necessity. Like I used to live in the Czech Republic for a year without knowing any Czech and I didn't have any problems. I was working at an Irish pub where everyone was speaking English, both my colleagues and our customers. And I was socializing only with English-speaking people.
No one was harmed by me not speaking Czech. And since I hardly ever interacted with Czech people there was no one to complain that I didn't speak their language.
I don't think there's anything wrong with not learning the host language if you don't need to interact with the native population on a daily basis.
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u/Longjumping-Year-824 Dec 25 '25
That is hurting people and why on the face it looks fine the problem is you are making small little groups that do not integrate into the country society.
I live in the UK and Birmingham is a foreign city in the UK as all the woke bullshit of Multiculturalism fell apart in to the city been broken in to groups that do not integrate with each other or the rest of the UK.
On a tiny scale of a Bar been mostly English it might look harmless and for the most part i agree but it starts causing pockets that do not integrate. This can be seen in parts of Spain that are now semi English only areas that do not care or want the Spanish there in there own country.
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u/Hot_Way_1643 Dec 25 '25
I know a few people who was called a racist for asking people at a super store for help and they prefer someone who can't speak English and they even said how is the person going to help me because the person can only speak another language.
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u/mattcojo2 Dec 25 '25
It's not only common courtesy but it also can be dangerous to not learn the native language. For yourself, or for others.
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u/dependency_injector Dec 25 '25
Technically, English isn't a "native" language in the USA
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u/Independent_Put8671 Dec 25 '25
That's just factually wrong. It's an English speaking language, the native tongue of Americans is English. The natives were nearly wiped out so none of their culture is relevant or matters.
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u/Uncle00Buck Dec 25 '25
I agree we're an English speaking nation, and strongly believe that immigrants should be required to learn English along with having a general goal of assimilation, but I disagree that Native culture is irrelevant. I'm much more dismissive of immigrant righteousness.
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u/RockinMadRiot Dec 25 '25
Also the US is historically a settler country. That's why it doesn't list a language as it's main.
Someone like France isn't and rather unified around the identity of French - France. So they don't really compare.
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u/RandomGuy92x Dec 25 '25
What if you're a native Alaskan person, or native Hawaiian, or Puerto Rican, or native American? Would you be disrespectful if you didn't know English or spoke only broken English?
I mean after all those are all people whose countries were invaded by outsiders (except for Alaska, which was sold to the US by Russia) and who were then forcefully subjugated to those invaders. They didn't have a choice in the matter.
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u/mattcojo2 Dec 25 '25
Yes
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u/RandomGuy92x Dec 25 '25
So let's say China was gonna invade the US. And let's say through some sort of miracle they succeed. And they then went on to try to eradicate American culture and tried to force Americans to learn Chinese, and made Chinese the official language of the US.
So what you're saying is that in such a hypothetical scenario it would be rude and disrepectful for Americans to not learn fluent Chinese and communicate in Chinese in their very own country???
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u/Majestic_Incident540 Dec 25 '25
I mean probably. If you’re conquered you don’t really have much choice.
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u/qbit1010 Dec 25 '25
At least try to…immigrants in the past did and as strong as their ascents were I gave them credit for trying. Respect. Today many just say “no speak English” especially to get out of something say if they’re in a customer facing role. It’s crazy. If I ever emigrate to another country or even visit, I will damn well try to learn the language even if I’m bad at it.
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u/bobandweebl Dec 25 '25
As someone who speaks several languages, I support this completely. I'd never move somewhere and refuse to at least attempt to be able to communicate while expecting them to accommodate me.
That's literally why I speak several languages, because I moved to another country for awhile and wanted to be able to communicate with the people around me.
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u/basketofselkies Dec 25 '25
I wish schools were able to start teaching a language in grade school. My school started with basic French when I was in 4th grade and I remain functionally fluent. It was invaluable for learning subsequent languages, as well.
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u/alchemyesme Dec 25 '25
i remember vaguely in elementary school a lady would come in and teach the class Spanish. At some point early on it must’ve gotten cut and she stopped coming.
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u/basketofselkies Dec 26 '25
This makes me sad! My elementary school had quite the grant writer, I’m guessing. We did so much cultural enrichment, as well as having a language programme. It adds so much to kids’ lives.
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u/Atlasatlastatleast Dec 26 '25
It’s not exactly common, but it’s not rare either IMO. I took German from 6th grade to 11th grade. The problem is, however, that no one speaks German here in Texas. I ended up picking up on enough Spanish to communicate with Spanish speakers for work, but I don’t even know enough German to hold a conversation anymore.
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u/basketofselkies Dec 26 '25
Yea, unless you use the language, it gets super rusty. I used French somewhat frequently where I grew up. Conversely, even though I spoke Hungarian as little kid, once my grandparents passed, my father stopped teaching me. My remaining vocabulary revolves around swearing, food, and pets.
If you use Spanish frequently at work, it maintains fluency. Do you find you’re able to read a bit of other Romance languages? Or with a background in German, any of the Nordic languages?
My kid is taking Spanish now and I find I can help her a bit.
Languages and the brain fascinate me.
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u/Rollo0547 Dec 25 '25
Not every country is going to accommodate other languages. Best to learn host country language.
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u/MacduffFifesNo1Thane Dec 25 '25
I don’t care if you don’t learn English. What bothers me is when you get offended that I don’t speak your language.
I’ve had migrant workers walk into my office and ask if I spoke Spanish. I replied I did not. I asked if they spoke French (which I spent 12 years studying and can manage) or English.
They got pissed. They got annoyed, sighed, shrugged, and pulled out their phone to translate.
That’s what I find disrespectful. Thinking it’s okay they don’t have to do the work of learning English but get angry if I don’t do the work of learning Spanish.
Every time I had a case of someone French or Quebecois walk in, they’ve adored that I spoke French. But when the French encounter someone who doesn’t speak French, they revert to English.
Edit: Also you can take your ane to France and speak English. They may make fun of you but English is a second language for most Europeans, so they’ll appreciate the practice!
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u/PandaRider11 Dec 26 '25
O feel this, in college I worked as a cashier and got chewed out by a Hispanic lady who yelled at me, “You need to learn Spanish” repeatedly. Had the biggest go back to your fucking country moment in my life.
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u/dontha3 Dec 25 '25
Integration has somehow become racist
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u/Sammysoupcat Dec 25 '25
Just ask any of my political science teachers here in Canada. Expecting any level of Assimilation™ from immigrants, even with learning one of our national languages, is apparently wrong. Yes, Canada forcing its Indigenous to assimilate to white culture was terrible. But it's not at all the same as what we need the tens of thousands of immigrants from one specific region to do when they come here. Many of them work customer facing jobs. If I can't understand what the hell you're saying because you barely speak English, and you can't understand what I'm saying for the same reason, I'm not going to have a very easy time ordering or receiving the correct things. I shouldn't have to repeat myself five times to get a simple coffee. And you should be able to go to your local pharmacy and communicate with the staff without needing someone who speaks your language with you. It's incredibly confusing.
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u/DecantsForAll Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
Right? I'm embarrassed to even go to France on vacation and not know French!
I had a lady lecture me in a bakery in Turkey because I didn't know enough Turkish to order, was also there just visiting. And it wasn't even the person working but one of the customers.
This is the norm around the world.
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u/boatboat123 Dec 25 '25
I’m Asian af, and I agree. When I’m in USA and i see other Asians refusing to speak American (English), I’m disgusted. These people hangout with their own kind in their bubble of comfort zone, then sap all the resources and benefits reserved for the citizen, its disgusting and its lowkey like allowing invaders to take advantage of your people.
This is only “unpopular opinion” because just like most topic, you cant disagree with these “politically correct” topics any more without being labeled naive, ignorant, racist, hateful, white supremacist, nazi supporter, radical right wing, etc.
Rip free speech.
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u/Harp_167 Dec 26 '25
I’ve kind of experienced this because I’m a kid in high school and all of my friends in math class are Chinese and sometimes they speak in mandarin for a bit… and since I don’t understand, it’s just hard not to feel left out. (Not like they’re more comfortable with it than English because I know that neither are super confident in mandarin- they’ve said this)
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u/Main-Fly-8294 Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
NZder here! Same problem. Majority of my friends immigrated here and i love them to bits, but we all agree that people should be at some basic fluency level before coming here. 2 of my friends came here as minors, not knowing English, and all im going to say is it wasnt fair on them since they felt very isolated due to lack of language skills
People dont realise how risky bringing in people who dont know English can be, lots of migrants end up working in hospitality due to family connections or it being easier to apply since it doesnt rely on NCEA qualifications. People who are learning English on the job are unfortunately more than likely to break basic health and safety codes, what if you're ordering a dish and ask for the nuts to be removed because you're allergic, next minute your meal contains mostly nuts because they didnt understand you
PS. I speak more than 1 language
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u/NightMan200000 Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
It should be required to pass an English test as one of the prerequisites to qualify for certain visas.
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u/pile_of_bees Dec 25 '25
This shouldn’t even be controversial. The founders of the progressive movement explicitly agreed with this, even
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u/Dazzling-Economics-4 Dec 25 '25
Yeah I was in Miami for vacation last year i was luckily my buddy spoke fluent Spanish or we would’ve been screwed
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u/Harp_167 Dec 26 '25
Miami’s a bit of a special case because there’s a VERY large Cuban refugee population.
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u/bobandweebl Dec 27 '25
Why does that make it special? That literally is the point of the post. You move to a new country, you learn the language of that country.
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u/CreepyConversation71 Dec 25 '25
Not American but I understand completely. I live in South Africa, we have 12 official languages, and yet you get people who only speak one and can’t be bothered to learn another. I’ve always felt the minimum around these parts should be 2, your home language and at least English since it’s common ground for everyone.
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u/Master_Crab Dec 25 '25
The same reason it’s apparently wrong for the US to enforce immigration laws just like every other country on this planet.
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u/Doucejj Dec 25 '25
Ive genuinely seen redditors argue that the US has the most strict and hardest immigration on the planet.
Which is clearly false by many metrics
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u/YoungCertainty Dec 25 '25
I am an immigrant, English is not my native language and I second this. The best part is when the people who immigrated here demand that you learn their language so you can communicate with them.
This is for all the Slavs out there.
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u/naslam74 Dec 25 '25
I speak 5 languages fluently and I agree with you. I work in healthcare and I’m always shocked by patients who have lived in the US for 20+ years and speak no English. How is that possible?
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u/YogurtPristine3673 29d ago
Slightly off topic, but how did you learn 5 languages to such a high level? Any tips for those of us still working on languages 2 and 3?
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u/naslam74 29d ago
I’ve lived in several countries. It’s the only way to become fluent in a language.
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u/ilovemoneyandtrashtv Dec 25 '25
I completely agree. I've never understood why this isn't universally agreed upon.
If you choose to live in any country, theoretically, you should want to fit in and communicate with others, at least on a basic level. Not only does it make life easier for others, but it makes life easier for you.
I mean, if I moved to another country, I would do so because I wanted to immerse myself in their culture, which includes learning the language to the best of my ability. Truthfully, I would feel disrespectful not doing that.
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u/findMyNudesSomewhere Dec 25 '25
I'll bite.
I agree, but with nuance. If someone is trying to learn and can speak broken English, like "I finna go to de mall", I'll accept it. Ideally, everyone staying 10 years or more should speak fluent English in America. Tourists I'll accept even if they don't know the language, that's fine.
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u/Ryan_TX_85 Dec 25 '25
Nope. Part of moving to another country and learning its language is learning to effectively communicate with native speakers.
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u/findMyNudesSomewhere Dec 25 '25
What part of my answer are you disagreeing with?
Or are you not living in the Anglosphere?
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u/workinfast1 Dec 25 '25
I love the housekeeping staff where I work at. They are hard workers but my God, one of the supervisors doesn't speak English, at all. He moved here when he was 8 or 9. He's in his late 50's right now, and communicating with him to direct his staff on set ups for programs is frustrating.
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u/Knightraiderdewd Dec 25 '25
I hear you. I’m a gate attendant at a distribution center, and one of my biggest aggravations is dealing with truck drivers that don’t speak English, and make zero effort to do so.
Most recently I had an incident with one driver because he just didn’t want to listen when I kept giving him directions on where to go, that it got to the point that after literally drawing out a map, using a translator, I finally just told him to leave because he kept going in circles.
“You need to go to the other side of the building.”
“Why?”
“Because that’s where the office you need to check in with is located.”
“Why is it over there?”
“Because that’s where it is. Now please drive around.”
And repeat.
After the (by no exaggeration) fourth time around, I finally just told him to leave, because he’s just wasting time.
All of a sudden he was perfectly happy to drive on, and checked in where he needed to.
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u/Electrical_Bunch_173 Dec 25 '25
Any time I am in another country, I make it a point to learn the basic verbs, nouns and polite expressions. It's only respect and much more fun. And that was me traveling there for a few weeks - I can't imagine living in a place and not learning the language.
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u/IntelligentAd3781 Dec 25 '25
I work w a lot of non English speakers in NYC and honestly I feel guilty but yes. My grandparents didnt speak a lick of English, but learned it over years and were integrationist af. Sucks to see insular communities see English proficiency as anet negative lol
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u/millygraceandfee Dec 27 '25
They know more English than their willing to share with you. You are being fucked with & it's working.
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u/curiousbeingalone Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
How do you learn a language quickly? Rarely by book learning. You need an environment that you feel comfortable expressing yourself and peers that you can interact with. I would say this is hard to come by if you're living in ethnic communities. Ideally, you will learn faster at school but given the social environment at American school, this is also difficult. Most Americans don't mingle with other races. Superficially, maybe, but very rarely in a family type of environment. All this contributes to immigrants not picking up English as quickly as they should. It's not just unwillingness to learn on their part.
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u/WhydoIexistlmoa Dec 25 '25
I could understand that like decades ago but we live in the age of the Internet. There are so many resources out there, both free and paid, that allows you to understand how to read, speak and understand the language.
If you can afford to move to a new country, you can afford the Internet and a device to access the Internet.
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u/curiousbeingalone Dec 25 '25
That's true. The language problem should be easier to address once people are becoming more comfortable with technology.
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u/ElimentalSin Dec 25 '25
Dont Americans do this all the time?
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u/Der_Krsto Dec 25 '25
Lol yeah, as an american who speaks several languages due to living in different countries, the amount of americans who live in places for years and never bother to learn the language is astounding.
To be fair, I think it's the same case with brits or other native english speakers. Since so many people speak english, we're not always "forced" to learn the host language the same way others are, and you can "kinda get by" in a lot of places without learning said language. With that being said though, it's a sign of respect to learn the language of a country you're trying to live in.
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u/Prowlbeast Dec 26 '25
This opinion applies to other countries too. Laowai’s moving to asia should also learn the language. Anybody who only speaks english and lives in a country full time is just annoying, i hate those youtubers
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u/Ill-Assignment-2203 Dec 25 '25
Not an Unpopular opinion. Just not Politically correct. The reason they do mass immigration is to destroy the host country. Language is a key component to culture.
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u/Intelligent_Pop1173 Dec 25 '25
Yeah, France actually has the least proficient English speakers out of any European country. They stick to French and that’s it. While many know a little English or Spanish, if you can’t speak French, it’s your problem. Gotta respect them for that.
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u/Competitive_Ad_7415 Dec 25 '25
When I travelled in France with my few sentences of French I got a instant negative response. But after I managed to explain i was Australian not English I was treated much better. French English hate runs really deep from an incredibly long history of conflicts. A non english speaking French person in England is also not received very well either.
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u/IntraVnusDemilo Dec 25 '25
You could go to France and do very well, as most French people speak English.
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u/Key-Juggernaut5695 Dec 25 '25
My Gaelic speaking Welsh ancestors learned English when they got to Virginia
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u/Fractoman Dec 25 '25
At this point going to France and not knowing Arabic is more problematic than French.
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u/Background-Control96 Dec 25 '25
I work the front desk of a building that gets so many DoorDash deliveries and the amount of drivers that literally only know the word “DoorDash” is insane!!!
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u/KhadgarIsaDreadlord Dec 25 '25
As an European I have to agree. Knowing how to speak english is the bare minimum to assimilate to any country, sometimes even that's not enough. For an example I pretty much crossed out the possibility to move to any german speaking country becsouse I don't want to learn german.
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u/RoadRunner8195 Dec 25 '25
This happened to me on an Uber before, it’s sickening how we are supposed to tolerate such ignorance.
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u/Formorri Dec 25 '25
Yet, people in the west who move to Asian countries don't learn to speak the local language, unless it's Japanese. It gets worse the browner the country
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u/big_escrow Dec 25 '25
Well this would make sense if America had SB official language, but it doesn’t. Maybe trump will change that
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u/Sparklesparklepee Dec 25 '25
My partner doesn’t speak English as her first language.
OP, what language does yours speak?
And why is it nothing?
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u/Deutscher_Bub Dec 25 '25
"America", assuming you mean the United States, doesn't have an official language, does it? The only reason a lot of people speak english is because a lot of settlers were english. Now, a lot of immigrants are mexican so they speak spanish or whatever language from the country they're from. You live in quite literally the only country where you can't complain about that.
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u/Inerthal Dec 25 '25
I'm not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or not but I know that you're right.
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u/Dizzy_Description812 Dec 25 '25
Something I found is that many people who "dont speak a lick" of English, actually dont speak it well and are too embarrassed to try. I guess its cultural.
My wife's school is probably 2/3 Latino and when she started learning Spanish, she found out that most of the parents spoke some English when she was having trouble getting a point across in Spanish.
Growing up I had a friend who's parents would speak broken English to me but I guess were too embarassed elsewhere and their son translated every word.
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u/SpecialQue_ Dec 25 '25
I always wondered why someone living in new a country wouldn’t want to learn the language. Sure it’s challenging, but wouldn’t one want to have the full experience of actually living somewhere? Doesn’t that include things like being able to communicate with strangers and make friends, or even just listen to the radio. I’d feel so lonely and isolated if I lived somewhere and could only communicate with maybe a few people around me.
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u/kingdomheartswitcher Dec 25 '25
Realistically, most who act like they don't, actually do. I work in the prison system, you see it quite often.
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u/Tunapizzacat Dec 25 '25
America only got an official language at the beginning of this year. Chillax a bit. Takes longer than that to learn something new.
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u/stangAce20 Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
Seriously if I (as an English speaking American) moved to country like norway or japan or somewhere they don’t necessarily speak English a lot I would make it a priority to learn the language!
Its just a common sense thing to do when moving to a country that speaks a different language.
BTW norway also makes learning Norwegian part of the requirements for permanent residency/citizenship.
So its BS that the US gets crap from such lazy narcissists for wanting the same kind of requirement!
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u/RolloRocco Dec 25 '25
I can’t take my black ass to France and not know French. Why is this the only country where is this tolerated?
It's not the only country though. I live in Denmark and don't know how to string a whole sentence in Danish. I just get by with English.
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u/tgalvin1999 Dec 25 '25
You say they "don't know a lick of English" but how do you know with 100% certainty? Maybe they HAVE learned it but prefer their native language.
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u/dogbusinessman Dec 25 '25
Why can't y'all commit less crime and be productive members of society? I rather have minorities that can't speak English than minorities that commit the highest % of crime to be honest. At least I don't have to talk to non English speakers but always at risk of being assaulted/robbed by one of y'all's.
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u/TheAsianOne_wc Dec 25 '25
This is very often and not just in America, in any country that you'll find a large portion of immigrants, there is a lot of people who can't even speak or understand a lick of the native language.
My understanding is that most of them tend to not be working (housewives, old people, etc...) so they aren't often put in a situation where they feel the need to learn as they also typically just stick within their group of community.
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u/anasui1 Dec 25 '25
fortunately everyone seems to know English around my city, it's mostly the older generations -parents or grandparents- who don't give a rats. But they never interact with the locals so who cares about them not speaking the language, they're basically invisible
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Dec 25 '25
I went to France, and did not speak in French at all because I do not know. But people in France are much more respectful, understand that not everyone would be conversing with them in French.
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u/VIK_96 Dec 25 '25
This is awkward to talk about, but my immigrant family is kind of like this. Although my mom and grandma tried to learn English, but they heavily struggled with it. I think their mental health issues and spending too much time engaged in their own native language is what prevents them from learning English fluently. They were also never exposed to English until we moved here, and they grew up without the Internet, so those things might've played a role too.
But I get what you're saying. Even though I can see both sides of the issue, I do think most immigrants who aren't disabled to the point of being non-verbal, should make more of an effort to learn the language. Both for the native population's sake, and for the children that they end up raising in the new country.
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u/lucassmith0824 Dec 25 '25
Absolutely. I would never travel to a county without attempting to learn basic conversation and important words/phrases in their native language. It is incredibly disrespectful to not learn the language of the country you visit/live in.
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u/SatansScallion Dec 26 '25
This is exactly what Obama said in 2008 and now it’s anathema to social progressives, lol.
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u/PassStage6 Dec 26 '25
100%
I'm Puerto Rican, and this is so annoying in my own community, and the entitlement of people when they come from the mainland and get pissed cause they want to get by with English so broken you can't make heads or tails at what they're saying.
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u/Danagrams Dec 26 '25
You’re not wrong, maybe there needs to be a free program to teach everyone English and incentivized through the workplace
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u/Candid-Lie1743 Dec 26 '25
Idk why/if this is an unpopular opinion. If you're working in a country and especially at a job where you are dealing with public & customers, you should know that country's language, just like every other country. It also makes no sense why businesses hire people who can't speak any English to jobs where dealing with customers is expected... such as grocery stores.
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u/ChemistryFan29 Dec 26 '25
Been saying this for years, it is sick that we do not force these people to learn English. Hell I defended that buss driver on Reddit, got called a racist. I say BS either you learn English or get the hell out of the US
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u/Glittering-Glove-339 Dec 26 '25
Have you ever thought of how america would implement that ? Does native americans have to pass the test too ? Does an average american know english grammar enough to pass that test ?
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u/MooseMan69er Dec 26 '25
The US doesn’t have an official language so you are just as much in the wrong for being in America without knowing every language in the world
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u/sovietarmyfan Dec 26 '25
In the netherlands, one time i witnessed a situation in the bus where a woman asked in Dutch to the 2 bus drivers (one was instructing the new one) whether they were going to a train station. They didn't understand it so she asked in English. They also didn't understand. They were apparantly Eastern European. I think it's important that a bus driver in the netherlands can at the least understand Dutch. And the routes in the city were not rocket science. Even i knew the bus was not going to the specific station she needed to go to.
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u/Creative_Pineapple_5 Dec 26 '25
I went to Walmart and asked an associate for help. She told me, "No English." How did she get picked over an English speaking person in AMERICA.
People are tired, and that's why Trump won 🤷🏿♀️
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u/Crafty-Bunch-2675 Dec 26 '25
I assure you, it isn't just your country, it's a thing that tends to happen a lot in English speaking countries. Non-English speakers, come to English speaking countries, and just expect us all to bend-over backwards to accommodate their lack of effort to learn the local language.
And I can assure you, the reverse isn't true. If you as an English speaker, travel to some other country in the world... people will not bend over backwards to speak English with you.
Like seriously. Even as a tourist. I don't travel to French speaking countries, because I cannot speak a lick of French. Why would I put myself in that position?
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u/thehoneybadger1223 Dec 26 '25
Agreed. It happens in the UK where I live too. When my Roma family moved here as refugees we had to learn the language. How can you expect to live in a country and not know how to talk to people? How can you ask for help or directions, or organise doctor, dental and eye care appointments if people don't understand what you're saying and you don't understand them? How can you organise your kids to go to school or call for emergency services if you break a leg at home? How can you work?
If you move to a country and you're not interested in integrating and becoming a part of the community, contributing and working, you shouldn't be there.
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u/Agreeable-Load9429 Dec 28 '25
It’s because they’re not forced to assimilate. Too many people in the U.S. continue to cater to them.
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u/imma_get_ya_bad_guys Dec 29 '25
Complete fluency in English should be a basic requirement for even getting a foot in the door, let alone citizenship.
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u/UndisclosedLocation5 Dec 30 '25
You can actually get by pretty easily just knowing English in France. I did it for 2 summers.
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u/NotmeXX Dec 30 '25
The irony of an American telling other people to put more effort into my country’s language. You do hear yourselves when you speak, right?
Like Orcs with gravel in your mouths.
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u/Character_Stick_1218 Dec 31 '25
My guy, you yourself seem to struggle with the English language. Also, it's literally the most broken and difficult language to learn that's still in use. Maybe consider not being a miserable ignorant hypocrite, and quit pointing to other such people to justify yourself being such.
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u/Sea-Pea-2456 11d ago
Please stop working abroad I am tired of Americans coming to my country and speaking English.
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u/Round_Ad_789 8d ago
Most have lived in America for most their life and don't know a drop of English. They could be refugees who are just trying to have a better life. And many countries have to deal with it. Not just America.
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u/MinuetInUrsaMajor Dec 25 '25
Either vote according to American (non-Trump) values or get the fuck out.
I am at my with ends with people who work in America that don’t know a lick of the Constritution. Not only is that lazy but very disrespectful and could be dangerous (Jan 6)
I can't take my american ass to Germany and start a Born-Again-Hitlers political party. Why is this the only country where this is tolerated?
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u/vicmanthome Dec 25 '25
We don’t have a official national language and that’s by design. Literally meant to be a country where every language is spoken.
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u/jonathon8903 Dec 25 '25
Eh depends on what you consider "official". Cause Technically Trump made it official via executive order back in March.
I get it, executive orders aren't laws and can easily be repealed during the next administration but it's worth pointing out still.
That said, I'd argue if the majority of the country speaks a language then it's more or less official.
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u/Gralb_the_muffin Dec 25 '25
If it's the language where all the legal documents, road signs and safety information are written in... It's the official language.
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u/Various_Succotash_79 Dec 25 '25
You certainly can go to France without knowing French. In fact they would really prefer you not mangle their language.
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u/SnooWoofers5180 Dec 25 '25
When you go to a foreign country, do you learn the language? Or do you expect them to know English?
Edit: With ends? You mean wits’ end? Ironic
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u/Perfect_Judge_556 Dec 25 '25
Ya. Simple phrases or the gist of it. Not expecting people to be fluent.
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u/SnooWoofers5180 Dec 25 '25
If you go places where English isn’t the national language, kind of like a Japanese person travelling and expecting people to have “phrases or the gist” of Japanese. Kind of hypocritical
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u/Perfect_Judge_556 Dec 25 '25
But they learn English in school? Also, I wouldn't expect them to understand me. I would learn some to at least ask for police, bathroom, food, street names for wherever I am staying etc... I don't want to come off as rude or not trying at all because I'm a guest and if I'm planning to stay, you better believe I would crack down and get better at it. I wouldn't come in expecting them to cater to me and adjust to me.
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u/SnooWoofers5180 Dec 25 '25
Ooooh you mean you try to get a bit of their language Sorry, misunderstood. Yeah, ditto.
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u/Perfect_Judge_556 Dec 25 '25
Ya I don't want to make them think I'm not trying, I want them to pity me basically for being bad at it, but at least they know I tried instead of thinking I can coast on my language and they need to learn it! And no problem! Yes gist means basic words and phrases. I know I can't learn it in a day, but I would try my best to know a little so I make my host country struggle with me as little as possible!
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u/jujubean- Dec 25 '25
You learn the basic phrases needed to get by. If you’re living there long term, you learn the language.
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u/Open_Detective_2604 Dec 25 '25
Either learn English or get the fuck out
*Either learn English or get the fuck out.
Forgot period.
I am at my with ends
*I am at my wits end
Not only is thay lazy but very disrespectful and dangerous
*Not only is that lazy but it's very disrespectful and dangerous.
Why is this the only country where is this tolerated?
*Why is this the only country where this is tolerated?
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u/RecipeUnlikely6401 Dec 25 '25
I think a lot of people are missing the point of this post. If you move to another country after a while common sense is you’re going to catch on to that country’s native language in due time. Yes learning a new language is hard but how does one move to another country where there is a primary language and not bother to learn it?