OMG, Really?

24

Replies

  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    It may reflect badly upon me, but I would rather go to a nail shop where the ownership, and employees, speak English.

    I prefer to be able to converse with the person working on me, that's all.
    running for the exit like a scared chicken..

    But OP said they did speak English to the customers. Who cares what language they use to speak to each other? Maybe the woman was also worried they were they were talking about her. With such a nasty attitude, I wouldn't have been surprised.

    People like that are why it can really suck working in the retail/service industry. As an employee you can't say anything to them. And a lot of employers don't want to cause a fuss, even when the customer is clearly in the wrong.

    Furthermore, they're bilingual, which is probably much more than that woman can say.
  • HurricaneElaine
    HurricaneElaine Posts: 984 Member
    But OP said they did speak English to the customers. Who cares what language they use to speak to each other? Maybe the woman was also worried they were they were talking about her. With such a nasty attitude, I wouldn't have been surprised.

    Actually, I wonder about that myself - "Look at this fat one - does she think getting her nails done is going to help her?"

    Just my own 'noia, I guess.
  • RainHoward
    RainHoward Posts: 1,599 Member
    It may reflect badly upon me, but I would rather go to a nail shop where the ownership, and employees, speak English.

    I prefer to be able to converse with the person working on me, that's all.
    running for the exit like a scared chicken..
    And that is a personal freedom you are allowed. However, to patronize an establishment voluntarily and then sit in the establishment complaining loudly is rather absurd. It's like people that go out to eat, sit and loudly tell the entire room how horrid the food is and then lick their plate clean. No one told her she had to stay at that particular store. She had the freedom to leave at any time and give her money to an english speaking person. Instead she went the sit and make and *kitten* of myself route.

    Now I am one of those people that gets rather perturbed when asked to push one for english. I don't think tax dollars should pay for ESL classes in public schools when they can barely stay afloat as is. And the number one thing that irritates is how the federal government and most of society in this country think there are only two languages, english and spanglish. Have you ever heard "push two for Korean"? When is the last time you saw a sign in Russian?
  • veganbaum
    veganbaum Posts: 1,865 Member
    But OP said they did speak English to the customers. Who cares what language they use to speak to each other? Maybe the woman was also worried they were they were talking about her. With such a nasty attitude, I wouldn't have been surprised.

    Actually, I wonder about that myself - "Look at this fat one - does she think getting her nails done is going to help her?"

    Just my own 'noia, I guess.

    And I'm sure there are cases like that, to be honest. But I still don't care. If they're going to be shallow enough to talk like that about someone just based on looks (rather than attitude) then it makes no difference to me if they say it in front of me when I can't understand them anyway or if they say it once I leave the shop. It has absolutely no effect on me that they're rotten people when I don't even know what they're saying.
  • suzieqcookie
    suzieqcookie Posts: 314 Member
    sadly, i think it's an age thing. My grandfather was from italy. When the family came here his parents refused to learn english. By the time my mom was born, they still refused so he didn't teach my mother italian! My mother never once got to speak with her grandparents :( Grandpa would tell her, they want to be american, they need to learn english. It's a sad way of thinking, but an old one :cry:
  • DonniesGirl69
    DonniesGirl69 Posts: 644 Member
    I'd have suggested that b*tch learn to speak Cherokee.
  • arnoswife
    arnoswife Posts: 228 Member
    The nail lady should have refused service to her!! That was rude and uncalled for!
  • history_grrrl
    history_grrrl Posts: 216 Member
    I wonder what language the woman's ancestors spoke when they came to the United States?
  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
    English may be predominate, but the US has like six "official" languages... I don't think Korean is included but English, French, German, Spanish and several others are.... we are a land of immigrants (even the English speaking ones!!!!).


    The United States does not have an "official" language.
  • mom2handh1975
    mom2handh1975 Posts: 224 Member
    I would have said something to her, but that's how I am. No excuses. I call 'em like I see 'em. She's probably right about the employees saying nasty things about her. I know I would! :angry:
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    Native Language? So...the people who lived here for 30,000 years before anyone speaking English showed up, they aren't native? Ignorance abounds!
  • odusgolp
    odusgolp Posts: 10,477 Member
    Aww. She was feeling left out of the conversation. Also, she's stupid.

    I love you.

    Edit: Jules loves you too;-)
  • skcornett
    skcornett Posts: 169 Member
    Furthermore, they're bilingual, which is probably much more than that woman can say.

    That woman is bilingual...she speaks English and ignorance.
  • HurricaneElaine
    HurricaneElaine Posts: 984 Member
    And that is a personal freedom you are allowed. However, to patronize an establishment voluntarily and then sit in the establishment complaining loudly is rather absurd. It's like people that go out to eat, sit and loudly tell the entire room how horrid the food is and then lick their plate clean. No one told her she had to stay at that particular store. She had the freedom to leave at any time and give her money to an english speaking person. Instead she went the sit and make and *kitten* of myself route.

    Now I am one of those people that gets rather perturbed when asked to push one for english. I don't think tax dollars should pay for ESL classes in public schools when they can barely stay afloat as is. And the number one thing that irritates is how the federal government and most of society in this country think there are only two languages, english and spanglish. Have you ever heard "push two for Korean"? When is the last time you saw a sign in Russian?

    I work in medical billing, and I've had to wade through automated phone messages - press one for English, press two for Spanish, press three for Portuguese, press four for Korean, press five for Khmer, press six for Arabic, etcetera...
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    wow, I guess it happens everywhere....people take life too serious. The woman actually said she would pray for them when she got home, lol :noway:

    Lol wow, she is fitting every stereotype I have for Americans.
  • Growtinymusclesgrow
    Growtinymusclesgrow Posts: 152 Member
    I am not a native English speaker, and I'm married to another immigrant as well. There is this misconception among some people that those who come to the U.S. don't want to and don't try to learn English. If they only knew how much those people try and wish they could. How many of them study and study. It isn't easy for everyone to learn another language. That lady needs to walk a mile in someone else's shoes.

    English is one if the most difficult languages to learn! Then add geographic locations and it is even harder to comprehend. I hate small minded people!
  • gvheintz
    gvheintz Posts: 138 Member
    Perhaps for you as a witness it would have been embarrassing or upsetting. When you speak other languages in a place where it isn't often spoken, you learn to deal with people and their attitudes over language. I learned French in a minority setting. One day I was giving tours of the parliament buildings in Ottawa. In two consecutive tours, I had tourists correct my pronunciation of "lys" (as is fleur de lys). The funny thing is I had switched between pronunciations between the two tours.

    I've had people tell me I speak French like it is a native language. (And I know my weaknesses in French and readily admit I am not a native speaker.) I had one lady ream into me one night when I was working directory assistance. She asked me, "What language do you think you are speaking, because it is not French."

    One day in the Bonny Doon Safeway in Edmonton, I was having a conversation with another French speaker. I was told to go back to my own country. Ummmm ... at the end of the day you learn to let situations like that run off you like water off a ducks back.
  • maryjay51
    maryjay51 Posts: 742
    what gets me is that when ive visited other countries i havent a damn clue what they are saying.. most of them speak ,at the very least, broken english and many places offer an english version of something.. even for the bathrooms ... im extremely thankful for that ..its a shame she had to behave like that and teach an innocent child that type of mentality.. our country was based on embracing anyone to come be an american citizen.. we offer opportunity here like no other country in the world. i love different heritages and different cultural experiences --- all right here in the usa.
  • ARDuBaie
    ARDuBaie Posts: 378 Member
    Let it be known that English is not the first language I learned. My mother spoke French and German and my father was Scottish and had a very heavy Scottish accent. People in the U.S. are way too emotional about others speaking English. I slip into French and German easily and, when angry, my English has a heavy Scottish accent. Normally, I have a mild Scottish accent. Well, I have had people comment negatively about the accent and the way that I slip back and forth into French and German. I think that they are jealous, really. I do think that the Scottish accent was hurting me professionally (I am a teacher), so I actually paid over $2,000 to have a professional help me get rid of it.

    Really, people, I could care less if the person doing my nails is speaking Korean, Vietnamese, etc. People who get upset about those things have small minds and boring lives.

    I was once in a shop and a similar situation occurred. The owner was Greek and his mother worked there, so they spoke Greek back and forth. Well, when a customer complained about them not speaking English, I spoke up about how most of our relatives probably didn't speak English very well when they came to the U.S. and that the person needed to back off.

    This brings to mind the quote about how evil will exist as long as good people do not stand up against it. My mother always said that if you don't stand up for what you believe in, then you really don't believe in it, now do you.
  • saragato
    saragato Posts: 1,154
    Yes it's mildly aggravating when you can't speak a language someone's conversing in, but so long as when they're conversing with you they can speak your language enough for you both to understand each other... who cares? As Americans we live in a country built on immigrants from all over the world. Hell, where I live some people have their own version of French. Honestly I'd rather see these people keep their heritage alive even if just in language than to accept them and then say "you're no longer [insert race here], you're American and will speak the main tongue here, English." If we're going to adopt that braindead logic, what stops other countries from doing the same and banishing all other languages?

    Some people get way too "patriotic" if you ask me. I hope her granddaughter grows up with more sense than her grandmother.

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