[tomatillo]

Can your parents speak English? My parents immigrated to Canada almost 30 years ago, but they cannot speak English because they were too busy working to support the family and starting a new life. They can get by with their minimal English, but they are not able to hold a proper conversation.

[Jgresch]

yes.

[static]

My parents immigrated to Canada from SE Asia almost 30 years ago, and they can speak English despite being busy working to support ourfamily and starting a new life.

[flagella]

Well, some ppl learn new languages much quicker than others.

[mb_]

Yes.. but my dad does it so fobby at times and I can't help but laugh at him

[Cman333]

Well, some ppl learn new languages much quicker than others.

Some people just don't care to learn new languages because they can squeek by with their native tongue.


Both my grandmothers have been here like 50+ years and don't speak a word. It's not because they can't learn. It's because they don't care to learn.

[TheKingdom2000]

Well, some ppl learn new languages much quicker than others.

everyone i've talked to who has learned english as a second/third/forth language said english was the easiest language to learn. Which makes sense. English is probably one of the tougher languages to master with spelling and grammer, but to get by even by fob english is relatively easy.

the only reason why your parents or grandparents can not speak english after 30 years is because they have always stayed in places that speak their language. ie. my grandpa refused to learn english because he was scared to talk to "white" people so he just stayed in chinatown/family where he could speak mandarin/hindi with. He can't even speak a full english sentence, he's been here almost 30 years as well.

[b0unce. [?]]

My parents can speak English, but their grammar sucks.
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[AzNightmare]

yes, my dad graduated in JO. And my mom graduated in Quesnel (some small town in BC).
They met at UBC. They both immigrated to Canada when they were around 17-20 ish.

Their English isn't that great. They have trouble pronouncing some stuff properly, and they sometimes can sound Fobbish.
But they know and understand more than enough to be considered fluent enough, and have no problem carrying a conversation.
But they pretty much only have Chinese speaking friends.

[Mr.C]

We immigrated 5 years ago. Everyone in my house, except my 90-year old grandmother speaks English fluently.

[parm104]

yes, my dad graduated in JO. And my mom graduated in Quesnel (some small town in BC).
They met at UBC. They both immigrated to Canada when they were around 17-20 ish.

Their English isn't that great. They have trouble pronouncing some stuff properly, and they sometimes can sound Fobbish.
But they know and understand more than enough to be considered fluent enough, and have no problem carrying a conversation.
But they pretty much only have Chinese speaking friends.

What's "JO?"

[rawr]

john oliver?

[cliffhanger33]

Yes
Mom is filipino chinese, dad is from HK. Mom lived in philippines almost her entire childhood life so she had a bit of the flip accent when she immigrated to canada, but she quickly fixed it after living in Canada for years.. Dad studied in McMaster here in Canada, so he has good English.

[nickmak]

my parents speak perfect english and they've been here what.. 30ish years too

mind you my russian friends parents have been here for the same amount of time as my parents and there english isn't great. my friends dad told my girlfriend she can ride him since i was too drunk to drive. apparently he meant he'll give her a ride. i was confused

[insomniac]

both my parents can speak english. even my grandparents can.

[toyota86]

fluent but it sometimes sounds weird to me as i learned english here. my parents were taught british english in hk. after being here so long, it has become canadian english with a hint of british accent.

[CP.AR]

yes. They also have a british accent

[apple_cutie]

http://img.chan4chan.com/img/2009-04-21/1240265992468.jpg

[keifun]

even my grandparents tried and are still learning english and they're in their 70's

They might sound chinese fobbish but they can say simple things like "yes" "no" "thank you" and some street names in their neighborhood.

[parm104]

john oliver?

I thought so to but he said: "My dad graduated IN J.O." so that threw me off. I guess even Google Translator sometimes makes mistakes...

[Redlines_Daily]

Come on..been here for 30 years and can't speak english?

"Doesnt care to learn"

If you are going to immigrate to any country make an effort to learn the language! It really bugs me when chinese people move here and don't involve themselves in Canadian culture AT ALL..just live in their happy chinese bubble in richmond and never interact with caucasian's..get real! I get strange looks in parker place as if I shouldnt be there because Im white..Im getting sick of this shit. This is CANADA, learn english please!

Before anyone calls me a racist, I have an asian girlfriend AND I speak Chinese, so fuck you.

[lgman]

I just asked my dad to say "CHINESE GOVERNMENT"...


He passed.

[ae101]

Before anyone calls me a racist, I have an asian girlfriend AND I speak Chinese, so fuck you.

i duno why that line made me laugh, not trying to make funny of u in anyway but i imagined u speaking prefect chinese just to shock ppl

anyways my dad graduated from university of Illinois, so yes he speaks & to the point where it pisses ppl often (or at least me) as he likes to use big & uncommonly used words

my mom fail english many times & can get by from just ordering McDs & i aways find it sad that my mom had trouble learning cuz of the way her brain works

[SkinnyPupp]

Come on..been here for 30 years and can't speak english?

"Doesnt care to learn"

If you are going to immigrate to any country make an effort to learn the language! It really bugs me when chinese people move here and don't involve themselves in Canadian culture AT ALL..just live in their happy chinese bubble in richmond and never interact with caucasian's..get real! I get strange looks in parker place as if I shouldnt be there because Im white..Im getting sick of this shit. This is CANADA, learn english please!

Before anyone calls me a racist, I have an asian girlfriend AND I speak Chinese, so fuck you.

Canada is more about not telling people how to live their lives.

And those bubbles exist all over the world btw. Some people just refuse to integrate
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[parm104]

Come on..been here for 30 years and can't speak english?

"Doesnt care to learn"

If you are going to immigrate to any country make an effort to learn the language! It really bugs me when chinese people move here and don't involve themselves in Canadian culture AT ALL..just live in their happy chinese bubble in richmond and never interact with caucasian's..get real! I get strange looks in parker place as if I shouldnt be there because Im white..Im getting sick of this shit. This is CANADA, learn english please!

Before anyone calls me a racist, I have an asian girlfriend AND I speak Chinese, so fuck you.

I'm not following here...we're talking about whether or not someone knows an official language of Canada and you're linking that to being discriminated against for being white? Do Asians have a tendency to give strange looks when they see someone who speaks English??

I'm not saying you're a racist but pulling the "I have an Asian girlfriend and I speak Chinese" certainly doesn't mean that you can't be racist...I jerk off to Asian porn, does that mean I can't be racist either??

[!LittleDragon]

These groups of people exist all over the world. They tend to lump together because they have things in common, it's really a non issue for me. I've been to many areas of California where only Spanish is spoken, nobody knew what I was saying. Same thing in Hawaii, there's areas where only Japanese is spoken and the trippiest was when I was in Shanghai visiting my cousin. She lives in a neighborhood built for foreign workers... Almost everyone there spoke English and no Mandarin. I don't know why people waste their time on this.

[goo3]

Mine more or less can't and they've been here for ages. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks. My mom tried to learn every English word as if it was a Chinese character.. :failed: They only know how to work hard but not change the way they've learned to do things.

They don't live magical lives in a bubble. They get by with simple lives and limited opportunities in an English speaking country.

I don't know why people waste their time on this.

Some ppl only know how to see things from their own point of view.

[Meowjin]

Can your parents speak English? My parents immigrated to Canada almost 30 years ago, but they cannot speak English because they were too busy working to support the family and starting a new life. They can get by with their minimal English, but they are not able to hold a proper conversation.

wow your parents are fucking stupid. My parents worked 60+ hours a week and when they immigrated here in the 70's they learned, not only english but FRENCH.

[Redlines_Daily]

One of the things I love about Canada, and Vancouver is that it is so multi-cultural. However, I do believe that when immigrating to a country that one has a responsibility to learn about this new culture. I'm not saying this new immigrant has to change everything about themselves and become totally Canadian(or wherever they are immigrating to) but I see so many Chinese(it could be any one, but I'm using Chinese as example) that know nothing about Canada, they don't speak the language, they don't go to Caucasian stores, some even feel intimated to talk to Caucasian people. I know this because 90% of my friends are Chinese, and they tell me these things themselves(about their parents).

Likewise, if I saw a caucasian person in Beijing who only lives in white neighborhood, only eats western food, doesn't speak mandarin...I would think the same about that person...be respectful and learn something about the local culture!

Perhaps I should have left the line about Parker place out of my first post..it was more of a rant than anything. I can understand if you or your parents cant speak perfect English..or if you don't like western food, or if you prefer to hang out with other Chinese..Im just asking that you make an effort to learn about our culture..the same way we have welcomed you and your culture into our city and country.

That being said, I do love chiense culture and I plan to move to China in the near future myself. I hope I don't come off as racist or discriminatory towards Chinese, because that is certainly not the case.

[Matlock]

My gf is Chinese and her parents cannot speak English. She gets mad at me once in a while, "why don't you learn Cantonese!?!" This can be somewhat frustrating as it seems completely backwards to me, but I think I will have to bend on this to some degree if we are to have a future together.

A bit off topic, but... I am third generation Canadian of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino decent. When my grandfather (1st generation Canadian-Chinese who spoke English and Toisan) was around, he would often complain about how "newer" Chinese immigrants didn't speak Toisan which was the original "Canadian Chinese" language back in the day and how they made it screwed up. When he met my gf he asked her, "Do you speak Toisan?" She replied, "no" and my grandfather just shuffled away.

[GLOW]

after reading some of the threads i see posted on RS, i'd say my dad's english is better than some of the ppl here

:troll:

[tonyvu]

haha i'd say my parents speak a good mix of viet/english :haha:

[BNR32_Coupe]

this thread is under the assumption that the respondents have parents native to Asia. Only in Vancouver

[Alatar]

Both my parents immigrated to North America when they were in their early 20s. Both chose to learn the language as soon as possible, without getting stuck in bubble areas.

Much of it depends on the person and their willingness to become part of a new life, or to stay in their old one as much as possible. My parents both came to Canada because they wanted to start new lives, in new places.

I speak neither chinese nor dutch, however. That's one of my few regrets, that neither of my parents exposed me to their native tongues growing up.

[lol]

my parents both speak fluent english. my grand parents speak german and english perfectly.

[.Kev.]

Yep, bugs the shit out of me if you can't speak english.

[twitchyzero]

Canada is more about not telling people how to live their lives.


lol. this post reminded me of my primary years in grade school...as FOBs we did not speak English on the schoolyard...the supervision aide (some cranky old white supremacist in her late 50's/early 60's) would give us a dirty look and scream "SPEAK ENGLISH!"

I would understand her perspective if I was trying to communicate with her, but I was just chatting with my FOB friends, racist cunt haha.

[SkinnyPupp]

lol. this post reminded me of my primary years in grade school...as FOBs we did not speak English on the schoolyard...the supervision aide (some cranky old white supremacist in her late 50's/early 60's) would give us a dirty look and scream "SPEAK ENGLISH!"

I would understand her perspective if I was trying to communicate with her, but I was just chatting with my FOB friends, racist cunt haha.
Yeah I fucking hate people like that. If you're not talking to her, what fucking business of hers is it what language you speak?

[twitchyzero]

and the thing is many Canadian-born kids may have learned their native language at home and didn't learn English until they went to elementary school

[flagella]

Both my parents immigrated to North America when they were in their early 20s. Both chose to learn the language as soon as possible, without getting stuck in bubble areas.

Much of it depends on the person and their willingness to become part of a new life, or to stay in their old one as much as possible. My parents both came to Canada because they wanted to start new lives, in new places.

I speak neither chinese nor dutch, however. That's one of my few regrets, that neither of my parents exposed me to their native tongues growing up.

Learning a language has a lot to do with that person's age. If your parents came here in the early 20s, that's like the beginning of their career and it'll be sad if they don't learn English.

Honestly, there really aren't that many people who can speak fluently when they move here in their 40s or 50s.

[parm104]

lol. this post reminded me of my primary years in grade school...as FOBs we did not speak English on the schoolyard...the supervision aide (some cranky old white supremacist in her late 50's/early 60's) would give us a dirty look and scream "SPEAK ENGLISH!"

I would understand her perspective if I was trying to communicate with her, but I was just chatting with my FOB friends, racist cunt haha.

Exactly that! There are so many people here that are frustrated with the fact that ethnic people are out and about speaking in a foreign language instead of English. If it creates a barrier between you and that person when they are directly trying to speak to you, then I understand the problem. If they are simply annoying you because they're speaking another language amongst their peers and family and you can't understand what they're saying, who the fuck cares?

French and English have not been made the official languages of our country so that everyone is mandated to learn them if they want to live here. English and French in Canada were made official quite simply to ensure that institutions (private and public) provide services in two languages and that we can ensure that our Government and the laws and statues set forth are set in a language familiar to Canadians.

[November]

wow your parents are fucking stupid. My parents worked 60+ hours a week and when they immigrated here in the 70's they learned, not only english but FRENCH.


Not being able to speak English does not make them stupid. That's a stupid comment.

[Qmx323]

Shit, living in Richmond it seems like you don't even need to speak English to live, work or play.

[November]

wow your parents are fucking stupid. My parents worked 60+ hours a week and when they immigrated here in the 70's they learned, not only english but FRENCH.


Not being able to speak English does not make them stupid. That's a stupid comment.

My parents moved here a good 30+ years ago. They can speak English well enough, but I wouldn't blame them if they didn't. For some immigrants, there was just no need to learn English.

A Cantonese/Mandarin speaking immigrant living in Richmond is surrounded by Chinese. Why the fuck would you need to learn English at all if your friends, family, customers, co-workers, cashier at the grocery store, restaurant server, etc... all spoke Chinese?

It really depends on the culture. In Vancouver, the Chinese population is so big that, for most immigrants, there is no need to learn English. If your parents were from South Africa and only spoke Afrikaans, no fuckin' shit you'd have to learn English. There is no community large enough here to enable a South African, Afrikaans speaking immigrant to not learn English at all.

[GLOW]

wow your parents are fucking stupid. My parents worked 60+ hours a week and when they immigrated here in the 70's they learned, not only english but FRENCH.

when i was at the casino in montreal, this 70 year old chinese guy comes up and starts playing at a table, talking in french to the games dealer. i said something to the dealer on the lines of: woah - impressive.

games dealer is like: hey, he's chinese, what do you expect? of course he's gonna know french, gambling is involved

:fuckyea:

[Frank D'Angelo]

wow your parents are fucking stupid. My parents worked 60+ hours a week and when they immigrated here in the 70's they learned, not only english but FRENCH.

shame that "intelligence" didn't pass on to their offspring.

[Meowjin]

shame that "intelligence" didn't pass on to their offspring.

learning a language has 0 to do with intelligence. If you planning on living in a foreign country longterm don't say that bs that they had no time to learn the language.

[minoru_tanaka]

wow your parents are fucking stupid. My parents worked 60+ hours a week and when they immigrated here in the 70's they learned, not only english but FRENCH.

My parents never even saw a car before they came to Canada. They grew up in rural china. The girls went to school for 3 or 4 years and the boys went to school till they were 10 at most if you were the oldest son. My mom reads about as much english as chinese.

With no education, in english or otherwise, the only jobs the immigrants could get were jobs run by people that came from the same country. Sawmills, canneries, restaurants etc. Hell, go to a sawmill now and you'll still see chinese fobs work with the other chinese fobs and indian fobs work with the other indian fobs. And there will be one chinese guy who speaks enough english to tell the other chinese what to do and there will be one punjab to tell the other punjabs what to do. They don't even bother speaking english to you. The mill's there to make money, not to teach you english.

And that your parents learn to speak french, good for fuckin them. Did they immigrate to Montreal? Why would I don't speak it and I don't know anyone who grew up in BC that does. Even people with french last names.

[Oleophobic]

learning a language has 0 to do with intelligence.

wow your parents are fucking stupid.

:thumbsup:

[InvisibleSoul]

My parents never even saw a car before they came to Canada. They grew up in rural china. The girls went to school for 3 or 4 years and the boys went to school till they were 10 at most if you were the oldest son.

True story. My parents were from rural China, and my dad never finished elementary school. Obviously he's not dumb, but it's just how it was given the circumstances. He managed to come to Canada in the 70's, and he has worked as a chef at Delta Hotels pretty much since then. He can get by with his English for the most part, but definitely nowhere close to being totally fluent with it. My mom has worked in a factory for like 30+ years as well, and her English is worse because most of her coworkers are Chinese as well, so she wasn't forced to use English as much... so even now, she still needs help even for relatively simple English phrases.

[RFlush]

learning a language has 0 to do with intelligence. If you planning on living in a foreign country longterm don't say that bs that they had no time to learn the language.
Have you ever moved to a country long term after the age of 20?
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[darkfroggy]

My parents can't speak English well...
My brother can speak English...

Talk behind parents' back everyday ;)

Anyway, for those with parents whose first language isn't English: Do your parents mind when you don't speak in your "mother tongue"?

I always speak in English to my brother and my parents couldn't care less. The problem is that my mom has become quite good at evesdropping and deciphering our conversations. I know in some strict families the "official language" is Chinese; no one is allowed to speak English in the household.

I'm really messed up though. Despite growing up in a Chinese household, my first language was English. My mom basically forced me to read and watch English television at an early age.

[darkfroggy]

Have you ever moved to a country long term after the age of 20?
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It's not as hard as you think.

Plenty of people come in their 40s-50s and integrate quite well (learning the language + following customs).

I don't really like cultural enclaves, it's inherently narrow-minded. Coming to Canada, one should realize that this is a multicultural country and embrace the different cultures out there. Not wall yourself out from the rest of society.

[.Kev.]

If I can learn 5 languages, I'm sure English cannot be hard seeing as its my third for those saying no need to learn English in Canada.

My god this thread makes me wanna shoot myself lol

[minoru_tanaka]

My god this thread makes me wanna shoot myself lol

Give this man 2 bullets

[Gumby]

Yes, my parents can speak English. They came to Canada 30+ years ago from HK and were fortunate as kids to have access to education. Here, they ran their own business and dealt primarily with Caucasians so they continued using their English.

My in-laws however, cannot. My mother-in-law could get by in a pinch, but not my father-in-law. They came to Canada around 30 years ago from China and as kids, did not have access to education. They worked mostly kitchen-type jobs, so there was no real need to learn English.

So in conclusion, it depends on what your parents' background was like when they were kids, and what type of work they got into after coming to Canada.

[Shades]

If I can learn 5 languages, I'm sure English cannot be hard seeing as its my third for those saying no need to learn English in Canada.

My god this thread makes me wanna shoot myself lol

Give this man 2 bullets

Cause he's gonna miss on his first try?

[vitaminG]

Look at how many people managed to be successful without having to learn english. I konw of multiple punjabi people who worked in saw mills their whole lives, could barely make out a english sentence. Yet they have nice homes and can afford to send their kids to university.

My grandfather lived here for 50 of his 70 years, and never learned english, worked in a saw mill for 40 years. But at the end of the day the home he bought in east van is now worth over a million and he was able to provide for his family so we could flourish, so i wouldnt say he was handicapped by a lack of english.

[minoru_tanaka]

Cause he's gonna miss on his first try?

If he doesn't then his dad can shoot himself in the nuts for creating this guy

[skyxx]

http://www.putlocker.com/embed/DDBB337BF0953306

[kunoman1]

4th gen canadian parents...would be embarrassed if they couldn't speak English
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[Manic!]

Look at how many people managed to be successful without having to learn english. I konw of multiple punjabi people who worked in saw mills their whole lives, could barely make out a english sentence. Yet they have nice homes and can afford to send their kids to university.

My grandfather lived here for 50 of his 70 years, and never learned english, worked in a saw mill for 40 years. But at the end of the day the home he bought in east van is now worth over a million and he was able to provide for his family so we could flourish, so i wouldnt say he was handicapped by a lack of english.

Who knows how much more money your grandfather could have had if he spoke English. Im parents are from Punjab and my dad worked in the mill. Now the the mills shut down and many of his friends have lost jobs. Our family owns multiple businesses homes and cars. If my parents didn't know English that wouldn't have happened.

[underscore]

my dad is an immigrant and speaks perfect English.













of course hes from the UK :troll:

[Oleophobic]

Parents immigrated here 23 years ago
mom's english isn't good at all
dad's is better and can sort of get by with the language...and I do mean "sort of"

they picked up Cantonese pretty fast when they got here though LOL (family is chiu chow and grew up learning mandarin/vietnamese so canto was new to them)

[Mr.HappySilp]

My parents came to Canada during 1990's. Their English isn't that great but can communicate just fine. My dad is better at English than my mom.

Sometimes is so funny watching them talk to my neighbours but hey at least they are trying.

[fishCak3s]

My parents use their limited vocab trying to put together a sentence and talk to people. I love watching them doing this, makes me realize how much I love them.

[butter_sashimi]

Parents immigrated to the UK first then moved again to Canada. They got over their English deficiencies before arriving here, lol.

[Ikkaku]

my mom's family immigrated to Canada when she was just entering post secondary, so she had a few years to work on it. I would say she has a decent grasp of the language. She does have a noticeable accent, but then again, HK english was never 'good' to start with.

Dad's family immigrated around the same time, but he chose to redo what we call grade 12 over here (different naming system in HK) and attended David Thompson. He has no problems interacting in english. Just like my mom, he has the accents, and sometimes the phrasing is awkward, but it never stopped him from talking. In fact, sometimes his accents change depending on who he's talking to :lol

[jackmeister]

my parents came 23 years ago as well, and to this day their english is still horrible. back in the day, the citizenship examiners pretty much help you answer the questions. however, they did start a business and was fortunate enough to hire translators to get by.

can't blame them though, my high school education was more than their schooling combined.

maybe they should enrol in new immigrant english classes :badpokerface:

[penner2k]

I'm not following here...we're talking about whether or not someone knows an official language of Canada and you're linking that to being discriminated against for being white? Do Asians have a tendency to give strange looks when they see someone who speaks English??

I'm not saying you're a racist but pulling the "I have an Asian girlfriend and I speak Chinese" certainly doesn't mean that you can't be racist...I jerk off to Asian porn, does that mean I can't be racist either??

I dont jerk off to Asian porn, I dont speak Chinese and I get pissed off when people dont bother to try to learn any English at all.
I also use the term "fucking Chinese" at least a couple times if I go to Richmond.
Call me racist all you want. It just pisses me off when someone comes to this country and doesnt give a shit about anyone but "their own kind" and ends up making my life more difficult when I need to communicate with them.

btw my parents and grand parents all speak English... they moved here 40 years ago... I'm not sure about my mom but my dad could speak English after 1 year of moving here.. he did this while supporting his family (he has 11 brothers and sisters... only 3 were old enough to work)

[ilvtofu]

Dad's family immigrated around the same time, but he chose to redo what we call grade 12 over here (different naming system in HK) and attended David Thompson. He has no problems interacting in english. Just like my mom, he has the accents, and sometimes the phrasing is awkward, but it never stopped him from talking. In fact, sometimes his accents change depending on who he's talking to :lol

GOD I hate when my mom does that!

Whenever she's talking to our filipino cleaning lady or people from malaysia/singapore she talks purposely with an accent, I swear she does it subconsciously but it drives me mad because she can communicate perfectly fine without much if any accent

[murd0c]

On my dad's side hes actually the only one out of 9 brothers and sisters born in Canada. During WW2 they had to move from place to place in Eastern Europe to get away from the Nazi's. So I have aunts and uncles born all over the place. They speak low German but my Oma (I never knew my Opa) made everyone speak English because out of the respect for the Canadian people and she felt that she has to adapt to the new western culture.

I can’t speak another language and I honestly wish I could but it really frustrates me how people come here and don’t give a fuck about the way we live or our culture and they expect us to adapt to the way they live and act. I’m all for everyone being equal and multiculturalism but it honestly pisses me the fuck off when people only care about their kind and don’t have enough respect for the culture and the ways for the country they live in.

[melloman]

I'm not following here...we're talking about whether or not someone knows an official language of Canada and you're linking that to being discriminated against for being white? Do Asians have a tendency to give strange looks when they see someone who speaks English??

Believe it or not, they do.

I'm usually the "token" white guy in my group of friends, (possibley 1 other white guy will come out) but we go to asian restaurants and I get stared/glared at. I have an asian girlfriend which seems to make them even more hateful towards me...

If you had a sense of low self-esteem then you'd probably feel really uncomfortable going the asian restaurants in Richmond or China town, luckily I don't.

[Doubl3_H]

Really. You guys from chiu chow? You guys speak the language at home?
My parents are also from there, but from the city shantou

Parents immigrated here 23 years ago
mom's english isn't good at all
dad's is better and can sort of get by with the language...and I do mean "sort of"

they picked up Cantonese pretty fast when they got here though LOL (family is chiu chow and grew up learning mandarin/vietnamese so canto was new to them)
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[Nabatron]

Both my parents are immigrants moved here in the early 80's my dad from Iran and mom from Philipines...both can speak english fluently and my dad met my mom in Philipines and he had to learn my moms language plus english since he was going to school in the philipines. My dad is FOB as shit and he obviously knew if he was coming to Canada you better know fucking english if not you would be fucked since the place he moved to was Trail. No persian live there only old italians/caucasians so if he didnt know english he couldnt communicate with anyone.

[penner2k]

I'm gonna start learning Portuguese now so when I go to Brazil in 2014 I can communicate.

[Vansterdam]

lol straight fobs

[GLOW]

Believe it or not, they do.

I'm usually the "token" white guy in my group of friends, (possibley 1 other white guy will come out) but we go to asian restaurants and I get stared/glared at. I have an asian girlfriend which seems to make them even more hateful towards me...

If you had a sense of low self-esteem then you'd probably feel really uncomfortable going the asian restaurants in Richmond or China town, luckily I don't.

i'm sure they are just jelly cuz you taller than them (i'm assuming b/c you're white :P) and that you have a nice asian gf while they are :alone:

[XplicitLuder]

i agree with a lot of people when they say they get mad cus some people don't speak english and stick to their native language. And it makes me more mad that my parents don't even live in canada (theyre back in south america) and they can both speak more english then a lot of the asian communities here :yuno: how does that even make sense ??? :fuckthatshit:

Specially when i was going through high school , in my school there were always the international kids (mostly asian) who would stick to their own side and own people/friends and just talk away in their language and not even give a fuck. So it's hard to try and sometimes make them feel welcomed because they don't give a shit on trying to learn english and socialize with those who have been here forever! makes me mad :okay:

[see.lai]

Large Coffee, double double.
That's all that my mother knows.
:troll:

[LSF22]

Large Coffee, double double.
That's all that my mother knows.
:troll:

HAHAHA


GOD I hate when my mom does that!

Whenever she's talking to our filipino cleaning lady or people from malaysia/singapore she talks purposely with an accent, I swear she does it subconsciously but it drives me mad because she can communicate perfectly fine without much if any accent

LOL it happens.. especially if it's the "singlish" accent... we moved here late 90's... and my whole family all speaks well above average english... at work... or just in general... but as soon as someone from Singapore/Malaysia is present, that singlish accent subconsciously shows up lol

Are you filipino/malaysian/singaporean?

[mmmk]

Can your parents speak English? My parents immigrated to Canada almost 30 years ago, but they cannot speak English because they were too busy working to support the family and starting a new life. They can get by with their minimal English, but they are not able to hold a proper conversation.

30 years later...they are still supporting the family and starting a new life??
do you help at all? :suspicious:

[GLOW]

Large Coffee, double double.
That's all that my mother knows.
:troll:

that's more than the guy in line in front of me last week. it was like watching a train wreck in slow mo :facepalm:

[El Bastardo]

Its not like its a very specific and obscure language like Gagauz.

Its English. English is fucking ubiquitous. Its difficult to avoid the language. Its like you've deliberately tried to avoid it if you haven't learned at least enough to communicate on a basic level. Sure, if you live in Uzbekistan you have little use for English but if you move to an English-speaking nation why deliberately try to keep yourself isolated from the society in which you live?

I'm sick of Canada being used as this:

http://i44.tinypic.com/65om5v.jpg

[freakshow]

My friend crosses the boarder with his dad..

Guard: Anything to declare?
Dad: Groceries and Pot
Guard: Sorry?
Dad: Just bought some groceries and Pot
Friend: He means PORT, wine, we bought wine!

[Ikkaku]

GOD I hate when my mom does that!

Whenever she's talking to our filipino cleaning lady or people from malaysia/singapore she talks purposely with an accent, I swear she does it subconsciously but it drives me mad because she can communicate perfectly fine without much if any accent

And this is why our family are good friends with each other :lol

Perhaps this is a common theme within our parents' graduation year hahahah

[underscore]

Parents immigrated here 23 years ago
mom's english isn't good at all
dad's is better and can sort of get by with the language...and I do mean "sort of"

they picked up Cantonese pretty fast when they got here though LOL (family is chiu chow and grew up learning mandarin/vietnamese so canto was new to them)

So they're too lazy to learn English but they learned Canto? Are you fucking kidding me? I know these are your parents so I apologize if I've offended you but that's pretty ridiculous.

[Ikkaku]

You have to realize that it's easier to learn a dialect of your mother-tongue than to learn a completely different language. For people from HK, they do have to learn a little bit of english in school (with the whole British rule), however, there are people from elsewhere who have had little to no experience with english.

And also without the internet, they would have less exposure to other cultures.

If they find a small community that doesn't require english, they would be able to survive. It really depends on their needs and situations.

For example: My grandpa learned a little bit of english because he still needed to provide for the family. He opened a little corner store in Richmond, and with a variety of customers coming in, he had to learn to communicate with them. My grandma didn't need to know any, so for the longest time she only knew her basics of thank you, hello, welcome, etc. Albeit she did try to learn much later on by watching her favorite english show Oprah, and then she went to a community center to learn some more.

But once again, it really depends on the needs of those individuals.

[Energy]

What about those of us that still have accents? It seems like some people still look down on others that speak perfect english but have a foreign accent.

[91civicZC]

To live somewhere for 30 years and not speak the language (at least somewhat) would say to me that you either are not very smart, or you have such a low opinion of the local population and culture you can’t be bothered to try and communicate with them.

Either way, why expect anything other than hostility in response? Respect works both ways friends. Don’t expect a local population to respect your culture if you can’t be bothered to respect the one you transplanted yourself into.

I would respect someone making the effort that has terrible English, at least they are trying.

[91civicZC]

What about those of us that still have accents? It seems like some people still look down on others that speak perfect english but have a foreign accent.

Accents are cool, and help you pick up broads.

[Ikkaku]

Accents are cool, and help you pick up broads.

that would depend on the accent :badpokerface:

[El Bastardo]

that would depend on the accent :badpokerface:

Indian stand up accent comedy - YouTube

[niu99]

some don't learn english simply because they are too old to learn a new language. or, that is their excuse.
to some, they don't feel the need to learn english. to them they come here to vacation not to live. my parents don't speak english well. they don't see it as an issue at all.

[Great68]

My mom immigrated when she was 8, her english is perfect. And back then there was no such thing as ESL.

My dad came when he was 25, he still has an accent. He has grammar problems, mostly when writing.

I call bullshit on the "Too busy to learn" statement by the OP. Really, that should be read as "Too lazy to learn". Or "Not interested in immersing themselves socially".

My co-worker is in his 40's, moved here from China 4 years ago with his wife and daughter. He put himself through english lessons, he tries hard to participate in conversations and hang out with us Canadians in the office. His english is FAR better than a lot of people I have met who have been here 10 times longer than him. He asked me the other day if he could record me when I'm on the phone so he could study my conversations lol.

What's funny is he told me that he first moved to Vancouver, and when he realised that his daughter was hanging out with too many other asians there he packed up and moved to Victoria.

[Oleophobic]

Really. You guys from chiu chow? You guys speak the language at home?
My parents are also from there, but from the city shantou
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

Yeah speak it at home.

So they're too lazy to learn English but they learned Canto? Are you fucking kidding me? I know these are your parents so I apologize if I've offended you but that's pretty ridiculous.

None taken.

We lived in Chinatown which is full of cantonese speakers so it's not too surprising that they picked up canto that fast. They didn't specifically take classes for canto, they just watched a lot of canto TV, made canto friends, communicated with locals who were all canto speakers. It just happened naturally because of the environment in which they lived.
As far as I know, my parents have made some effort in learning english but I guess they had other priorities and living in Chinatown didn't exactly help.

edit: meant to say it's not too surprising they picked up canto fast considering they already knew mando

[Matlock]

My long term girlfriend's parents can only speak very basic English, lacking the ability to hold a real conversation. This has been particularly awkward during family dinners, being the only person at the table who cannot speak Chinese... and she expects me to learn Cantonese.

EDIT: I just discovered I already said this in the thread way back when... I don't even remember.

[taylor192]

Well, some ppl learn new languages much quicker than others.
This. I have tried to learn french and spanish - no luck, I cannot hear the subtle differences as many words sound siimilar, especially in conversational french that often mushes words together.

[pinn3r]

both my parents are chiu chow/vietnamese/cantonese/cambodian :suspicious:
both still fobs, even though they've been here for 25+ years :okay:

[timbit]

Both parents Flip, both speak fluent English now due mostly to my brother and I droning in the language to them.
You have no idea how long it took for me to get my mom to say "12 dozen" instead of "12 dozens"

[1990TSI]

all my family speaks english, except the baby

[vitaminG]

Who knows how much more money your grandfather could have had if he spoke English. Im parents are from Punjab and my dad worked in the mill. Now the the mills shut down and many of his friends have lost jobs. Our family owns multiple businesses homes and cars. If my parents didn't know English that wouldn't have happened.

be that as it may the point is that he was pretty successful regardless and his kids and grand kids are even more so. Also bear in mind if you were in a small town its pretty much a neccesity to integrate, in Vancouver it was hardly neccesary.

the funniest thing about my punjabi grandmother is seeing her interact with her chinese neighbor. They can barely speak english but they go to the killarney pool every other day together.