tough without english!
By swapmind
@swapmind (355)
Australia
June 10, 2012 4:14am CST
It is really tough to survive in a country where english is the first language.Yesterday i met my friends father who visited her from their native land.He was not happy to stay along her as he was not familiar with the english language so could not interact much with anybody nor can he go outside all alone.I shared a word with him in the native language with him,he was too happy to talk but i realized its difficult to survive in a country where english is the primary language for elderly people who are not that sharp to learn a new language.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@billutheguy (179)
• India
10 Jun 12
Yeah, it would take a lot of time for them but they may be able to blend in after being in the place for about an year. It would be inconvenient for that period of time but there could be some fun found in that learning period itself without letting the inconvenience the elderly might face in a foreign land be a bother.
If they have to stay for a long period of time they should take some sort of a course to help them understand and talk in the language of area, but since he's visiting for a while , I cannot think of a solid way to cope with this problem .
@billutheguy (179)
• India
10 Jun 12
I think that's because they have spent a long time being the way and living the way they are, primarily because of their age so it would be difficult to do things differently or to do something they haven't tried before .
In this case that is the new language of the new place and its not just that there are some other things they might not be able to get accustomed to all that easily , then again there might be things that they might share in common with the natives besides being from a whole different corner of the world.
@tkonlinevn (6438)
• Vietnam
12 Jun 12
I'm too. I feel inability if I can't speak English. I even feel sad and uncomfortable because I can't speak English well. I wish I can speak it as an English!
@olliekobra1 (1825)
•
20 Jun 12
maybe you could take English lessons to help improve your English that way you will feel more comfortable.
@KOSTAS499 (1624)
• Greece
11 Jun 12
It is hard but believe me anyone can get through. We can communicate in other ways. How did the English communicate with Native Americans? Or Australia? How do immigrants make it in countries all over the world? My father doesn't speak English, just a few words, but can get through anywhere.
@Mashnn (4501)
•
10 Jun 12
This not only happens to English speaking countries but everywhere else you go and find that people cannot communicate with a common language. It is usually very hard to survive unless you learn the native language. It is good that you were able to help him.
@olliekobra1 (1825)
•
20 Jun 12
Thats true for small children its easy to learn a new language but for older people its tough and can take years
@vidhyaprakash_2 (7116)
• India
20 Jun 12
Hi friend, you are right, language barrier is a great problem to most of the people. We must know the international language english to avoid this kind of issues. Sorry to hear about your friend's father stage, it is really hard to go to another country without proper knowledge skills, we will face this kind of issues
@mariab2000 (740)
• Canada
10 Jun 12
I agree with you it can be really tough to live in a country where you are not familiar with the primary language there be it english or another language. It can be very difficult as you can't communicate with others and will be isolated...
