# I hate being that white guy, but learn English! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 22, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033 "2019-08-22T00:30:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/41 "2019-08-23T09:44:53Z")
You can get coaching for the NCLEX-RN exam in India. That and a course that “meets the requirements” seems to be enough. I don’t see an English Language requirement. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/42 "2019-08-23T10:51:06Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Having seen what my wife went through to get an RN degree/license, I find it hard to believe anyone who isn’t fluent in English could do that. Are you sure it’s not just an unfamiliarity with your particular accent? I’m from Minnesota and spent most of my life in Illinois. I don’t have an accent or, at worst, it’s a “flat, Mid-Western accent,” the favorite of newscasters across the land. And I work in a call center so I know how to speak slowly and carefully. No, I know total incomprehension when I see it: the blank expression and polite nods give it away. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/43 "2019-08-23T11:32:47Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Regarding Hindi/Spanish: > In my defense, I got bored a few sentences in and never made it to the Hindi part, and just assumed that if Dropzone couldn’t understand the nurses then they were speaking Spanish. It was either that, or Polish. That’s a pretty lame defense. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/44 "2019-08-23T12:01:48Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Licensed professionals. That’s where the registered in Registered Nurse and certified in Certified Nursing Assistant come from. “Certified” is not the same as being licensed. CNAs are neither licensed nor “professionals”. > [@Melbourne](#): > > You can get coaching for the NCLEX-RN exam in India. That and a course that “meets the requirements” seems to be enough. I don’t see an English Language requirement. English language requirement for nurses varies by state. Texas, Michigan, and Maine probably have it. Nebraska and Connecticut, probably not. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/45 "2019-08-23T13:09:59Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Had no idea there was that Hindi/Hispanic crossover thing going on. I guess you’ve never sampled tandoori fajitas, then. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/46 "2019-08-23T13:23:29Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > That’s a pretty lame defense. Yeah. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/47 "2019-08-23T15:07:56Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > That’s a pretty lame defense. Indeed. I mentioned Hindi early on, in only the fourth sentence. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/48 "2019-08-23T15:21:06Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Years ago I had the idea of a set of lessons titled “Speak Spanish Like a Texan.” I think this is a great idea. A way to learn a language enough to get by would be quite useful. Most people just need a little bit of a language to use in a limited instance, such as going on vacation. Most adults will struggle to have perfect pronunciation, and even years of language study may not help. If someone is going on a 2-week vacation to Mexico and wants to learn Spanish, trying to get them to properly roll their R’s is likely wasted time. They won’t be able to accomplish it. Instead, it would be more practical if they could learn how to talk Spanish in a way that was compatible with the sounds that they could actually make. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/49 "2019-08-23T16:19:47Z")
I found a British video that’s pretty good so far, if you can get past the lisping. Wife spoke it that way and called it a Castillian accent. She claimed that once a king in Castile had a lisp,his courtiers imitated him, and climbers among the gen pop imitated them, thus dooming newscasters in Spain to lifetimes of sounding like tea kettles. Th video concentrates on nouns so far, which is fine cuz that much I know. And screw the rolling Rs which aren’t required to be understood. ETA: I bet **Nava** lisps her Espanol. She seems like a classy broad like that. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/50 "2019-08-23T16:27:56Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > You can get coaching for the NCLEX-RN exam in India. That and a course that “meets the requirements” seems to be enough. I don’t see an English Language requirement. But the NCLEX-RN exam itself is in English, isn’t it? Though I’m well aware that foreigners can be much more proficient in written English than spoken English. ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/51 "2019-08-23T16:30:41Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As some of you know, I currently reside in a nursing and rehabilitation home. The state is on management to hire more nurses and aides because it’s woefully understaffed, but it’s a shifty place to work so, rather than improving conditions so they can retain good help they are hiring people who almost entirely lack the ability to speak and understand English, to the extent that they are, I suspect, unable to order lunch at McDonald’s, and certainly not on the first try and without pointing and hand signals. > > At a different job in a different industry that would not be that big of a deal, but here they are treating the elderly who are often deaf and/or demented and whose problems can be life threatening if they are unable to communicate with the staff. Today I was trying to work with three women, an RN and two CNAs, the complete day crew, who understood each other in Hindi but couldn’t understand me, speaking slowly and non-idiomatically. There are few of their co-workers and fewer residents who speak Hindi so you can see where the problem lies. > > I feel sorry for these women who moved to another country to pursue their professions, only to be bitched about by some Yankee asshole, but this is a safety problem. They might be fucking with you. The largest hindi speaking country is india and anyone that got an RN in india is probably fluent in english (perhaps with an accent). They can certainly understand english unless you have a heavy regional American accent (especially southern accents). There is already a significant incentive to learn english. The wage differential between someone who speaks english and someone who doesn’t is pretty dramatic. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/52 "2019-08-23T16:39:51Z")
Are you suggesting that someone who is slow to understand that my wheelchair is out in the hall, goes to find it, then disappears for an hour, even though it was right outside my door, is fucking with me? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/53 "2019-08-23T17:37:37Z")
Here are a couple of useful Hindi words and phrases to help in communicating: “Please”: _krpaya_ (“kur-pie-YA”, more or less) “Thank you”: _shukriya_ (“shoe-kree-YA”) “To bring”: _lana_ (“laa-naa”) “To give”: _dena_ (“day-naa”) “My”: _mera_ “Your”: _apka_ (these pronouns take “-i” instead of “-a” endings when modifying feminine nouns and also have plural forms, but don’t worry about that now) And English nouns are frequently used in Hindi sentences, so requesting _“krpaya mera wheelchair lana”_ will probably be understood (as well as provoking considerable surprise). A question though: Are you sure it’s Hindi these people are speaking, as opposed to some other Indian language? If they’re from south India, for instance, the odds are pretty good that they’re not speaking Hindi to each other. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/54 "2019-08-23T18:37:27Z")
I think they might be South Indian, based on their complexions. I defaulted to Hindi based on my preconceptions and not knowing which of the 500 languages and dialects, based on seventh grade Geography class, to guess; Gujarati perhaps? ETA: But isn’t Hindi the lingua franca in India? Aside: I asked my X-Ray tech where he’s from. “Bombay.” " isn’t that Mumbai now? " “Yeah, but I’m old fashioned.” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/55 "2019-08-23T18:45:46Z")
In nineteen years this may be my most popular thread. I should insult an entire subset of humanity more often. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/56 "2019-08-23T19:40:42Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I think they might be South Indian, based on their complexions. Seems legit. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/57 "2019-08-23T19:57:04Z")
No, it’s NOT! I’m basing it on a Geography class I took when I was twelve in 1966! I’m utterly clueless when it comes to India, except for Modi and his l love of scientific horseshit. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/58 "2019-08-23T23:22:54Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > But isn’t Hindi the lingua franca in India? Well, no. English is. I’m not kidding. I know couples that speak English because they don’t understand each others native languages. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2019, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/59 "2019-08-23T23:43:41Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > No, it’s NOT! I’m basing it on a Geography class I took when I was twelve in 1966! I’m utterly clueless when it comes to India, except for Modi and his l love of scientific horseshit. > [@Balthisar](#): > > Well, no. English is. I’m not kidding. I know couples that speak English because they don’t understand each others native languages. See? I can’t be [del]bothered[/del] expected to keep track of every country on Earth. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2019, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033/60 "2019-08-24T01:47:51Z")
When you have people from multiple foreign countries working in a single environment, there is a need for the ability to communicate. Rather than requiring the Indians to learn Spanish and the Spanish-speakers to learn Hindi how about requiring them all to learn English. Hey, what you speak amongst your peers in one thing but in the workplace it’s another story. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-hate-being-that-white-guy-but-learn-english/839033.md?page=4)