# Isn't it, well, irrational to feel troubled by people speaking foreign languages in your country? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260 "2016-06-24T19:57:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/1 "2016-06-24T19:57:42Z")
From [“Trump and Brexit: Right-wing populism of the two is rooted more in base nationalism than in economic insecurity,”](http://www.salon.com/2016/06/24/trump_and_brexit_right_wing_populism_of_the_two_is_rooted_more_in_base_nationalism_than_in_economic_insecurity/) by Amanda Marcotte: > [@](#): > > In one memorable interview, Farage complained about riding in a train through suburban London and hearing all the chatter in foreign languages on it. “It was a stopper going out and we stopped at London Bridge, New Cross, Hither Green. It was not until we got past Grove Park that I could hear English being audibly spoken in the carriage,” he whined. > > (The host, James O’Brien, dryly pointed out that this cacophony of foreign voices must include his own wife’s, who is German. But, as with Trump, who is also married to an immigrant, it’s only the dark-skinned ones that are scary.) > > This anxiety about not being able to eavesdrop on other people because they aren’t speaking English is a common trait among Trump supporters in the U.S., as well. A recent study from Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and the Brookings Institution demonstrates exactly how out of control the how-dare-they-speak-Spanish-near-me attitudes are in the Trump camp. > > [Bar graph showing responses to poll question, “It bothers me when I come into contact with immigrants who speak little or no English.” All Americans: 50% agree, 49% disagree. Trump supporters: 77/23. Republicans: 66/33. Independents: 50/49. Democrats: 35/64.] > > The language issue is an important one because it’s so fundamentally irrational. Many of the arguments against immigration — they are taking our jobs, they bring crime and disease — are untrue, but it’s easy to see why people who believe these arguments might have cause to be afraid. If you really do think immigrants are taking your jobs or bringing diseases, the anxiety seems rational, if still distasteful. > > But the language thing betrays the anti-immigration forces. There’s simply no rational argument for why it should matter to you if people you’re sitting next to in public are having a conversation in a language you don’t understand that doesn’t include you. > > Sure, they could be talking about you — though what a narcissist you must be to assume that — but that’s also true of people sitting across a room that are speaking in volumes you can’t hear. It’s anxiety unmoored from any rational justification, however tenuous. It’s hate for its own sake, fury that people dare to be different than you without apologizing for it. It never struck me to consider the question that way – in fact, the question itself never occurred to me before – but she’s right, isn’t she? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/2 "2016-06-24T20:02:42Z")
Well, when a couple of guys keep looking at me, like on the bus, and talking in a foreign language, then look back at me, etc, it does get unnerving . But only then. ---
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/3 "2016-06-24T20:04:49Z")
No. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/4 "2016-06-24T20:12:51Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > No. No, it’s not irrational? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/5 "2016-06-24T20:14:15Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > No. Yes. Kentucky Fried Movie: _Hornung: Mr. Grunwald, in addition to your occupation as a spoon, is it not true that you are a driving instructor? Grunwald: No. Hornung: Then it is true. Grunwald: Yes. Hornung: That you’re not a driving instructor? Grunwald: No. Hornung: Your Honor, I object to this line of questioning. Judge: Overruled. Hornung: Very well, then; I’d like some time to go over my briefs. Judge: Please. Hornung: [inspects his underwear] They’re fine._ ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/6 "2016-06-24T20:17:45Z")
It’s none of anyone’s damn business what they’re saying. Anyone who feels “troubled” by it needs to reel their nose back in. That said, other languages are dismaying when they’re a barrier to communication. What if those nice tourists need to know how to find Euclid Avenue, or the bathroom, or the hospital emergency room? What if I need emergency help and they can’t understand me? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/7 "2016-06-24T20:28:31Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > What if I need emergency help and they can’t understand me? Then you have the same chance of finding an English-speaker as you would have if the foreigners were not around. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/8 "2016-06-24T20:36:51Z")
Its irrational to be afraid of different languages. The other day at work, 3 coworkers near me spoke Spanish in an extended conversation. It annoyed me that I didn’t know Spanish, but it didn’t bother me that they were speaking it. The fault is with myself, not them ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/9 "2016-06-24T20:42:20Z")
It’s creepy when people speak a foreign language. They act like they’re talking, but they’re not using real words; they’re just saying “bar bar bar bar.” It’s bad enough when people speak with an accent. Talk _normal_, dammit! ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/10 "2016-06-24T20:46:22Z")
> [@YogSothoth](#): > > Its irrational to be afraid of different languages. The other day at work, 3 coworkers near me spoke Spanish in an extended conversation. It annoyed me that I didn’t know Spanish, but it didn’t bother me that they were speaking it. The fault is with myself, not them It doesn’t bother me at all. I mostly mind my own beeswax but sometimes I’ll amuse myself by trying to identify the language, and if it’s Spanish which I know a little of, try to identify words and figure out what they’re talking about. But I never do that in a paranoid way, just more like a decoding puzzle. I could never figure out why some people feel that just because an incomprehensible conversation is going on near them, the topic must be them. That’s very narcissistic. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/11 "2016-06-24T20:46:48Z")
It seems to me that the typical basis for expressions of dismay with hearing lots of foreign languages spoken is that it represents, in microcosm, a reminder or metaphor of the person’s concerns or fears about concrete issues such as jobs and crime (whether or not those are well-founded). Relatively few people object to a group of tourists speaking their own language, by contrast, and even fewer people go to other countries and object to foreign people speaking foreign languages there. Hence the lack of concern over German-speakers – they’re not seen as taking jobs. I think Marcotte is simply wrong about skin color being the sole issue; I’ve read lots of accounts suggesting that the anti-immigration sentiments in the UK are driven very much by concerns (again, whether well-founded or not) about eastern Europeans taking British jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/12 "2016-06-24T20:55:31Z")
Define irrational. If you like your country and culture the way it is, then the increasing presence of foreign-language speakers is a legitimate sign that the landscape is changing in a way you oppose. Thus there is a genuine connection between the stimulus and the response. That is not irrational in the sense that, for instance, my former inability to be in the same room with even a small dog was irrational. ETA: HIt submit too soon. The fact that the stimulus and response relationship is rational does not mean that the thing thaat is feared is a rational, wise, or just fear. ---
**Author:** ![doubleminus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@doubleminus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doubleminus)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/13 "2016-06-24T21:05:58Z")
OK, thought experiment. Fill a glass with water. Spit into it. Drink it. Do you feel disgust? If yes, then this is obviously irrational. In many cases of human endeavor, Irrational means that I do not understand (or approve) that endeavor. ---
**Author:** ![svd678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@svd678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svd678)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/14 "2016-06-24T21:24:57Z")
People fear/dislike, etc. those who are different, including those who sound different. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/15 "2016-06-24T21:42:09Z")
People project their own emotions out on to the world. A person who hates people who are different from him assumes those people hate him as well. And he’s all alone but there’s a group of them so he feels threatened. And when he feels threatened, he assumes people must be threatening him. So you have three guys talking about last night’s baseball game, not even noticing the guy a few feet away he’s sure they’re about to attack him. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/16 "2016-06-24T21:42:43Z")
Funny anecdote time. I was on a train in the Czech Republic when a family group entered my carriage. 2 adult sisters and two children about 7 or 8 years old. The kids were bilingual and spoke Czech and French. The adults also spoke fluent English and used that language to talk to each other about things they didn’t want the children to understand. Mainly their complicated sex lives; one was sleeping with her husbands brother, the other was sleeping with her boss and his father. They were part French after all! I didn’t let on that I was English until I got up to leave. Partly because I was enjoying the eavesdropping, but also because I felt bad about my own language skills. I’ve been the foreigner talking my own language on public transport and I’m rarely talking about the people around me. And it seems that other people usually have better things to talk about too. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/17 "2016-06-24T22:25:27Z")
Off to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/18 "2016-06-24T22:32:35Z")
It doesn’t bother me, but I don’t see anything irrational about it. One of the nice things about America is that I can travel over vast distances and communicate effectively, despite only knowing a single language. A few isolated people speaking non-English doesn’t degrade anything in and of itself, but is potentially a signal that English has lost ground in that area. Taken to an extreme, a large population of people speaking not-English makes it possible for some to not need to learn English at all. And this, selfishly, is a net loss for me. It means there are people or even whole communities that I can’t communicate with. Obviously these people don’t owe me anything, but in purely self-interested terms I’d clearly be better off if they spoke my language, just as I’d be better off if France spoke English (it would make travel just that much easier). So I don’t see anything irrational about being concerned about large populations of people not speaking your native language. ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/19 "2016-06-24T23:14:01Z")
I’m an American-born, native English speaker. I worked in South America for a while. My Spanish is good but not fluent, and it’s nowhere near automatic the way a native language is. I know from experience how tiring it is to constantly interact in a second language. I had a few coworkers there who would speak English with me . Some did it because they wanted to practice; others because their English was better than my Spanish and it made our jobs easier. Regardless of their reasons, it was always a welcome opportunity to think in my native language for a while. I now have a Spanish-speaking coworker who’s new to the US. His English is good - better than my Spanish - but he appreciates a break too. We often speak Spanish when it’s just the two of us. When there are more people, of course we switch back to English. Anybody who has an issue with the way we carry on conversations that they’re not involved in can go piss up a rope. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260/20 "2016-06-24T23:18:56Z")
Hey, I speak a weird foreign-to-the-locals language all the time when I go to other countries (and I don’t even mean English, I have an even weirder one I can pull out). Even when I’ve lived in other countries for extended periods, I’ve still done this as long as I’ve been with other speakers of my particular weird foreign-to-the-locals language. I don’t do it to piss the locals off or anything. So, the notion that I should be upset by hearing a foreign-to-me language in my country seems bizarre to me. And people do speak all kinds of weird languages around where I live. It’s fine. It has never occurred to me that it’s something I should find troubling. (Actually, come to think of it, if everyone in my area suddenly started speaking in one and only one language, that would freak me out big time. It would be like a Twilight Zone episode.) Also, something that people might not consider is that a heck of a lot of people are bilingual or multi-lingual. Just because you hear someone speaking in weird-to-you language with their friends or their mother on the train, it doesn’t mean that they’re not perfectly capable of speaking English (or your local language of choice) with you, or at the post office. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-it-well-irrational-to-feel-troubled-by-people-speaking-foreign-languages-in-your-country/758260.md?page=2)