The cost of translation .

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.express.co...-11m-translation-bill

Money well spent, or just another expensive shackle on the taxpayer, due to "out of control" immigration?

If they knew they couldn't get their hands on benefits, because they couldn't speak English, what's the betting they would soon learn?

[Quinlad]

This is money that could have been spent on the armed forces.

[another-view]

It would be better spent on anything. If I went to live in a foreign country, I would make sure I learned the language before I went.

Ridiculous, If they don't understand English, then that's their hard cheese.

[fredpuli47]

Daft that it involves so many documents for so many purposes (as experience suggests ) and so many languages. We used to expect that any immigrant would have someone already here, a relative or someone in their community, who already spoke and read enough English to help them.That's how it still is in Hill House International junior school, no less, very posh and very private [Prince Charles was there].They have large numbers of children of 4 and older who are helped by older children who are speakers of their language.That must happen in inner city schools, too.

The DVLA doesn't seem to expect you to understand any languages other than Welsh and English. What are they doing wrong ?

[Seadragon]

I can't see what's wrong with translation of material if it helps to integrate different communities. The translations don't just concern benefit information but medical and educational as well. But you choose to point out the benefit pamphlets.

[chelle7272]

At work we have to spend a fortune on translation and interpreting for services funded by a stautory agency (NHS mainly).
What is even more ridiculous is that most of the translation is for Somali residents, most of whom can't read Somali as it has only recently become a written language!!
We also now have to employ a Polish worker for the Polish community - that's a whole part time salary!
Fred - your point about a family member being there - this is deemed unacceptable in a health setting as it has apparently been found that if they don't like the diagnosis they won't tell their relative the truth(!).
I agree it is completely ridiculous

[rov1200]

I bet they knew how to say 'asylum' and 'where is the benefit office'?

[VHG]

I watched a program on TV a year or so back about an English couple who had gone to Spain to open up a bar.

They contacted a company who were going to supply the alcohol to the bar and they sent a guy round to take the order.

The guy who arrived to take the order for the alcohol could not speak English, and the guy who was planning to open the bar could not speak Spanish, so they could sort out the order.

As the Spanish guy drove away the Englishman turned to the camera in disbelief and said "they sent a guy who could not speak English !!".

I felt like saying "Well you are opening a bar in Spain and you cannot speak Spanish"

[sp1814]

One thing I would like to point out - English is one of the hardest languages in the world to learn. It's up there with Mandarin Chinese (which is a tonal language).

English is full of grammatical potholes which we all know because we're brought up with it.

Spanish, by contrast is relatively easy, as are the other 'Romance' languages.

Not trying to come up with an excuse - but a reason why some people just give up and rely on their relatived who DO speak English.

[youngmafbog]

Cant speak english and live here and expect benefits ? The SOD off. simple

[jake-the-peg]

I would like to know which of you can actually speak another language.

It seems to me that there's a strong possibility that we have quite a few people here pontificating about what other people should do not having had the experience of learning another language themselves.

I know you're all going to splutter "that's not the point they've come here" but I tend to feel that you shouldn't get so high and mighty if you can't do something yourself