No second language no promotion
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Bring back
Fraulein Corinna Schnabel and her parrot.
I can understand the reasoning behind it, but will it not simply mean that everyone will learn an easier language and the services will be flush with say German speakers, but bereft of say mandarin or Russian?
Fraulein Corinna Schnabel and her parrot.
I can understand the reasoning behind it, but will it not simply mean that everyone will learn an easier language and the services will be flush with say German speakers, but bereft of say mandarin or Russian?
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A reasonable idea, and considering the Army are more likely to be face to face with non-english language people on a daily basis while in theatre out of the three services while out patrolling or dealing with the local pop's reps. It could solve a lot of on the ground problems and goes a long way in hearts and minds.
If a battalion is needed to go to Poland, will the army care if the company commanders speak Russian, Farsi, German & Arabic? Do you think those officers will get binned and that the army will scrape through the army looking for Polish speaking infantry captains to dump into that battalion? I doubt it.
As I understand it, the purpose of having a language skill is so that you can be deployed to embassies, international headquarters, multinational forces or be deployed as a liaison officer (so whilst we might not scrape up four polish speaking captains for the above deployment, we might want a polish speaking Maj. or Lt.Col. attached to HQ Coy. to play nice with the host country).
I was watching the world go by clutching a beer in the foyer of a hotel in Beijing. By me were a western couple who looked as if the world had crashed around their ears. Conversation established why.
They were coming to China for a gap year to teach English in a college. For this they had done an extensive course in the Chinese language. It had taken them a year and they had also practised it with ethic Chinese back home to everybody's satisfaction.
Then they arrived in Beijing to find that they all spoke Mandarin; not Cantonese, the Chinese language they had learnt and that was also spoken by the Chinese at home who had originated from Hong Kong.
There was a lack of opportunities for English teachers in the Guangzhou area so they had wasted their time.
I am aware of four main languages in China; Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka and Chou Chou. Every province has it's own dialects and the country could be compared to Europe in size and the number of languages.
What I could use with confidence in one part would have them rolling on the floor a couple of hundred miles away.
They were coming to China for a gap year to teach English in a college. For this they had done an extensive course in the Chinese language. It had taken them a year and they had also practised it with ethic Chinese back home to everybody's satisfaction.
Then they arrived in Beijing to find that they all spoke Mandarin; not Cantonese, the Chinese language they had learnt and that was also spoken by the Chinese at home who had originated from Hong Kong.
There was a lack of opportunities for English teachers in the Guangzhou area so they had wasted their time.
I am aware of four main languages in China; Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka and Chou Chou. Every province has it's own dialects and the country could be compared to Europe in size and the number of languages.
What I could use with confidence in one part would have them rolling on the floor a couple of hundred miles away.
Loved the HK comedian who featured in a little video of simple Cantonese or Wongtongua (Translit?)
Simple 'Thank you' : 'M'goi'
'Big thank you' for, e.g., present: 'Dorchay'
"But you rarely have to say this because HK people hardly ever give you something for nothing and if they do, you so surprised you need door to lean on and chair to sit in - door-chair!"
NB, Before the Tsim sha tsui Tong came after me: his words, not mine
Simple 'Thank you' : 'M'goi'
'Big thank you' for, e.g., present: 'Dorchay'
"But you rarely have to say this because HK people hardly ever give you something for nothing and if they do, you so surprised you need door to lean on and chair to sit in - door-chair!"
NB, Before the Tsim sha tsui Tong came after me: his words, not mine
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How we have moved on from being live armed in Germany, and being told that if anyone tried to climb the sterile fence to shout the oligatory warnings in English prior opening fire with our muskets, and that if they didn't understand English, well, that was their tough luck.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Courtney Mil
After independence, will Scottish count?
One can only hope
Tom
From what I have read, the Scots can't count......well, to be fair, they only count the numbers they want to see.
Originally Posted by Courtney Mil
After independence, will Scottish count?
One can only hope
Tom
From what I have read, the Scots can't count......well, to be fair, they only count the numbers they want to see.
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In my book it all went downhill when we stopped setting the correct expectation on the first page of the old British Passport ...
Which was simply written in English ...
"Her Britannic Majesty commands and requires etc. etc."
None of this Secretary of State apologetic nonsense we have now
Which was simply written in English ...
"Her Britannic Majesty commands and requires etc. etc."
None of this Secretary of State apologetic nonsense we have now
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FareastDriver,
It is not just the dialects that are the problem, but having a Chinese character with various pronunciations and, on top of that, different tones to express them that can be the source of amusement or alarm.
As you will know there is but a tonal difference between a 'hair brush' the writing instrument, and a part of the female anatomy, as my instructor was quick to point out.
It is not just the dialects that are the problem, but having a Chinese character with various pronunciations and, on top of that, different tones to express them that can be the source of amusement or alarm.
As you will know there is but a tonal difference between a 'hair brush' the writing instrument, and a part of the female anatomy, as my instructor was quick to point out.
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I suspect they are going to have problems finding the right sort of Senior officers for the Engineers and REME. If they put it army wide.
A lot of ours could speak German at gutter level. But a lot of the Professional engineering trained officers who were highly talented in engineering and leadership really weren't skilled on there language side of their Brains.
Now there were a couple who were gifted in that area but realistically they needed watched like a hawk by the SNCO's when any sort of proper engineering decision was taken.
A lot of ours could speak German at gutter level. But a lot of the Professional engineering trained officers who were highly talented in engineering and leadership really weren't skilled on there language side of their Brains.
Now there were a couple who were gifted in that area but realistically they needed watched like a hawk by the SNCO's when any sort of proper engineering decision was taken.
As one who studied a non-core language full time for over a year to gain 3333 level - I can tell you it's very, very hard work (and I scored well on the MLAT). Moreover, a huge amount of time is needed to maintain any degree of fluency, and this is principlly achieved through immersion training (no, not that sort...). And that was just so I could attend the local Staff College Advanced Course.
The FCO will send their people to live with families in difficult-language countries for up to 18 months, whilst they attend local courses. Can you imagine the MOD funding that for your average SO3/2 who is not in a language-related post?
If the Army is serious about this, they have to accept that the training has to be full-time for about a year in most languages; 2 years for Asiatic, Turkic and Arabic languages. The DCLC exams need to change, too. They are all predicated on the student leading a patrol in Helmand (irrespective of the language). 'Did the attackers leave on bicycles?' being a particularly memorable phrase for me to learn during my language training.
Edited to add: this is all about the Army making their Brigades as indispensible as possible. A while back I attended a number of briefings by 'Joint' and Army-led units. It was all about showing how vital that particular unit would be after Herrick (AFG).
The FCO will send their people to live with families in difficult-language countries for up to 18 months, whilst they attend local courses. Can you imagine the MOD funding that for your average SO3/2 who is not in a language-related post?
If the Army is serious about this, they have to accept that the training has to be full-time for about a year in most languages; 2 years for Asiatic, Turkic and Arabic languages. The DCLC exams need to change, too. They are all predicated on the student leading a patrol in Helmand (irrespective of the language). 'Did the attackers leave on bicycles?' being a particularly memorable phrase for me to learn during my language training.
Edited to add: this is all about the Army making their Brigades as indispensible as possible. A while back I attended a number of briefings by 'Joint' and Army-led units. It was all about showing how vital that particular unit would be after Herrick (AFG).
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Seeing as the RAF for the most part currently only seem to promote yes men, brown nosers and those that do the most pointless secondary duties, then I'm sure they will implement that soon enough!
