I frequently hear it said, often by frustrated customer service workers, that non-anglophone immigrants to North America ought to learn the continent's official language, that being the one in which I am now writing. This is sometimes followed up with the belief that they ought to be deported or beaten or shot for failing to do so. To those of you who have spoken similar words, I can only hope that you merely exaggerated to express your frustration by a road-block in communication. Else, don't dare pride your country for being a "land of opportunity," a "melting pot," or anything else of the sort, and don't dare fly a flag proclaiming yourself tolerant, open-minded, or even compassionate.

Let us focus on the latter trait for just a moment. I'll ask you to do something at which you'll probably balk: imagine yourself (gasp!) as an immigrant to a non-English-speaking country. Say you've held a job for thirty years, from whose earnings you barely scrape by, when your boss approaches you and say that they need to transfer you to Japan as soon as possible. What do you do? Quit, and look for a new job? What if your skills are limited, or prospective employers feel that you're too old (not that discrimination on this basis is legal, but it does occur)? Okay, you think, so I'll go back to school to learn something else, then get a job in that field. With what money? Again, you may feel too old to learn anything but what has been ingrained in your mind through years of practice. So, you feel as though there is no other practical option but to go to Japan, where you will be guaranteed at least the wages you have become accustomed to earning. After all, you do have a family for whom to provide.

You've got very little time. What do you do to prepare? By the way, your company is not paying to provide you with formal Japanese lessons, much less your family. So you buy a Japanese phrasebook. And that's it. I bet your Japanese phrasebook is even written in English letters (romaji). Thus, you initially plan to use just enough Japanese to ask for directions, for the time, to order something at a restaurant, et cetera. Oh, you think you'll be fine.

What happens when you get there, and you need to ask somebody for directions, but they say them to you so quickly that you don't understand? Your phrasebook probably contains the phrase Yukkuri itte kudasai—"please speak slowly." Hopefully you know how to pronounce these words the way the Japanese do, and don't do your bastardised best in your thick American accent. The person gives them to you again, and you now realize that you don't know half of the words they used. How do you word this dilemma? You need to ask them to dumb it down, so you turn to your phrasebook for Wakarimasen ("I don't understand") and '___'wa nan desuka? ("What is '___'?") Be sure to correctly pronounce desuka (dess-kah); you don't want to sound retarded! Does it now occur to you that you now look like one of those "foreign idiots" who did the same to you in America? The Japanese person in front of you gets impatient and sick of dealing with you, throws up their arms, and walks away, spitting beneath their breath "baka gaijin" ("stupid foreigner").

A Japanese first-grader can read this. Can you? How long do you think it would take you to learn all of those letters, then those words? Not long, I imagine. But how long would it be before you could read or write this editorial in Japanese? You'd need to know all of the words, the grammar structure, the two basic Japanese alphabets, and perhaps all necessary kanji if you wanted to appear fluent, plus you'd need to know which words are written in which alphabets or combination thereof. By the way, the phrase is written in hiragana, the first Japanese alphabet, and it means, "You can't read this, can you?"

Now, let's consider why an immigrant to North America might never be fluent in the English language. Could it be that he or she, like you, would use English only as often as needed to get by? After all, at home, with family, he or she will still easily converse in their native tongue. Furthermore, if you think deeply about the tricky nuances of English (or any language, really), you would realize that it is difficult to learn. In Arabic, for example, there is no word to represent such a concept as "to be;" thus, a sentence would not read "I am Arabic" but "I Arabic." Likewise, in Japanese, nouns are not pluralized. How difficult, then, would it be for a Japanese person learning English to wrap their mind around such pluralization rules as in "losses," "mice," "geese," or "deer"? On the other hand, you might find it difficult to learn a tonal language such as Chinese, in which a rise, fall, or waver in your voice may alter the meaning of a word.

As well, immigrants have citizenship tests with which to be concerned. In order to study for and successfully complete these tests, one must have an understanding of English. The best way to gain such a knowledge base would be to take formal lessons in English. However, these classes often are not free. Tuition fees must be paid, and with what money? An immigrant likely cannot get a job until he or she has passed a citizenship test. Thus the difficult cycle in which many immigrants find themselves is introduced to you.

One last point is that you must not look upon a person who cannot speak English as any less intelligent than you are, mighty anglophone. Realize that, in their own languages, these immigrants could be highly educated and exceptionally verbose. Just as you may be tempted to make fun of them in your tongue which they cannot understand, so may they.

Please show immigrants who speak in broken English your respect, compassion, and above all patience. They've chosen your country, your neighbourhood, in which to live. They are only trying to communicate with you in a way they have for years not had to use. A little kindness toward these bold newcomers goes a long way. If you only listen to what they are trying to say, you might wind up with a friend who can teach you about a culture other than your own.