Jan 06
Resolve.
One of those nights between Christmas and Hogmanay, nothing much to celebrate but no framework of work and routine to hang oneself from, she swallows pills and vodka.
We puzzle over foreign medications, pharmacological mysteries tangled up in Ks and Zs, Ws and Js, a family friend is called to translate, the phone shuttled back and forth between us.
I crouch before her and break out my one line of Polish - “What’s your name?”
She responds, with a faint smile. Her husband laughs, clapping my shoulder.
“You speak Polish!”
No, no. Just a few phrases, “What’s your name? Please. Thankyou. Hospital. Pain. Police. Stand up, please. Get up!”
They laugh, the police arrive and I become Polish consultant. Spelling names is difficult when your letters are pronounced differently, the cops take the names of everyone in the room, even the baby staring at us all from behind her drooly fingers.
“Catteeyah?” the policewoman struggles with it. “See-Ay-Tee-Tee-Ee?”
“No. Gee.”
“Gee?”
I wander over.
“Kat-Yah, right?”
He nods, my nerdy love of words and etymology drops into play.
“A Jay, mate. Kay-Ay-Tee-Jay-Ay.”
She writes it, shows it to him, he smiles broadly.
It works.
-
I’m downloading an Audiobook and Course in “Polish for Beginners” as I write. I want to be able to hold a conversation, or at least be able to speak to people who don’t require frog-marching off the street.
With language comes understanding.
With understanding comes decency.
These people live here, they are our neighbours.
Time to make an effort.
January 6th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Mate, be prepared for 7 grammatical cases and 32 letters in the alphabet (plus double letter sounds), but it makes talking about vodka so much easier:)
January 6th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Some would say that it is they who need to make the effort. I say we all need to make an effort.
January 6th, 2010 at 11:39 am
All credit to you - I am also trying with our neighbour but he and his wife both want to speak English all the time!
January 6th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
This is the attitude we needed in our Equality & Diversity seminar on Monday. But instead, we got absolutely nowhere. A few more crews could do with bucking their ideas up in this way too. You’re a shining example. And I’m not being facetious.
January 6th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Good for you, Kal. I’ve never really learned enough of any other language than “Merkan” to do much more than mangle it up. I can swear in Spanish, stumble thru in German, and my French is limited to ballet terminology and “Je ne parlez pas Francais” from our old days in Harry’s Bar.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
My cousin recently married a Polish girl and she’s teaching me useful phrases in exchange for help with her english grammar. I now have a language course and a homemade medical crib book in three columns: Proper polish, my phonetics, english translation. Its rewarded the initial effort many times in the last three months.
January 6th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
That’s impressive! Not an easy language, methinks.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
We do all need to make the effort. However, I do not expect my neighbours here in the north if Italy to speak English. They already communicate in German and Italian and some of them also speak Ladin (equivalent to Welsh). It is my choice to live in a country other than my native one - therefore it is also my responsibility to learn their language. That applied to me 25 years ago when my husband went to work in Germany - no-one offered any assistance, you cetainly did not get interpreters paid for when you went to the doctor. Large numbers of them are very happy to use our “free” health service to produce their babies - and often demand treatments and investigations as their right which at home would be charged for and they could not afford (my daughter works for out-of-hours so I’m not just speaking off the top of my head).
We do all need to do more - but the first step should really be for anyone who wants to work in Britain to have to demonstrate a basic understanding of English. And in medical matters communication needs reasonable competence in the language.
January 6th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
PS: Nor do I have much sympathy with the people who head off to other countries to retire or “start a new life” with no knowledge of the language or local culture. It doesn’t matter where it is - you will have to deal with the local authorities at some point. And there is no reason why, just because “of course everyone speaks English” you should not learn their language. Because you will be amazed how many people don’t speak English - or at least, not enough to have a meaningful conversation.
Maybe I’m just a miserable old git - but I’ll continue to communicate in 3 different languages. My neighbours think it is fantastic that I have bothered to learn “their” language, and i am accepted as one of the locals. That’ll do me nicely.
January 6th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Where I come from, most of us speak at least two main languages and some also manage two or more different dialects of a third. It’s cool.
January 6th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Good effort. I might get on with something similar myself.
January 6th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Ah mate — you’re a good sheila and not at all stuck up.
(That’s all the Australian I know
Seriously though: good for you!
January 6th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
The “people coming here should learn our language” argument I tend to agree with, loosely, but not everyone is capable of learning foreign languages. Also, when sick, in pain, medicated, delerious etc, I wouldn’t be suprised if people revert to their native tongue and struggle with a foreign one.
I’m not saying being multi-lingual should be a pre-requisite of all emergency personnel by any stretch, but I can see the use of at least a few useful phrases.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Good for you, who said CPD is always about the nuts and bolts? I periodically try to learn Hindi, but the guys who are willing to teach me never stay in the area long enough!
January 7th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Well done. I wish more providers would think this way rather than getting angry at immigrants. Powodzenia! (apparently)
January 7th, 2010 at 2:51 pm
Great job Kal. If you ever want a lab rat to practise Polish on I’d be more than happy to help.
January 8th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Long ago, in the ATC, I learnt the International Phonetic Alphabet. You know the stuff - Kilo Alpha Lima and so on. Although it may sound a bit funny coming from other accents it is handy for spelling out the basics.
Respect for the language learning. It’s all fine saying “they should learn our language” but if you had done French at school, how would you cope in France after being in an RTI?
January 8th, 2010 at 6:32 pm
You have to learn to say -
“Hi, I’m Kal, I’ll be your paramedic for today, and I’ll make it hurt more if you don’t help me practice my polish”
Or something along those lines.
January 9th, 2010 at 6:42 pm
Good for You - also, try Malay, or Bahu Malaysu as the Malaysian call it. Easiest language in the world to learn! And…where are you downloading it from? I’d like to learn Polish…please?
January 12th, 2010 at 3:59 pm
A N Other service somewhere else had a book made up for staff to carr on the vehicles. It had the common phrases in various languages, polish, french, somali, etc so staff could ask as many questions as possible. It is great. Maybe you could suggest a similar thing for your service?
February 4th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Another Pole happy to help with language practice, here
And if you ever make it to Warsaw, I’d love to buy you a pint.