Unless you make that a legal and well-known requirement for residence in a country, that's just not okay.
Do I agree with the general idea, that 'guests in a country' (i.e. foreigners with a working permit) should learn about the local culture, the language? Sure.
But
- the author claims that he knew some danish. Learning the local language to flirt, order a beer and talk about the weather isn't the same as defending yourself in a legal case
- you need the translator anyway for short-term visitors that you want to charge (unless you ask people to learn the language before they go there as a tourist)
I'm speaking from the perspective of someone that worked in Tel Aviv for a year. I cannot speak Hebrew (well.. words, stupid phrases. I cannot speak a coherent sentence). That's unfortunate, since I tend to like the parts of the language I know. Languages are just .. hard, for me. Learning a language while you're working full time is worse. Being shy about using it -> even worse. The idea that a cop would've expected me to defend myself in Hebrew is .. a nightmare.
Frankly, if I'd be charged in London I'd ask for a German translator. I think antirez wrote an article (during that 'accent' discussion) recently that struck home: Even if you know a foreign language, you're often limiting yourself to the same topic. Smalltalk in English? Why not. Talking tech stuff? Sure thing. But I wouldn't try to argue with a cop just like I wouldn't feel comfortable discussing arts or doing pillow talk in that language.
Well, I did say you could have someone to call; in your case, you could have the number of a German translator who you'd call if you were to be arrested. My question is mostly whether arranging for that translator should be the police's responsibility or the foreign national's.
Unless you make that a legal and well-known requirement for residence in a country, that's just not okay. Do I agree with the general idea, that 'guests in a country' (i.e. foreigners with a working permit) should learn about the local culture, the language? Sure.
But
- the author claims that he knew some danish. Learning the local language to flirt, order a beer and talk about the weather isn't the same as defending yourself in a legal case
- you need the translator anyway for short-term visitors that you want to charge (unless you ask people to learn the language before they go there as a tourist)
I'm speaking from the perspective of someone that worked in Tel Aviv for a year. I cannot speak Hebrew (well.. words, stupid phrases. I cannot speak a coherent sentence). That's unfortunate, since I tend to like the parts of the language I know. Languages are just .. hard, for me. Learning a language while you're working full time is worse. Being shy about using it -> even worse. The idea that a cop would've expected me to defend myself in Hebrew is .. a nightmare.
Frankly, if I'd be charged in London I'd ask for a German translator. I think antirez wrote an article (during that 'accent' discussion) recently that struck home: Even if you know a foreign language, you're often limiting yourself to the same topic. Smalltalk in English? Why not. Talking tech stuff? Sure thing. But I wouldn't try to argue with a cop just like I wouldn't feel comfortable discussing arts or doing pillow talk in that language.