american's must be stupid-they only know one language....

[BlaqueKatt]

This bugs the hell out of me....

there are reasons most of us only speak one language.

Reason 1)
Most of us never had the chance to learn a language until high school.

At that point language is fully developed and it's tons harder to learn a new one-then you get a couple years of either spanish, french, or if you're lucky your school offers german.

Reason 2) We can drive for days and still be in the same country. is a little bigger than the US and contains 49 countries

Most countries in Europe are the sizes of some of our states(50 states vs 49 countries). The closest place to me that speaks another language is Quebec(I do speak french)-and that happens to be 800 miles away, or a 13 hour drive(I live in Wisconsin), other direction to mexico-1724 miles, or a 28 hour drive.

The us covers 3,537,441 square miles, Europe about 4 million.

It' not that we are "stupid" or "arrogant" that we only know one language-it's that our geography makes it unnecessary, and if you want to learn it's next to impossible.

[Fashion Lad!]

The only other languages I'm interested in learning are programming languages.

I live in Minnesota we just need to learn to speak Wisconsinite for when they come to visit. (LOL, I'm kidding.)

A lot of times, second languages are taught starting at a very young age. At that young age, it's easier to learn and grasp the concept. As you get older, it gets harder. Our school systems just aren't set up for a second language like they should be.

I do think people should learn more than one language, but I also think that everyone should travel.

[the_std]

I've seen this sentiment expressed a lot too, and I think your system is failing you in not giving you the opportunities to learn new languages. So it's not Americans, as in you, or any other individual, that are stupid for it. It's kind of a whole-country dumb in that respect.

[jayel]

But again, in the U.S.A we really have no need to know any other language but English. I mean, some people may choose to if they are genuinely interested, but even if I was fluent in Spanish/French/German, I'd have no one to speak to in that language, so what's the point? Why knock myself out learning just so I can impress random strangers from other countries with how 'cultured' I am?

[daleduke17]

I've seen this sentiment expressed a lot too, and I think your system is failing you in not giving you the opportunities to learn new languages. So it's not Americans, as in you, or any other individual, that are stupid for it. It's kind of a whole-country dumb in that respect.

No, the opportunities are plentiful to learn new languages. It is a voluntary effort. I shouldn't be considered some backwoods hillbilly just because I don't know a second language. I've considered going to class to learn a second language, but haven't found the resources (aka money) to take the classes yet. Look at any college or university, there are plenty of foreign language classes available.

[linguist]

But again, in the U.S.A we really have no need to know any other language but English. I mean, some people may choose to if they are genuinely interested, but even if I was fluent in Spanish/French/German, I'd have no one to speak to in that language, so what's the point? Why knock myself out learning just so I can impress random strangers from other countries with how 'cultured' I am?

it has nothing to do with appearing 'cultured' or impressing anyone. like it or not, the u.s. is part of a global economy, and even if there's no 'need' to speak a second language within the country (which is actually patently untrue in the southwest portion of the country) it's imperative to be multilingual to stay competitive with the rest of the world.

No, the opportunities are plentiful to learn new languages. It is a voluntary effort. I shouldn't be considered some backwoods hillbilly just because I don't know a second language. I've considered going to class to learn a second language, but haven't found the resources (aka money) to take the classes yet. Look at any college or university, there are plenty of foreign language classes available.

if you're really serious, money can be worked around. every community i've ever lived in, from maine to minnesota to california to texas, offers some form of conversational language classes for free through various organizations, usually libraries. all it takes is some research.

[joe hx]

Reason 2) We can drive for days and still be in the same country.

The best way to learn a language - and, in my opinion, the only way to master one - is through immersion. That's almost impossible for some because they can travel for days and everyone around them still speaks English. Many don't have the funds to get a passport and fly a country that uses a different tongue.

[guywithashovel]

Yeah, this sentiment is pretty unfair. However, I'm sure that if people were to do a little more research on the American people, they would probably find that there are areas that we excel in over people in other countries.

Foreign languages just aren't stressed here. For one thing, most of us can drive for miles and miles without leaving the country, and of the two countries that border us, one is an English-speaking country (Canada). Granted, some parts of Canada are French, but even there, most of the people understand English.

I know a little bit of French myself, and I would like to be fluent someday. I just work on my French a little bit here and there. Maybe someday it'll amount to something.

Also, learning a new language is difficult, primarily because most people who try to learn one don't devote the necessary amount of time to it. Here in the US, it's not uncommon to meet someone who took four years or more of a certain language in school, but only knows a few words and phrases. I think that's mainly because you study the language in class, and then once you leave the class you're back to English and there's no real pressure to seriously practice the language.

[Greenday]

This is an interesting thread to me. My school forced us to start learning Spanish in the 1st grade and by the time I was almost in high school, they started them in kindergarten. A lot of basic stuff, but I used to be pretty good at Spanish and even though I stopped taking it after sophomore year in high school (about five years ago), I still have a decent grasp and while I can't understand my roommate when he speaks Spanish and talks fast, I still get the gist of what he is saying. Maybe it's because there was a decently large Mexican population near my area, but we really didn't get a choice. We had to take Spanish no matter what unless you were in basic skills. I wish I kept taking it and became fluent, but I really don't need it these days.

Learning a new language at this point is almost out of the question. Through working for the military, I get to use Rosetta Stone for free. First I tried Farsi as I thought that would be cool. Problem is, Rosetta Stone doesn't teach you the alphabet and Farsi is really damn hard. So I switched to French. Not nearly as hard as Farsi, but it was still a lot harder to learn it than learning Spanish when I was a kid. I also have a lot of problems with the French language. Like how you never pronounce s's. Kinda makes determining singular and plural pretty freaking hard.

[Boozy]

No, the opportunities are plentiful to learn new languages. It is a voluntary effort. I shouldn't be considered some backwoods hillbilly just because I don't know a second language. I've considered going to class to learn a second language, but haven't found the resources (aka money) to take the classes yet. Look at any college or university, there are plenty of foreign language classes available.

Which proves BlaqueKatt's point, I think. In Europe (and parts of Canada, etc.) children naturally pick up fluency in a second language while growing up, because they are surrounded by it. There's no real effort (or cost) involved.

You have to be relatively smart to pick up a second language in an academic (non-immersion) environment as a grown adult, after your brain has fully developed.

When it comes to simple capacity to learn a second language as an adult, I'd assume that about as many Americans are able to do it as Europeans. The only difference is the motivation to do it. A French businessman might need to learn German, due to proximity. An American businessman is not likely to need to learn anything other than English. So they pursue other interests in their free time. It has very little to do with intelligence.

[Crescent Cat]

I really want to become fluent in Spanish. I've taken up to the intermediate level of Spanish and the classes are very easy for me - despite not being introduced to the language until high school - but the problem I face is being able to use what I've learned.

It's sort of funny, really. I live in Arizona and there are a lot of Spanish speakers here, including friends, but I rarely have the opportunity to practice my Spanish with them. Part of the reason is that I'm painfully shy, which is my own fault, if I suck it up and just ask I'm sure they'll be willing to help. And they are, but they have their own lives and don't always have the time to practice with me.

I really wish I had been fortunate enough to be introduced to Spanish at a young age or have family members that speak it. I used to, my abuela did but she passed before I started taking Spanish and she lived on the other side of the country. I'm kind of annoyed that my father never learned Spanish. His mother knew it but never felt the need to teach her children for some reason. Gah . . . so frustrating.

You know what's really annoying though? When you have friends that are fluent in another language and they speak it around you, knowing damn well you can't understand what they're saying. I had two friends in high school that spoke German. I was talking to one of them one day when the other came over and they both started going off in German. And for what? I could tell by their tone that it wasn't a private conversation so I have no idea why the felt that they couldn't just speak English. It just made me feel stupid and left out.

What's even more annoying is that on more than one occasion of them doing this they suddenly stop and go, "Oh, you can't understand us huh? Haha, sorry."

Well duh. You know I can't and you've known I couldn't for quite a while.

Honestly, I think they had some insecurity issues and felt the need to "prove" that they could do something that I couldn't. I can't think of any other reason they would do this.

[Lace Neil Singer]

The same could occur to English people too; we generally only know one language, our own. And some of us don't speak that very well either... O_o

I learned bits and pieces of French, as in enough to make myself understood but not fluent by a long chalk. What makes the French hard to understand is not so much the words themselves, but the way they speak, stringing all the words together. O_O

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I can actually speak enough Italian to get around, however, my syntax is terrible, my use of pronouns is laughable, and I've actually forgotten quite a bit of all of it. There's no one to speak that language to around here.

Heck, I knew a Japanese guy whose first language was actually Japanese. His family came here when he was a little kid and by the time I knew him, he'd forgotten just about all of it.

As for me, I've met more people down here in South Carolina who spoke Gullah than I have who have spoken Italian. Some places down in the Lowcountry, you actually need a translator. Way my brain processes language, if it's not clear, I can't make heads or tails of it. Some folks can understand Gullah, but I'm not one of them.

[violetyoshi]

This bugs the hell out of me....

there are reasons most of us only speak one language.

Reason 1)
Most of us never had the chance to learn a language until high school.

At that point language is fully developed and it's tons harder to learn a new one-then you get a couple years of either spanish, french, or if you're lucky your school offers german.

Reason 2) We can drive for days and still be in the same country. is a little bigger than the US and contains 49 countries

Most countries in Europe are the sizes of some of our states(50 states vs 49 countries). The closest place to me that speaks another language is Quebec(I do speak french)-and that happens to be 800 miles away, or a 13 hour drive(I live in Wisconsin), other direction to mexico-1724 miles, or a 28 hour drive.

The us covers 3,537,441 square miles, Europe about 4 million.

It' not that we are "stupid" or "arrogant" that we only know one language-it's that our geography makes it unnecessary, and if you want to learn it's next to impossible.

Nobody would suggest it's arrogant if you went to Germany, Japan, or whatever other non-English speaking country, and they were to expect you understand their language. We're the ones who are perceived arrogant however, probably because:

We provide amnesty for people from non-speaking countries. They come here, and instead of being greatful, and trying to learn our language. They throw a tantrum about how nobody speaks their language.

Particularly when it comes to people from Mexico, who act as if we MUST know how to speak Espanol. We are doing them a favor, by offering them a chance to a better life. They disobey the law? Cross the border? It's not their fault, they just have to march and say "Nobody is illegal!" like toddlers having no understanding why everyone is being unfair to them. They also will pull the race card, if they don't get their way. Again we are trying to help them, and they are ungreatful to us.

There are Mexican people who do respect US laws, and the language. These people are having to contend with the problems people who come from Mexico and don't obey the rules cause. It's not fair that people, may refer to them as border crossers, illegal, or whatever. They did what they were supposed to.

I wasn't raised in a Spanish speaking country, I was raised in an English speaking country. Why then should people from Mexico, be able to harass people for not knowing the language of their country. They decided to come here, if we went to Mexico it wouldn't be tolerated if we didn't know Spanish right?

Maybe people think we're arrogant, because they are ignorant of the true effects of where opening your countries doors leads you. They have the starry-eyed notion, that the people who come to America are poor victims, and it's just cruel not to care for them. They don't live with the crime, that results from people immigrating here, or the drugs. I'm sure when all you hear is the poor plight of the Mexican immigrant, you feel the least people could do is learn their language to help them. The reality is far from that, and we're now seen as arrogant because we're no longer playing to the fairytale notion of immigration being perfectly wonderful.

Now, sure all of may have been born to people who immigrated to the US, or were born from the people who immigrated here. However, back then you had to learn English or have no job. The notion that you can tell people who immigrate here, it's okay if you don't know English we understand, and then expect everyone to make way for them is ridiculous. Things worked better when English was mandatory. There were less crimes, because there was better communication, and less frustration or temper tantruming when someone dared to suggest someone should be able to live knowing only English as a language. That behavior simply wasn't tolerated.

We try to give and give to people, and all we get in return is whining. It's not being arrogant to suggest if you don't like things here you can return to your own country, it's reality. This is a result from us giving a little to non-English speaking people, and them taking a mile. Most other countries wouldn't tolerate people they've welcomed there, blocking traffic so they can have their "Day without a Mexican" and march the streets like a pack of angry children. They want to make a point, they should attempt to do it like adults. I don't see any attempt to improve things for themselves, by saying "No one is illegal!" like a two year old shouting "It not FAIR!"

There are people who come here, who manage to fit in, and live well. Without having parades, or a tantrum around town. What do people who feel we're arrogant want? Us to treat everyone who comes here from another country, like a helpless child? Do they really think, we haven't tried to help them. We can't help people who refuse to help themselves. No amount of shouting and stomping of feet, is going to change that.

[Gravekeeper]

Yes, it's fairly easy being Canadian to pick up a second language as you're immersed in it from day 1. So its just natural for it to be around. Even if you don't speak it in day to day life. Its still on every single product label and sign. You just naturally begin associating the English words to their French equivilent.

But yes we also learn French in school, and many of our children's programming teaches French as well. You'd sort of have to be actively trying to NOT learn it to avoid picking any up in Canada.

However, if you go to any foreign country, especially immigrating, and expect them to speak your language to accomodate you? Than yeah you're a dick. -.-