Language Gap in the US?

[Unkotare]

everyone doesn't

Everyone with whom a foreigner might be dealing. China is a country where you could live for a decade and never learn more than a few words because you don't need to speak Mandarin to do your daily chores.

In Korea or Japan ......

That would be true in any of those three countries if you stayed in the big cities, but untrue in all of those countries outside the major metropolitan areas.

I lived in Seoul for five years, in two different Ku in Tokyo for six years. I spent six years in Hong Kong (before and after the handover) while a frequent visitor to Guangzhou and Beijing. That's based on my personal experience.

At work, I spoke only English the entire time. In Hong Kong and China, taxi drivers seemed to be the exception to the 'everyone speaks English rule'. But, as long as you can say your destination in passable Cantonese or Mandarin, it seemed to work. Same for Japan and Korea, English was all I ever needed at work. However, shopping, transport, and everyday errands required me to speak local. Singapore, I never heard a single soul speaking anything but English if he was wearing a clean shirt.

Out in Xi’an in the early 90s virtually NO ONE other than some college kids spoke English in everyday interactions. Much, much fewer than the likely street interactions in Japan in the mid-to-later 90s. More bilingual printed material in Japan as well. Rather similar to South Korea in the early 2000‘s. Things change over time, of course.

Apparently, there are residents of Xian who speak Hebrew.

And Arabic

 

[Moonglow]

I just use pictures to get the point across..

 

[Unkotare]

To the point: is America building a disadvantage by 'falling behind' in imparting language skills to our young people as a basic part of their education?

 

[fncceo]

To the point: is America building a disadvantage by 'falling behind' in imparting language skills to our young people as a basic part of their education?

America has always been a place where a supernumerary language has been a nice-to-have skill. I've been hearing the same discussion for my entire life.

BUT, it never put us at a disadvantage in the past.

 

[Unkotare]

To the point: is America building a disadvantage by 'falling behind' in imparting language skills to our young people as a basic part of their education?

America has always been a place where a supernumerary language has been a nice-to-have skill. I've been hearing the same discussion for my entire life.

BUT, it never put us at a disadvantage in the past.

Neither did lax cyber security, but times change. Just something to think about.

 

[Natural Citizen]

It's good to learn new languages. Spanish is pretty easy. Best to start with that one.

I want to learn Russian next. Not a fan of French.

 

[eagle1462010]

I speak 2 languages.

English and Redneck

 

[fncceo]

To the point: is America building a disadvantage by 'falling behind' in imparting language skills to our young people as a basic part of their education?

America has always been a place where a supernumerary language has been a nice-to-have skill. I've been hearing the same discussion for my entire life.

BUT, it never put us at a disadvantage in the past.

Neither did lax cyber security, but times change. Just something to think about.

My cyber security is still pretty lax. I dont actually have any data worth stealing.

My cyber hygiene is atrocious.

 

[Unkotare]

It's good to learn new languages. Spanish is pretty easy. Best to start with that one.

I want to learn Russian next. Not a fan of French.

Spanish grammar gets pretty complicated at the more advanced levels of study.

 

[Unkotare]

I think the question of technology is an interesting one. A lot of advancements in recent decades.

 

[karpenter]

English being one of the, if not THE most widely spoken language on earth

Mandarin Chinese, Believe It Or Not....

 

[Vastator]

English being one of the, if not THE most widely spoken language on earth

Mandarin Chinese, Believe It Or Not....

Not. While the Chinese are more populous the dispersion of their language pales in comparison to English...

 

[Unkotare]

English being one of the, if not THE most widely spoken language on earth

Mandarin Chinese, Believe It Or Not....

Not. While the Chinese are more populous the dispersion of their language pales in comparison to English...

Sorry, but it is Chinese.

 

[Vastator]

English being one of the, if not THE most widely spoken language on earth

Mandarin Chinese, Believe It Or Not....

Not. While the Chinese are more populous the dispersion of their language pales in comparison to English...

Sorry, but it is Chinese.

I’m not sorry. And you’re wrong. First it isn’t “ “Chinese”, but mandarin to which you likely refer. And though in bulk number of native speakers they win hands down; geographic dispersal of mandarin falls behind even Spanish. If an English speaker were airdropped into nearly any town on earth. His language would be readily identified, and a fluent speaker would likely be almost instantly available, due to the global commonality of learning English as a second language.
For the Mandarin speaker people would be hard pressed in many places to identify its national origin, let alone specifically the it is Mandarin. Finding a Mandarin fluent speaker on the streets in many locations outside Asia could prove quit difficult...

 

[Unkotare]

More people on this planet speak Chinese than any other language.

 

[karpenter]

Asia Is A Damned Big Place...

So Is The Chinese Dispora

 

[Unkotare]

It wouldn’t hurt to emphasize foreign language studies in American education.

 

[Vastator]

Asia Is A Damned Big Place...

So Is The Chinese Dispora

No doubt. But Mandarin is still not as common European colonial languages globally, High numbers, but more limited locale, and significantly lower density, and commonality outside of its region of origin.

 

[Unkotare]

Asia Is A Damned Big Place...

So Is The Chinese Dispora

No doubt. But Mandarin is still not as common European colonial languages globally, High numbers, but more limited locale, and significantly lower density, and commonality outside of its region of origin.

Stop spinning. You are wrong, move on.

 

[Ringel05]

With 231 million Americans speaking only one language well enough to communicate (so relax, you 'English only' hysterics), and enrollment in language classes declining, is America exacerbating a strategic disadvantage? What consequences might this have, or will technology make it a moot point?


Why There's A Language Learning Gap In The United States

lo siento, no habla.