TSR ATTACKS! WE CAN HAZ NEW LEGAL THREAT!

[FilthyPriest]

In the US we are going to have to start teach spanish on a wider scale so that the latino population can join together more easily. I was hoping to get my hands on the Rosetta stone program for spanish,

[kenmtl]

I don't think there's any single answer to that question. It seems to depend on many factors with the most prevalent being necessity. English has for whatever reason become an international language so for many people it's a necessity. I know many people here in Quebec and in France that speak little to no English. Most people in Canada outside of Quebec can't read or speak French, nor do they particularly need to. A few basic words or phrases learnt in school or heard through the media somewhere but that's about it.

I think in Europe it's more common to know more than one language simply because there's so much interaction for a small geographic region, and even then it's not particularly strong for the average person in even the larger countries. It seems to still depend on commercial necessity. The Brits are not known to be terribly multilingual and then of course the French just don't on principle alone. A few of the smaller countries have more than one official language (Belgium,Switzerland,Luxembourg, etc) so that what language you speak often just depends on whether you are at home or at work. You even have a little country like Belgium where it's Flemish on top  French underneath and they often don't know or more probably just won't speak the other language.

Personally I love knowing at least little bits of different languages. I think it's important to at least make the effort to be able to say please/thank you/hello in the language of the place you are visiting if it's foreign. It's take a minimum of effort and it's just a matter of respect. Beside you learn something new that's not going to hurt you.

I was in Beirut a couple of years ago and even tried to learn a bit of Arabic, which is a beautiful language, unfortunately I wasn't very successful. Luckily French as well as English are quite common there so I did fine.

I think learning a new language is an eye opening experience. It not just about the vocabulary or grammatical structures it's about history and custom. It's about people and their evolution. Where they come from, what's been there experience, what's important to them, how they've evolved as a society. Language is developed from everyday experiences, often very mundane things and often very extraordinary events. I spend everyday constantly flipping between languages depending on the person I'm talking to, and you don't just change words you change cultural references. It's the history of words and phrases that can take time to learn, but it's also by far the most interesting. There are certain words or phrases that I can't translate because the reference doesn't exist outside of the native language, so you find similar reference in the language you need. It's often not exactly the same but conveys the same sentiment.

Anyway long/short I think it's fun to expand your horizons.

[Yaardarm Monkey II]

Speaking foreign languages can be really informative and helpful.

Like using cool phrases like:


I want to touch you in ways that ought to be illegal and make you bark like a dog in carnal pleasure.
English


Ich möchte Sie auf Arten berühren, die ungültig sein und Sie Barke wie ein Hund im sinnlichen Vergnügen bilden sollen.
German

Voglio toccarlo nei sensi che devono essere illegali e rendergli la corteccia come un cane nel piacere carnal.
Italian

or so Babelfish translates it...   

[HugeLunatic]

In the US we are going to have to start teach spanish on a wider scale

This language is of little use actually where I live in the US.    Languages are also not required in the public schools here, which is just as well considering you'd have a hard time choosing the most appropriate.  And that is going to be quite different based on where you live in the country.  Where I live, Hmong would be the better choice, as that is the vast majority of immigrants.  The US has such a large variety of immigrants, that bring such a varied amount of languages, it would be hard to learn all of these.

Its a shame that language is not being passed down anymore here, my great-great-grandparents were full German, and my husbands great-great-grandparents full Swedish.  Yet neither of us know a single word.

[calalily]

I don't know.  I haven't met with a lot of resistance.  Plus, the US is known as the melting pot.  We also have people from all over.  Maybe the main difference is that we encourage immigrants to become "Americanized"?  I am not sure what the Australian attitude toward that is. 

I don't know enough about the US - but we didn't encourage "Australianisation" until recently (due to the Cronulla riots).  We only require that people learn English eventually - most refugees learn it when they get here from community organisations.  We also have entire areas with lots of multilingual content - whole suburbs with signs in Arabic or Mandarin.  Most of the time we encourage the sort of melting pot attitude.  

[EmilyTwitch]

As for as the USA-immigrants-languages debate, I believe that if you move to a country and you intend to live there, you should do two things:

A.) Come there LEGALLY.

B.) Learn to speak whatever language is official there.

Living in California I've seen quite a few illegal immigrants (from Mexico and other places), and immigrants that come here legally. I've noticed one huge difference. The immigrants that are allowed to be here usually make an effort to learn english. They may not be fluent, but they are honestly trying. Almost all of the illegal immigrants that I have been in contact with have made little or no attempt to learn english, and do not care.

I don't think that we should have to put subtext in spanish on everything (grocery foods, street signs, etc) just because some people moved to this country and are refusing to integrate.

I also hate when Americans travel and expect everyone to know english.

Who's up for just bringing back latin and unifying the world??

[calalily]

As for as the USA-immigrants-languages debate, I believe that if you move to a country and you intend to live there, you should do two things:

A.) Come there LEGALLY.

B.) Learn to speak whatever language is official there.

I'll be sure to extend your rhetoric to the Sudanese around the corner, who had to enter Australia without waiting for a license, because they were about to be massacred.    You do know that it is not illegal to seek asylum due to international treaties under the UN - that's populist untrue crap. It is perfectly legal to go somewhere and then apply for asylum.

[EmilyTwitch]

Well if you're going to be killed then yeah, come on over. Just fill out the forms when you get here, mmkay? 

I just meant the ones coming over because ... I have no idea why they come over. I guess Mexico is horrible? But I'm sure if they were about to be massacred the tourist business would have dropped and it would have made the news.

[calalily]

I just meant the ones coming over because ... I have no idea why they come over. I guess Mexico is horrible? But I'm sure if they were about to be massacred the tourist business would have dropped and it would have made the news.

I still fail to see how they're somehow in the wrong if they seek out a better life for themselves, and that you are somehow more entitled because you happened to be born in the country you're living in, and thus got automatic citizenship, no matter what your "quality" (which is what you're judging them on).

[Astonished lemons]

My dad and his family are from Mexico, and they visit there on ocasion (aperantly we still have aunts of some sort there) but illegal Immigrants bug the heck out of him because he and his family came here legally. They worked their buts off to become usefull members of society, and he berates people when they dont pay taxes. He's always giving little speeches to me and my siblings about how there needs to be stricter border control, how illegal immigrants are being hired so cheap that not only are they not getting any better standards of life, but normal people who need jobs, speak english and pay taxes who WANT to pick fruit end up in the poor house, and how he is in favor of the death penalty (He's also a republican).

People want to come to America because theres more money here. Mexico is fine, but the more south you go below that the wilder it gets. Some places are just like the old west. Some cops patrolling the borders between venesuala and Colombia kept stopping out car and hitting my aunt up for bribes in oder to pass.

I speak the kind of 'proper' spainish they teach in highschool because my dad and my aunts liked to talk behind out back in spainish when we were little, so they never taught us.
I cant form cognative sentences, but I can point out a boligrafo and a hoja de papel when I see them.

[EmilyTwitch]

I'm fine with them trying to make a better life, but they should still take the time to become legalized. It would make their life easier than having to worry about the law and such. Astonished, you were able to use more effective words.

[Feverish]

Many of them don't have driver's liscenses or insurance. Many of them use other people's identities to work. They also get taken advantage of by employers because they are illegal.

[ChaosInAMinor]

I wish speaking at least one other language was encouraged more in the US, but it does vary from place to place. I'm always amazed by my roommate. Her mom is Chinese and her father is Thai and both moved to the US from their respective countries, speaking Mandarin Chinese. Thus, my roommate grew up speaking Mandarin and only learned English when they threw her in an English speaking kindergarten out here in California. Her ability to speak both languages fluently is amazing...and the fact that she can switch so easily from each. She also learned a fair amount of French in high school and can say a few things in Thai. I'm honestly kind of jealous. I grew up in Iowa and the closest relative from another country is my great-grandfather that I've never met, so I speak English and very little Spanish from what I learned in high school.

[dietofworms]

I am totally opposed to sanctions on illegal immigrants in the US.  The vast majority of people without green cards come here for the sole purpose of making enough money to support their families. Getting here legally is a long and involved process, and not everyone can do so.  The US is the richest country in the world--surely we can afford to give jobs, social services, education, etc. to people who have nothing.

I always think of the thousands of European Jews who were trying to get out of the way of the Nazis and died needlessly because no country would take them in. Including the US, which had quotas on Jewish admissions.  I hope we're a more compassionate nation than that now.

*gets off soapbox*

[Paleoanth]

As for as the USA-immigrants-languages debate, I believe that if you move to a country and you intend to live there, you should do two things:

A.) Come there LEGALLY.

B.) Learn to speak whatever language is official there.

I am not going to get into the illegal immigrant debate.  No one is going to change their minds on this issue based upon what I say.  I just wanted to point out that the United States does not have an official language.  That is actually under debate here, on whether or not we should have one.