Why learn english?
Sander Thu Jul 21, 2005 9:37 pm GMT
<=LOL,a chance to prove my statement,Cro magnon.I can drive,fly,swim,walk millions of trillions of kilometers and people still speak Dutch :) =>
Yeah, the people you left behind in the Netherlands. ;) But the people all around you will be speaking French/German/Polish, whereas if I travel a similar distance the people there will still speak English.
=>Yeah, the people you left behind in the Netherlands. ;) But the people all around you will be speaking French/German/Polish, whereas if I travel a similar distance the people there will still speak English. <=
Lol,no I ment walking in a tiny circle in the Netherlands. ;) I know what you mean and its indeed a major reason why americans don't learn other languages.Should have thought of that! Question;Is it still very exclusive to travel abroad in the US?Or is it becoming more common?
<=Question;Is it still very exclusive to travel abroad in the US?Or is it becoming more common? =>
I don't know. Very few of the people I know have ever left the US. But one of my cow-orkers has been to Asia (I forget which country), and my GF's niece has been to France.
<=Americans don't learn other languages because a lot of people know how to speak,at least a bit of,English,also a lot of Americans have a low level of education.(prove me wrong)=>
American schools require foreign lanuage classes to graduate and to get into a university. You just proved yourself wrong.
I agree with those who say that English is a "tool". So it is for me. However, I do get a special feeling when I use English with people who live on the other end of the globe, speaking a language I'm not ever likely to learn, because I always have in mind that otherwise I couldn't communicate with them. The situation with English today is the same as with Greek in antiquity and Latin in the Middle Ages - you could use those languages in cultural exchange without actually becoming a Greek or Roman. :) The emergence of global empires - along with the need for trade - and the resulting cultural exchange has always demanded a lingua franca.
On the other hand, this is not the same as Americanisation, that is, people walking around in jeans, drinking Coke and eating in fast-food restaurants. It is true, Americanisation is somewhat parallel with the spread of English, as both are due for the most part to the cultural and political influence of the US, but they are not inseparable. I personally don't wear jeans, don't drink Coke and only seldom eat out in fast-food restaurants (for having other preferences), still, I'm happy using English with natives and non-natives alike.
>>But lets turn things around,what if your language was what English is now,would you bother to learn another language? ;)<<
That's a good point to think about... Personally, given my interest in other cultures, I probably would, but I guess I would run into difficulties, because they would all want to talk to me in my own language, thus giving me no chance to use theirs. That's the drawback of speaking a global language. :)
Candace,
=>American schools require foreign lanuage classes to graduate and to get into a university. You just proved yourself wrong. <=
According to this site (http://www.narhs.org/) these are the minimum graduation requirements;
4 English
2 Math
2 Science (1 must include a “lab”)
1 Social Studies
1 US History
1 Phys. Ed.
1 Fine Arts
1/2 (0.5) Computer Skills
1/2 (0.5) Health
4.5 Electives, your choice
The point is ,Candace,is that I don't see a foreighn language...do you?
Also the level of eduacation of American highschools,compared to european secondary schools is lower.And tell me is the number of Americans going to Univercity after finishing highschool bigger then the number of people who don't finish highschool at all?
The majority of high schools don't require a foreign language to graduate but most American universities require demonstrated proficiency in one to graduate, and having taken one in high school will help you in being admitted in the first place.
I'd like Candaces reaction on this,since he/she's proven wrong.
You said the american school system has a low level of education.
I cant prove you wrong, because its varies from shool to school and state to state. I do know that In almost all public high schools in U.s.a, your given enough programs to learn a language very well.(Prove ME wrong)
I for one speak 3 languages, my mother, brother and father speak 2, one of my freinds speaks 4, one speaks 3, 2 speak 2...
Ekko,
For someone who thinks the Germans hate the Dutch and that they have nothing to be proud of you suprise me.Tell me What languages do you speak?!
Also,
=>I do know that In almost all public high schools in U.s.a, your given enough programs to learn a language very well.(Prove ME wrong) <=
What use are those programs if nobody takes them?!
I don't think that english is really the world's language. Most people in the world can speak in fact "globish", wich is a very simplfied form of english, with a simplified prononciation, simplified vocabulary and simplified gramar.. The people who don't have english as mother language can understand themselves much better (especially in spoken form) than anglophones because in fact the english they spealk is not really the same one.
"globish" is not a language but just a tool that is useful to speak with other peoples. Anayway, in Europe to speak to other peoples you can speak also french, German or Spanish depending in what region of Europe you are.
=>in Europe to speak to other peoples you can speak also french, German or Spanish <=
Really?I think you can do that everywhere in the world..
Bernard is right. Most non-native speaker don't speak English, but a kind of simplified English, with a very limited vocabulary and grammar and it's only useful for a basic conversation. There is nothing special in this "globish"