Thread: Grumpy Old Men

I think education is important (very) and I really wish I had paid more attention in school instead of f@@kin' off all the time. Spanish was required in 8th grade and when I was in high school I took 2 years of German. Sadly all I can say in German anymore is "court brewery". Luckily I've found that the Multnomah county library where I live has an extensive set of language self instruction materials. I've recently added Spanish(Latin American) & German (again), Chinese (Mandarin), Japanese, Norwegen(sp?), Dutch, Danish, Russian and I think something else. Mostly just the basic "intros" to these languages. I'll be going to pick up 4 more sets this afternoon.
I work at a sizeable Healthcare and research facility here in Portland, Oregon. The mix of cultures and languages I deal with on a daily basis (when at work) can be mind boggling at the least. Even so the vast majority of people (from outside the U.S.) that are here can communicate in english on at least enough of a level to get whatever idea or point they are trying to express across. I applaude them for their effort.
If you go to many European countries the people that reside in those countries are multilingual. I've worked with a few "foreigners" who spoke at least 3 languages. One guy spoke 6 fluently and 2 or 3 more on a basic level.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it was Teddy Rosevelt(sp?) who publicly stated he thought foreigners coming to America should learn English in 6months or get out?

I don't want to pick a fight here but in an earlier post in this thread someone stated that America is an English country or something to that effect. Sadly I thought that statement was laughable.

I could probably keep blabbin' on and on about this topic but to summarize, it's a big world out there and your not the only one in it.

Also. Sorry if this seemed to go all over the place, that's just how my mind works.

Michael

I think you got your point across well, and I agree wholeheartedly. It is a big old world, and we are not the only ones in it! You either cope with that idea and embrace the opportunities it can bring, or you focus on the negative aspects and develop spleen cancer!

James.

Hear hear! I applaude what you have stated Michael, and I agree with you.


Mick

Originally Posted by hornm

Even so the vast majority of people (from outside the U.S.) that are here can communicate in english on at least enough of a level to get whatever idea or point they are trying to express across. I applaude them for their effort.
If you go to many European countries the people that reside in those countries are multilingual. I've worked with a few "foreigners" who spoke at least 3 languages. One guy spoke 6 fluently and 2 or 3 more on a basic level.

Traveling has greatly changed my point of view. There are a few people who I've visited in other countries that expressed annoyance at my lack of knowledge of the native tongue (mostly in Italian train stations), but the overwhelming majority spoke enough English that we could have an effective conversation. I was so immensely grateful at the time, and quite impressed in retrospect, at how I was able to communicate with people across the EU.

I also remember how it felt to be the one who didn't speak the language.

Originally Posted by hornm

I don't want to pick a fight here but in an earlier post in this thread someone stated that America is an English country or something to that effect. Sadly I thought that statement was laughable.

Much the same can be said about living in England.

I also remember how it felt to be the one who didn't speak the language.

I can remember a while back when some friends and i were at a resturant in Montreal. The waiter thought he had us pegged for some dumb Americans,and short changed us on our bill. But one of my friends spoke some french to the waiter,and his body language changed !!I said to my buddy what did you say to him,he said,you dont want to know,but we are getting the right change back!! So that to be expected when you are in somebodys backyard!!

I dont have an issue with a box or instructions having many different language's. I do have one when someone living in a country and refuses to learn or speak the laguage. If i went to a diff country i would try to learn what i could and not get angry because they could not speak my language. I see so much of it here in New England its crazy. I went to a Burger King drive through and they asked me what i wanted in spanish. If your in a country and live there learn the language other wise i feel it is disrespectful. I dont have a problem with Spanish but they dont accomidate anyone else's language, French, Polish, Russan and of the asian Languages.

Ok Rant over! LOL!

Imagine! All the lingual problems would be solved out if we just could follow this wise & wonderful suggestion from the net:

"FINNISH AS A WORLD LANGUAGE"
Is it now the time for Finnish to take its place as the international language? It is obviously difficult to answer this question with certainty.

At the moment there seem to be several factors which would hinder such a development. First of all, Finnish is currently spoken by a mere 0.05% of the world's population; secondly one cannot learn the language in ten easy lessons; thirdly, a large number of Finns still do not understand it.

Although the advancement of Finnish has been a bit slow, there are Finns who point out the following advantages Finnish would have as a world language:

-It is an essentially logical language. The rules are absolute and reliable in all situations, except exceptions.
-It is a good sounding language; in other words, it is pleasing to the ear. This has to do with its wealth of vowels, which rules out ugly consonant clusters. It was recently suggested that some vowels should be exported to Czechoslovakia, where shortage of vowels is imminent, and that some Czech consonants should be imported to Finland. However, negotiations collapsed at an early stage. The Finns would not deal with a language that calls ice-cream 'zrmzlina,' while the Czechs in turn distrusted a language that calls it 'jäätelöä.'
-It is a concise language. One Finnish word can mean several different things in English. Why lose time and energy saying 'the committee that takes care of negotiations concerning the truce' when you can use a simple little word like 'aseleponeuvottelutoimikunta?'
-Learning Finnish builds confidence. If you can learn Finnish, then you can learn anything.
-Finnish has longer and better swear words than any other language. In light of these facts we can see that the introduction of Finnish as a world language would be a blessing to all mankind. The problem we now face is how to convince the remaining 99.95% of the global population to learn Finnish. We hope the world can receive the benefit of our own experience with the language. After a few months of intensive (and sometimes downright desperate) research we have developed a method of fording this linguistic barrier which has so far proved to be one of the world's most formidable ones.

I don't know weather I would laugh or cry at that suggestion Sailor...


Mick

My only thought about this is that although the US is a melting pot of different customs, languages and religions, English was the common thread for many years. My Great Grandparents would NOT speak their native tongue and insisted the same from their children. To them learning the English language made them part of the US. It seems the "melting" has been removed. There are communities in the US that don't want to melt at all, rather they live within the confines of their community and do not adopt any of the US melting pot tradition.
I wish I could learn a another language. I've tried, and continue to try since it seems the logical thing to do. However I have not had great success. I think I should go live in Europe for a few years, maybe that would help. Anyone have a spare bedroom?