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Which country is the worst at languages? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5831 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes  Speaks: English* | Message 49 of 72 14 April 2012 at 2:19pm | IP Logged | |||||
There are plenty of contempary British accents. Do you think all British people speak "upper class" or something? 3 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| baronb Triglot Newbie Belgium Joined 4604 days ago 2 posts - 3 votes Speaks: Dutch*, EnglishC1, FrenchB1 Studies: German, Arabic (classical), Arabic (Egyptian) | Message 51 of 72 18 April 2012 at 3:16am | IP Logged | |||||
I think Germany is a lot worse then France. Germany is very regional when it comes to speaking other languages. When you go to the west and south like bayern they speak fluently English. But in Hamburg you better speak German because you won't be understood otherwise. While France was very chauvinistic about their language in the past. It seems, to my experience, that lately it has become very "fashionable" to learn another language or at least to learn English. These days people look up at you when you're reading an English book in a café in Paris. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| rivere123 Senior Member United States Joined 4830 days ago 129 posts - 182 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 52 of 72 22 April 2012 at 7:27pm | IP Logged | |||||
But yes, the US and the UK seem to be the most language prejudiced, but they ain't got nothin' on China, or at least the government. Although, saying the UK is language prejudiced is kind of unfair. Maybe it's a classic case of saying England is the UK. Despite the fact that England makes up such a large portion of the British population/area and the perks that go with that, Welsh, Manx, Irish, Cornish, etc. are all beloved minority languages to name a few. France doesn't seem to be too big on their minority languages, especially with that whole France-is-the-only-language-because-the-constitution-says-so thing, and all the French people I've talked to don't know languages other than French and/or English. The US isn't as bad as people say. I'll admit the odd politician embarrasses us, but I can proudly claim that our kids are just as apathetic towards languages as other subjects, and not all of the US has the same feeling about this. I hear it's tough to get a job in LA without knowing Spanish, and rather than being the nationalist opponents of languages, old people here in Louisiana are ecstatic to help you practice French. I'm sure some similar situations aren't unheard of in blingual cities like New York, Detroit, or Miami, but that's only an educated guess. The attitude on languages changes from states to states, city to city, and it's hard to speak for the US as a whole. Things will change with time. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Alanjazz Triglot Groupie United States Joined 4815 days ago 65 posts - 129 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Portuguese | Message 53 of 72 22 April 2012 at 8:42pm | IP Logged | |||||
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I want to offer my contribution on the opposite, which would be which countries are the best at languages.
Switzerland is up there because its citizens know their native language (Swiss German, French, Italian, Romansh) plus English, and usually two of the other national languages, and then usually another language on top of that! (Often Spanish or the last national language!) Go Switzerland for being multi-lingual! (I did an internship in Switzerland and did not meet any monolingual Swiss nationals.) India is another country with language success, as many Indians speak their regional/local language at home, and learn Hindi, English, and at times another regional Indian language at school. On the return flight to the US from India, I sat next to an Indian businessman from Sikkim who fluently spoke 9 languages, 8 different Indian languages and English. Lastly, Luxembourg is another example of a country with very language-friendly politics and culture. They have three official languages (French, German, and Luxembourgish) learn English, and also have a large Portuguese immigrant population. The laws of the country dictate that each citizen graduating from secondary school is at least fluent in the three national languages! 5 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| COF Senior Member United States Joined 5831 days ago 262 posts - 354 votes Speaks: English* | Message 54 of 72 22 April 2012 at 9:07pm | IP Logged | |||||
I wouldn't say the UK is prejudiced towards languages at all. In fact, it strikes me that many Brits would love to be able to speak a second language, but either don't feel they have the time or the talent to do it. Also, when it comes to minority languages, the UK is no where near the worst in Europe. France treats its minority languages with utter contempt, whereas the UK spends a lot of money and resources on encourging their use in public life. In fact, I would say the UK should be regarded as a model on how to treat minority languages and give them the best chance of thriving. To say the UK is prejudice towards other languages is very inaccurate in my opinion. You can even correspond with the British government entirely in Welsh, and opt to have all paperwork you receive written in Welsh instead of English. Considering how dominant and important English is around the world, I'm suprised the UK treats its minority languages as well as it does considering their relative unimportance compared to the all powerful English. Edited by COF on 22 April 2012 at 9:11pm 4 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4622 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 55 of 72 24 April 2012 at 2:32pm | IP Logged | |||||
Good shout. I've never really come across an anti-foreign-languages attitude in the UK. I've heard a lot of people say they'd like to be able to communicate in another tongue. Many teenagers describe French as boring or a waste of time but they would probably make similar remarks about history and chemistry. I have however, met a lot of people who say they wish they had paid more attention to their language teacher in school. Also, your point about the UK's provision for minority indigenous languages is a valid one. Welsh is vigorously promoted by the state and SCots Gaelic also receives a healthy budget despite the comparatively tiny number of speakers. Considering that there are no longer any (adult) monolingual speakers of a Celtic language and that you'd have to look extremely hard to find a Welsh or Scottish person who genuinely struggles with English (maybe a 90-year-old crofter on a remote island), this government support is indeed generous. Edited by beano on 24 April 2012 at 2:33pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Betjeman Groupie Germany Joined 6143 days ago 85 posts - 204 votes Speaks: German* | Message 56 of 72 25 April 2012 at 2:37pm | IP Logged | |||||
So Bavarians are better at English than people from Hamburg? And you are the one to judge because you speak "fluently English"? Interesting ... Any scientific proof? Any studies to show that this isn't plain speculation? There is, of course, a difference between the former GDR, where the main foreign language was Russian, and West Germany, where nearly everyone learnt English at school. But that divide applies neither to Bavaria nor Hamburg. Please forgive me if I sound rude but I think this whole thread is somewhat embarassing. Perhaps it would help to rename it. How about, Who's best at cliches? 4 persons have voted this message useful |
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