RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (Full Version)

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ChezDaJez -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/29/2005 9:42:22 AM)

quote:

Americans are definitely a bit lazy when it comes to learning languages.


And I think that is probably driven by our geography. There is little need to speak a foreign language in the States unless required by one's occupation. Spanish is probably the most useful language for Americans to learn due to the influx of immigrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries but even then most of the younger hispanics learn English quickly so that reduces the need further. Many Europeans speak multiple languages due to their geography, being in close proximity to countries speaking those languages.

Chez



BossGnome -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/29/2005 2:58:23 PM)

true, but yet sad when tourists come to the states they are expected to speak enough english to get around, yet when an american goes abroad, the american expects to be served in english...[:(] I'd have no problem if it went both ways, but if foreigners have to learn english to get around in america, why do americans expect not to have to learn a little of the language of the country in which they are travelling?

I'm just generalizing here, I know many many americans who are currently learning japanese with me in japan. So don't get offended please anyone.



captskillet -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/29/2005 4:20:00 PM)

quote:

Curiousity question for Bossgnome: how different is Quebecois (sp?) from standard French? Can you converse with people from France?


Another analogy would be 'Cajun' French vs French............Cajun French of course came from the Acadians (Nova Scotia) who migrated to Louisiana................it may be closely related to the Quebec French you alluded to earlier.



ChezDaJez -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/29/2005 5:27:44 PM)

quote:

yet when an american goes abroad, the american expects to be served in english...


Sadly, that is true. But I do think it that the vast majority of Americans recognize that if they go to a foreign country, may have communication problems if they haven't taken the time to at least learn a few basic phrases and greettings. Only some are so arrogant and stupid as to demand English be spoken to them. Unfortunately, its these people that get remembered, not the ones that make an effort to learn a language.

SChez



anarchyintheuk -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/29/2005 6:57:49 PM)

If you're visiting a large metropolitan area in the US, chances are there's a community of ex-pats that speaks your language. Like other countries, there are visitors from all over the world, how many languages can you be fluent in?



ilovestrategy -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/30/2005 12:03:34 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk

If you're visiting a large metropolitan area in the US, chances are there's a community of ex-pats that speaks your language. Like other countries, there are visitors from all over the world, how many languages can you be fluent in?

I speak 2, my wife speaks 5 [X(]



patrickl -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/30/2005 12:33:58 PM)

Hi
quote:

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

quote:

ORIGINAL: anarchyintheuk

If you're visiting a large metropolitan area in the US, chances are there's a community of ex-pats that speaks your language. Like other countries, there are visitors from all over the world, how many languages can you be fluent in?

I speak 2, my wife speaks 5 [X(]

What are they?[:D]



ChezDaJez -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/30/2005 3:19:22 PM)

quote:

how many languages can you be fluent in


You don't need to be fluent, not even conversant. But if you know you're going to a certain country where English isn't the native language, why not learn how to say "hello", "goodbye", "please", "thank you" and a few basic phrases such as "Wo ist der Badezimmer, bitte?" or "Una cerveza mas, por favor."? Might not be exactly correct but it works. And people appreciate the effort.

I have visited 47 countries in my Navy travels and have lived in places like Sicily, Iceland, Spain and Japan for at least 1 year. I knew at least the basic phrases. One of the best I learned was, "Can you help me, please. I don't speak your language." You'd be surprised how willing people are to help if you just show a little courtesy and effort.

Chez



BossGnome -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (9/30/2005 4:33:35 PM)

i absloutely agree. You'd be surprised how helpful quebecers are to an english speaker when he makes just that little effort to speak french... and just how un-helpful they become if said english speaker does NOT make the effort.

As for acadian french, I lived for 12 years in a little french speaking village in nova scotia, and you could almost say nova scotian (not to confuse with neo-brunswickan) french is its own language! the accent is unintelligible to french people, words of old french that haven't been used in modern french for over 200 years (words like bailler instead of donner) are current among the french they speak, as well as several frenchisied english words make for quite a melting pot that, were there more than a few thousand (possibly 50 000 in all) that speak it, I would consider a genuine language.

For example: in standard french: "Je suis allé chez ma grand-mère hier soir parce qu'elle devait me prêter un peu d'argent."
in acadian french: "Hiar à sworre e shus allé su' ma grand mére à cause que e è'devait m'buyer un miette de cash."
Please note that acadian french has no agreed upon written form and I have done my best here to convey the correct pronounciation. In both cases the meaning is the same: "Yesterday night I went to my grand-mother's house because she had to lend me a bit of money."

Cajun french is indeed close to acadian, but much more closer to the root french than the nova scotian dialect is. The neo brunswickan, on the other hand, being closer to quebec, remains very french, however the accent is different from the quebec one, as are many of the words used. It should also be noted that none of the swears used in quebec french are used in Neo Brunswickan french...

Man this makes a lot of dialects of french... gotta love those minority acadian populations[:D]



ilovestrategy -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (10/1/2005 9:16:52 AM)

i speak English and Tagalog. My wife, a filipino, speaks English, Tagalog and 3 local dialects all 5 as if she grew up in that particular area. I still dont see how she does it.



patrickl -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (10/1/2005 10:47:37 AM)

Hi ilovestrategy
quote:

ORIGINAL: ilovestrategy

i speak English and Tagalog. My wife, a filipino, speaks English, Tagalog and 3 local dialects all 5 as if she grew up in that particular area. I still dont see how she does it.


Yo, it is great to hear that you and your wife speak many languages[:D]. It is really rare nowadays. Hope your children speak some too! Although my father and me speak Chinese dialects, my daughter only speaks English and Mandarin (examined in Singapore schools). Guess, my father and me are the "Last of the Mohicans"[:(][;)]
Cheers!
Patrick



ilovestrategy -> RE: Slightly OT... who here speaks chinese and or Japanese? (10/1/2005 11:18:29 PM)

My kid is almost 12 and refuses to learn a 2nd language. It's hard to force her when all of her friends speak only English



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