Poll of the Day > Only 39% of Britons can have a conversation in a language other than English

(+) Yeah! (+)

http://theconversation.com/beyond-the-big-three-french-german-and-spanish-arent-the-only-languages-that-matter-31613

meanwhile in 'Murica.....LOL

DrChocolate posted...

http://theconversation.com/beyond-the-big-three-french-german-and-spanish-arent-the-only-languages-that-matter-31613

meanwhile in 'Murica.....LOL

https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-185.html
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201205/bilinguals-in-the-united-states

I mean yea it is only 20%, but it is rising at a really fast pace.

Plus 350 different languages? Jesus...
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The argument is kinda silly. The concept of knowing multiple languages (or there being multiple languages) only servers as a cultural divide, and has no real meaning outside of a cultural context.
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I am attempting to learn Swahili.

It is not going well.
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well people generally only speak English here unlike in yurop.

Also we dont have terrorist attacks once a week so theres that
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Judgmenl posted...

The argument is kinda silly. The concept of knowing multiple languages (or there being multiple languages) only servers as a cultural divide, and has no real meaning outside of a cultural context.

Spoken like a true monolinguist.
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When your country is the size of Europe and the vast majority of people speak English, you don't need to learn other languages.
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eating4fun posted...

Judgmenl posted...

The argument is kinda silly. The concept of knowing multiple languages (or there being multiple languages) only servers as a cultural divide, and has no real meaning outside of a cultural context.

Spoken like a true monolinguist.

Verbal languages are not like programming language. English does not have any different of a purpose than French. Both of them are used for the expression of ideas.

Programming languages in comparison have pros and cons associated with them. List me a series of pros and cons for English versus French.
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Judgmenl posted...

List me a series of pros and cons for English versus French.

That's hard to do without being fluent in both languages, but it's obviously possible. Two major cons that come immediately to mind are English's rampant phonetic ambiguity and French's arbitrary gendering of everything. I'm not sure why you seem to think that's supposed to be a challenge.

Judgmenl posted...

English does not have any different of a purpose than French. Both of them are used for the expression of ideas.

English cuisine does not serve a different purpose from French cuisine. Both of them are used for sustenance. Is having different cuisine therefore pointless?
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adjl posted...

English cuisine does not serve a different purpose from French cuisine. Both of them are used for sustenance. Is having different cuisine therefore pointless?

No, because cuisines were adopted based upon what was readily available by the population - i.e. the UK doesn't have copious amounts of rice or the ability to readily farm it.
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Judgmenl posted...

Verbal languages are not like programming language. English does not have any different of a purpose than French. Both of them are used for the expression of ideas.

Programming languages in comparison have pros and cons associated with them. List me a series of pros and cons for English versus French.

And yet, somehow the thought that verbal languages have pros and cons elude you?

Language is for communicating thoughts and ideas. Thoughts and ideas are shaped by cultural values. Language reflects these cultural values based on how these cultural values affect what is emphasized in communication.

There's a huge variety of how things are communicated, subtle or blatant, that we can't even begin to fathom because having a single language as a foundation keeps one simple minded about these things.

Here's a nuanced example of lapse of communication in the english language. Your friend asks you "what are you doing?" and you respond, "we are going to the store". Who is we? You and others, you and your friend, or you, others, and your friend? Depending on the language, there are multiple words to clarify/distinguish this nuance though they still mean "we".
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