Why is it that we all have to speak English?

[Ricochet]

WHY IS IT THAT WE HAVE TO SPEAK ENGLISH?



An officer in the US Naval reserve was attending a conference that included
admirals from both the US Navy and the French Navy. At a cocktail
reception, he found himself in a small group that included personnel from
both navies.



The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans learned many
languages, Americans learned only English. He then asked: "Why is it that
we have to speak English in these conferences rather than you speak French?"



Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied: "Maybe it's because the
Brits, Canadians, Aussies, and Americans arranged it so you would not have
to speak German."

[taranaki]

Tedious old joke.

Everyone doesn't have to speak English,but you will find that Europeans are generally far more skilled at second languages than Americans.It's down to being closer to other cultures.

[YogsVR4]

The joke is old but a bit funny.

I think the notion that most Americans not speaking multiple languages is overblown. More and more students are taking other languages. Part of the issue is that most students in other countries (not all but a huge percentage) learn English but the comparison is back to their native language. In other words, there are twenty million Chinese students learning English right now (give or take). Thats a requirement for many of their 'high school' class levels.

Here our students will learn Spanish, French, German or Japanese as their secondary language. What I hear from the folks coming from China is that we don't speak Chinese. Sure I know a second language pretty well in French and my Mandarin (Chinese) is getting passable, but their complaints that we don't know a second language is false. I'm sure a lot of people visiting or move here have that opinion. Its not that we don't know a second language, we just don't know their language.

Sure it helps to learn more languages and cultures which is happening. Give it time. Things are improving in that area. Its just going to take a generation or two for it to change the perception.

[Steel]

ich kann polnisch, deutsch, und englisch sprechen

[TexasF355F1]

English is spoken by a lot of people. 478 million to put a figure in. However, English is only the 2nd most frequently spoken language. Chinesse(Mandarin) is #1 with 1.2 billion people who speak it. Just a little fact to add to your brains. And number three is Hindi.

[originalmike]

Originally Posted by TexasF355F1

English is spoken by a lot of people. 478 million to put a figure in. However, English is only the 2nd most frequently spoken language. Chinesse(Mandarin) is #1 with 1.2 billion people who speak it. Just a little fact to add to your brains. And number three is Hindi.

Yes, but most of the people that speak Chinese are Chinese and they speak to each other. I would say English is the most widespread language.

I thought French was up there too?

[Cl0ak]

Well I can tell you for a fact that the highschools here all require you to take at least 3 years of a foreign language, and alot of colleges require that you have studied a foreign language. They start here in 6th grade and continue up until 12th grade.

[Toksin]

Isn't Spanish the most widely used language in the world?

[Integra06]

J'ai suelement quinze ans et je suis américain. Je sais l'anglais et le français. J'apprends également l'allemand.

[2strokebloke]

Sprechen sie english, por favor.

Chinese and english are the most widely used languages in the world (seeing as how a fifth of the population of the Earth is chinese, and the most common second language is apparently english) Don't know where you got the idea about Spanish, though it's probably near the top.

[Hyatus]

hahahah God bless the USA

[TexasF355F1]

Originally Posted by originalmike

Yes, but most of the people that speak Chinese are Chinese and they speak to each other. I would say English is the most widespread language.

I thought French was up there too?

Actually French is #8. Here's the rankings

1. Chinese 1.2 billion
2. English 478 million
3. Hindi 437
4. Spanish 392
5. Russian 284
6. Arabic 225
7. Portuguese 184
8. French 125 (all in millions)

This information comes out of my marketing book. Which is, I believe, one year old. Or semester.

[MR2-AW11]

Ib didn't find that funny at all :/ What arrogance :/

[2strokebloke]

Who's Ib?

[originalmike]

I think its this guy in Vermont who owned a house. http://www.ibmunsoninn.com/