Question for our non-native English speakers

Thanks guys. I have a lot to learn still, though.

I've always had english classes at school. they were usefull for the grammar, but they sucked for all the rest. Most of my ex school mates don't speak a word of english.
I know something because I just LOVE it and I've been listening to music, translating lyrics etc since I was 12 (when I had my first american b/f... love can do great things lol).
I remember I used to read "The Source" LOL. Then, havin online friends form all over the world helped me a lot.

I've learn most of what I know in the last year and a half BTW, since I've started dating american guys and having american friends. It's incredible how much u can learn just talking to ppl! I've definitely learnt A LOT on this board, too. Thank you, guy

You are right. In Italy nobody speaks anything. they look at me like I'm an alien all the time. Stupid italian school system. Here, in english classes, they expect you to learn everything about Virginia Woolf and they don't even teach you how to ask where's the bathroom.

 

what does FEGH stand for?

 

hmm....

 

I´m very short here,so I had no chance in writing so much.
I raised bilingual in East-Germany ( German and Polish).
I learned for one year Russian in the East German School before I moved to the West. There I learned French and English.
After school I did not speak one word English without a dictionaire, but I traveled for a few weeks to India. There I lost my dictionaire and I had to start speaking English without my holy dictionaire. I found out that most of the things I learned in school stayed in my mind. I totaly lost my fear of using English.
Back in Germany I startet working for American Companies. Later I dated an American. Most of my English I learned by speaking with people.
Due to my Polish roots I understand Russian pretty well but I don´t speak it.
French was a waste of time for me. I don´t like French, I cannot write it at all and I understand only very few.
I traveld a little in Asia so I can order food and say hello in Arab, Korean and Hindi.

 

I live in the United States. I will always live in the United States. The only language I need to know how to speak to live in the United States is English. That's the only language I'm interested in knowing how to speak. If not seeing the need in spending precious time learning something I'll never have to use makes me uncivilized to you, then that makes you a dumbass to me. If a foreigner comes to the United States and can't speak my language then it's their problem, not my obligation to accomodate them by learning their language here in the United States of America.

 

Americans coming to our country mostly don´t bother themselves with learning German. But people here learn English anyway.
Here in Europe, exept countries like France , you learn English and other languages.
Europeans don´t understand why Americans have such a hard time learning an other language, because here it is normal. When u look around people with a higher education, mostly english is the second language. I worked for American companies where u have to speak English all the time because the teamleaders are American and they mostly don´t speak German.
The culture for learning other languages in the states is not there, that don´t mean that americans are stupid. They just have other values.
AND
if u travel in the world, most people speak english maybe not so good but still enought to get through.
Working in an International environment English is just the best. It is one of the easiest langueages to learn world wide and it is spoken in many countries beside the native tounge.
I have to admit,if I would be american chances are very high that I would speak only english....

There is no real need to learn an other language, when u already speak english.

The big plus of learning an other languages anyway, is that you widen ur horizon. Even just knowing a few words in an other tongue can open the heart of other people and lead to an understanding of each other.

 

Ahh, good points.

 

I understand that. If I go to another nation where they don't speak English, I will try to learn the language of the country I'm in. People who come here should learn English

 

I speak quite a bit of German. When I go abroad I always make an effort to learn the basics of their language in the weeks or months before. I think it's pretty rude when people don't. You hear the British/Americans shouting really slowly, thinking that will help them understand better. :smt104
I'd love to speak loads of languages.
Russia speaks loads of them, lucky. I wish I could take it in better. Oh well.
I think it's great to learn another language or languages, even if you live in an English speaking nation. I remember when I was little my dad spoke loads of languages fluently, just came from living in different countries I guess and he travels with his job because he's in oil and has all these meetings. I know he speaks German best but he's pretty fluent in Russian and French too.

 

:smt102
FEGH?? Who knows.
(can I not spell my own name? )

FEHG??
F*ck Every Human Grownup
Find Everything Here Great
Figure eternally His/Her Gist
For Extended Humourous Guff
Females Essentially Humour Gents

'tis whatever you want it to be, Sirs.

 

:smt023

 

Britty - it's not about accommodating other people. True - if people travel to your country, it is best if they make the effort...but this is not always the case. If you travelled, you would realise how lovely it is when people realise you don't speak their language (at all) and try and speak English for you. It's very humbling.

But, on another note, learning another language opens your mind. You think in the structure which English allows you to think. By speaking other languages you can't help but process information differently.

At the end of the day, I believe that knowing more is better than knowing less. You could at least learn Spanish - then you can speak to many citizens of the USA who can't speak English.

 

I didn't mean it that way, I was speaking generally, as a idea. I'm sorry if that sounded offensive to you, it wasn't what I intended.
And if you don't plan to travell that's ok (cause if you go in another country you have to speak their language, like you said, no?) but you don't know where life may take you and what exactly you'll happen to need in you're future even job-wise, opportunities occur sometimes unexpected, you're still very young.
And we learn many things we don't really need. In my life and with my job I don't need to know about art, literature, natural sciences, foreign languages etc. but I'm still interested in this things - but to each it's own.

 

I agree with you here. My friends and I went travelling around Europe last summer and it was so embarassing hearing Americans and Brits and Irish all around us, YELLING in English at people. Because you know, if you speak slower and LOUDER, of course they'll understand.
I understand the whole 'well I won't travel argument,' that's fair enough but when you do, even if you just go to this country ONCE, just learn a few things. I don't speak Italian but my friends and I learnt basic phrases when we went there.
Not as many people speak English as you think though, outside of a professional environment. Sure, all of the staff and pubs and bars speak English but we don't go on pub holidays. Having even a few words of another language will get you far because not only is it considered more polite, people will appreciate you making the effort. The Italians were so happy to help us out just because we spoke a few broken words. The only place that our language was shunned was in Spain. They didn't help us when we spoke English OR Spanish, and three of us actually speak okay Spanish, haha.

I have a lot of friends from overseas (Europe) and I could never understand how British schools did not start teaching foreign languages from the age of 5/6. Now they have, thankfully.
I'm not saying that speaking another language makes you a better person, of course not, but as someone that does three languages for a degree, it's actually fun. It's very fulfilling being able to watch a tv show or overhear a conversation in another language and think 'wow! I can understand that.'
I do think that Americans and British have a very lazy attitude towards learning languages. This whole 'everyone speaks English everywhere' business will only get you so far.

 

Add Australia to that list. Our attitude isn't even lazy - it's just non-existant. I have just finished writing a letter to my State Minister for Education highlighting this shameful fact. :smt009 We seriously need to pick up our game.

 

Funny thing is that americans say if we go in their country, even as tourists, we should know english or not come there at all. Following that logic if they came to see Italy, France or Spain they should speak that language or if not we should tell them to go back to their country.
Of course no one here would even think of acting like that, but from what I've heard americans wouldn't have a problem acting just like that.
Some american friends have told me that there was an outrage in the US when Obama said they should learn a foreign language and that americans seem to think we're naturally more sophisticated and all, idk ,maybe it's true.

 

Oh, how I love you Fehggie!

Ah ha! Italians do that all the time. Embarassing.


About being uncivilized and stuff, the things Britty says are tipically "american" (said by an italian who met a lot of american ppl who lives overseas). "I'm american and I don't need to know-do anything else." No offense to you Brit, I just disagree. And btw, how do you know that you will never have a vacation somewhere? Probably I will never leave Italy ever, but the thought of communicating with ppl that live so far is so exciting for me!

 

Those americans here at the pub always start and talk to me saying "hola senorita/mamacita" LOL. They think italian and spanish are the same thing.

 

Can you imagine if Italians or Spanish or French went over to America and started shouting at their shop assistants/bar staff/bus drivers in anything other than English? Like you said, they'd be told to go back to their country straight away and not very politely, either.
I wouldn't necessarily say that we're more sophisticated but we have a different mind-set. It's the same in Britain though. My mum is Russian and before she goes overseas she always makes an effort to learn some of the language. My stepdad is British and he can never be arsed. He's been to Spain so many times and he can't even say hello/goodbye... no wonder the Spanish hate British and American tourists!

 

Yeah, I've had an American guy INSISTING that Polish and Russian is the same language and that he has a POLISH friend so obviously he knows everything.