Not surprised.

I have never understood hostility toward polyglots.

One guess, paranoia.

One guess, paranoia.

I read this yesterday and I was shocked at the admission of ignorance. People should need to learn a foreign language to graduate from high school. 

 Why would someone be threatened by people speaking a foreign language, unless they are convinced that they are talking about them? 

I can speak some French, Italian, Spanish, German and Japanese. And I am slowly now learning Korean. I learned them out of curiosity. Linguistics is an interest for me, and I have a natural 'tongue' for pronouncing many different dialects in various languages. And here in So Calif knowing at least some Spanish is a big help. Languages are fun to learn. 

I can speak some French, Italian, Spanish, German and Japanese. And I am slowly now learning Korean. I learned them out of curiosity. Linguistics is an interest for me, and I have a natural 'tongue' for pronouncing many different dialects in various languages. And here in So Calif knowing at least some Spanish is a big help. Languages are fun to learn. 

I had 2 years of French in high school. I've learned a bit of German and Arabic on my own. I am not fluent in either language but I can manage short conversations.

I remember a conversation on NV in which I was debating someone whose family had immigrated.  He thought that the family should speak English exclusively, and that raising the children to be bilingual would harm their ability to learn other subjects.  I provided multiple links to studies showing that bilingual children excelled in multiple subjects, but that meant nothing to him.  It almost seemed as though knowing a different language was considered to be disrespectful.

Odd.

I've learned a bit of German

There are two levels of German, High German and Low German. The German I learned was the Low German. I'm not that  fluent in German, but, know enough to get the gist of things enough to carry on a bit of conversation.

As for Arabic, that is a language that I have not tackled as yet. But, it is an interesting language. 

I remember a conversation on NV in which I was debating someone whose family had immigrated.  He thought that the family should speak English exclusively, and that raising the children to be bilingual would harm their ability to learn other subjects.  I provided multiple links to studies showing that bilingual children excelled in multiple subjects, but that meant nothing to him.  It almost seemed as though knowing a different language was considered to be disrespectful. Odd.

The Amish speak a unique dialect of German/ Swiss among themselves and only speak pidgin English to us outsiders. Should they be sent back to Switzerland or do conservatives believe that they have an exemption because they are white and Christian?

 I learned some German/Amish because of my interaction with them and I learned some German from my daughter who is completely fluent in German and was an exchange student in Germany for 3 months.

 Learning a second language forces us to use different parts of our brain and helps in other areas of learning. The same can be said for learning to play or read music.

 I used these CDs from the public library to learn Arabic, but I haven't used it for years.  I had an Arabic doctor in 2013-14 and she and I used to converse in Arabic.

pimsleur

People should need to learn a foreign language to graduate from high school. 

I was required to take 2 years of a language to graduate with an academic diploma.

However, I can't say I actually learned that language (French). Then I took 4 semesters in college because I was required to to get my degree.

Still can't speak a lick of it

We need to start teaching foreign languages earlier.  They're easier to pick up for kindergarteners than they are for freshmen.  And a 45-minute class period with no further practice doesn't cut it, either.

I can read most Romance languages well enough to get the gist of a paragraph, but I can only speak a little bit of Spanish.  And if I haven't done any reading in those languages for a while, it gets harder.

Use it or lose it.

I agree. Kindergarten would be a great place to start learning to speak Spanish.

French is not a difficult language because it's pretty logical, unlike English. I used to could read French fairly well

My son's daycare had them counting to 20 in Spanish.  But he forgot most of it by high school.

I think I can remember how to count to 20 in French. After that it's merely adding on the single digit. For instance vingt is 20, vingt et un is 21, vingt-deux is 22

I think I can count up to 10 in Spanish but when I try I end up counting in French lol

I'm still halfway decent in Spanish, but I took it from 7th to 12th grade, and then CLEPped out of 2 classes in college.  I still get a few opportunities to use it ... although I can probably read it better than understand someone speaking it.

I can still count in Spanish up to 100.  In Spanish, you start adding the single digit at 16 - diez y seis, and carry on the same after that.

I can probably read it better than understand someone speaking it.

Same here.  A native speaker talks too fast for me to keep up.

In Spanish, you start adding the single digit at 16 - diez y seis,

I think that's why I left Spanish and went back to French lol

I can still count in Spanish up to 100.  In Spanish, you start adding the single digit at 16 - diez y seis, and carry on the same after that.

That happens at 14 in French.

I can count to 10 in Spanish because the numbers are similar to French.  Yes, no, please, and thank you in addition to a few numbers is about my limit of Spanish knowledge. 

My oldest daughter took 3 years of French, and I took 3 yrs of Spanish in HS, both of us honors. Honestly, she knows more Spanish than she does French and I speak very little spanish, and working in a very busy private medical practice it would come in handy. Honesly, a lot of our pts want doctors who speak Farsi, and thats from person experience in the medical field, and we only have a couple doctors who do.... we have 12 locations. 

Sure I can order a beer or tequila and sweet talk a whore south of the border but how is that of any real value.  My son's asswipe spanish teacher has him making enchiladas for a school project.   My wife's version is far better than any others I've had.

and sweet talk a whore south of the border and My wife's version is far better than any others I've had .

Stay classy,

It isn't about the recipe but about learning that the culture is much more than just learning the language. It keeps the students interested when they do more than just learn to conjugate verbs. 

What would you rather your son learn instead of a foreign language?

Among the language I speak are two that originated  in the Americas...So they are not foreign. Actually English is foreign language. 

Touche.  Heh Heh

There are still people though that think of Native Americans as less than. There are people that think Mexican people are less than. Etc.

There are the hard core nationalists that think 'others' should not be on their land and/or they need to learn English to be here.

What is ironic, these same people will defend Melania trump and boast that she can speak several languages, all the while thinking like I said above.

Actually the first foreign language spoken in the Americas were Spanish and Italian, not English.

Old Indian saying....''Got land, thank an Indian''.

Then the French. New Orleans was French. The Cajun people still kind of speak their own language. Haha

Our peninsula has a unique history.

In 1697, the Comte de Pontchartrain, French Minister of Marine, gave Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville orders to locate the mouth of the Mississippi River. On September 5, 1698 Iberville’s expedition left La Rochelle, France. Iberville arrived at Ship Island on February 10, 1699. On February 13, Iberville and 14 men landed on the mainland at present-day Biloxi. After several days the French became friends with the Biloxi Indians. The Biloxi’s spoke the Sioux language and most likely migrated from the Northeast. There is some indication that they arrived along the Mississippi Coast a short time before the French.

In 1719 numerous concessions lined the shores of Biloxi. The capital was transferred to Biloxi in 1720 and remained there until 1723 when it was moved to New Orleans. In 1763 the French ceded its territory east of the Mississippi to England. In 1770 Lieutenant Thomas Hutchins indicated that inhabitants at Biloxi were the offspring of the original settlers. In 1779 the Mississippi Coast was ceded to Spain.

In 1810 Biloxi became part of the short-lived Republic of West Florida. In 1811 Dr. William Flood, acting as ambassador for Governor Claiborne of Louisiana, investigated the Mississippi Coast for the United States. He indicated the population of Biloxi to be 420 people.

In 1817   Mississippi   became a State.    Link

Our peninsula has a unique history.

Indeed it does. When speaking of the French one must also take in the history of the French in Canada and the northern US...

The language of Michif Cree or Metis is a combination of French/Cree/Ojibwe. It is a language that I speak. When I visited our offices in NO our office manager took me to a bar and they were speaking the Cajun version of French. I spoke in Michif to them and we actually understood some words in each others language...LOL it was one hell of an evening and I was invited to a wedding a few months later out in the bayous that lasted for a couple of days. 

If you goggle Louis Riel, he's Metis and is considered the father of Manitoba. Depending on if you speak to the Brits in Canada or the French he is either a hero or traitor...He was hanged by the Brits after the Metis wars of 1870s' as a traitor. To us he is a hero and a patriot.

Pepetikwe chipwa kawacheyn Li Bon Michif, Chimitig...(Come, sit and  talk with the good metis, Chimitig..(my metis name, Chimitig mean Big Tree)

I remember the few stories Dowser wrote for us in the Anishinaabe group a few years back and used many of the Ojibwe words for some of the descriptions and words. I remember her using Chimitig to tell of a large tree near her Grandfather's house. I am lucky that I thought to save all her stories when she wrote them and continue to enjoy reading them.  

Depending on if you speak to the Brits in Canada or the French he is either a hero or traitor

Speaking as a Cdn of Irish descent I just view him as a leader who tried to do what he thought was right for his people and lost.

On topic outside of work people can speak whatever language they chose it makes no difference to me.  Inside the workplace may have different language requirements.

You forgot Portuguese. Actually, some archaeologists are starting to believe the Norse beat others to the East coast and the Chinese may have been the first foreigners to the West coast.

I did, please add Portuguese.

Actually, some archaeologists are starting to believe the Norse beat others to the East coast

I thought that was pretty much settled.

The Viking did in the 1100's.

There are many theories about the Chinese being here and Polynesians as well long before anyone else.

I'd read about the Polynesians, but not the Chinese.

I always wondered where Iberville got its name from.

Here is one theory, a book written by Gavin Menzies entitled ''1421: The year China discovered America''....

Yeah, the first French settler. 

Another history note, the fort on Ship Island was captured by Union soldiers during the Civil War.

It was used as staging and for supplies. It is a major factor in the Union taking New Orleans.

Heck, I am a mess when it comes to language.

I'm lucky to get any syntax right.

Several versions of American English, several versions of Aussie English, Grandparents and a mom who spoke 9 different languages, French speaking inlaws and childhood friends, a Spanish speaking best friend since the 70s who passed 3 years ago, and my favorites who speak a Ukrainian-Russian version of English.

I need to learn Cherokee. Not some Hollywood Cherokee. Real Cherokee. It is a missing piece of the puzzle.

I need to learn Cherokee. Not some Hollywood Cherokee. Real Cherokee. It is a missing piece of the puzzle.

You can do it right on the internet. The Cherokee nation has a number of internet courses to learn the language, dave.

Really?

Are there any schools you would recommend? I realize you are not Cherokee.

I wonder what Raven Wing might know about some of the schools?

(hint, hint..lol)

Are there any schools you would recommend? I realize you are not Cherokee.

Here is one that is part of the Cherokee Nation. 

cherokee

Great.

Thank you for that Kavika.

I signed up for all the newsletters and bookmarked the education section.

I am a bit to tired and need a nap before Julia wakes up. Tomorrow I will take a look to see what I can join up for first.

Thank you again.

The Cherokee language is linguistically related to the language of the Iroquois, whose historic homeland was the area of what is now upper New York State.

The Cherokee were originally called the Tsalagi, and after migrating into the Southern part of the eastern area they were given the name Cherokee by the Creek, which means people of a different language due to their migration so far from their original homeland and their language being so different.

There are several Cherokee on-line language sources, like the one that Kavika shared with us. Here are a few more;

native-languages

nativehistoryassociation

blog.mangolanguages  

Like many other Native American languages, Cherokee is not an easy language to learn. 

Hope this helps.

Raven Wing, yes that helps a lot.

Thank you.

They are all bookmarked so I can followup on them all.

My paternal Grandfather (story of family chasm there) was Eastern Band so his family missed the Trail of Tears. My paternal Grandmother was mostly far northern European. But we found a Eureka moment when we discovered her Native heritage was Algonquin and not Cherokee. To us, we see the term Cherokee often used as a Hollywood or political term. It is a joke to us, they way "everybody", it seems is a Cherokee.

Thank you for your help in finding a correct path.

You are very welcome Dave. I am glad they could be of help.

Both my Mother and Father Cherokee heritage is the Eastern Band Cherokee. My Mother's heritage is of the Bird Clan, and my Father's heritage is of the Wolf Clan. 

Sooo.....I guess I can be considered to be a Hoot and a Howl. (grin)

Sooo.....I guess I can be considered to be a Hoot and a Howl. (grin)

LOL.

That is funny.

Because of the chasm that happened early in my Fathers life there is a lot of missing history.

Hopefully, at some point all the lose ends can be tied together.

I have been trying to learn Spanish yet I am lazy and never stick with it. I have always been fascinated with Spain (would love to see the country one day).

Then again there are differences there as well. Speaking Castilian vs Mexican Spanish vs...

Just like you mentioned, even though England the US and Australia speak English, they all have their own words and phrases.

I have been trying to learn Spanish

My Dad taught himself Spanish when he was young, back in the late 40s and has continued his first hand learning since.

Spanish has many dialects. Outside of Spain, the Argies are probably the most proper, followed by the Cubans. Puerto Ricans?  It took Dad a long time to understand Carl. But then that acted as a key to other Spanish dialects.

The Islanders are all Taino, who actually emerged from deep within the Amazon and would travel to the Islands by canoe of all things. So there are some roots that tie many of them together.

Then all the permutations from all other influences are mind boggling.

Yes, you have your hands full trying to rope all the dialects in.

I took 2 semesters of Spanish in college. One of my professors was from Argentina.

And yes, I took 4 semesters of French. Couldn't make up my damn mind which language to take. And took more than 4 years to graduate

Valuable experience Trout.

I took some French too. My Daughter took French as well. To her, Spanish was almost a common language and she wanted something new. She enjoyed it.

Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe language) is a fairly difficult language to learn. It's made even more difficult since there are two separate alphabets . The single vowel system and the double vowel system....

In the double vowel system the vowels are the following and how they are pronounced. 

The Ojibwe Alphabet is a, aa, b, ch, d, e, g, h, i, ii, j, k, m, n, o, oo, p, s, sh, t, w, y, z, zh and the glottal stop '.

The Ojibwe alphabet has no C, F, L, Q, R, U, V, or X.

Ojibwe Vowels: The 7 vowels are a, aa, e, i, ii, o, oo. Four of the vowels are long… aa, e, ii, oo. Three of the vowels are short… a, i, o. The long and short refer to the amount of time you hold on to the sound when you say it.

a - makes the "uh" sound as in the English word "about"
aa - makes the "ah" sound as in the English word "cob"
e - makes the "ay" sound as in the English word "cafe"
i - makes the "ih" sound as in the English word "pin"
ii - makes the "ee" sound as in the English word "see"
o - makes the "oh" sound as in the English word "obey"
oo - sometimes makes the same sound as the "oa" in "boat" and at others the same sound as the "oo" in "boot" 

My Ojibwe name Animikii Zaagijijiwaan would be pronounced as Animikee Zahgijijiwahn (Thunder that flows from the River)

The Ojibwe greeting is, Boozhoo and it's pronounced as Boo (like boot) zhau. It get's more complicated as we go along...LOL

Nearly half of white Republicans say it bothers them to hear people speaking foreign languages

Hmmmmm. I suppose that means that they do not travel outside of the Country very often or are taken aback by the fact that only 20% of the worlds population speaks English ( how dare they not).

I was wondering the same thing.  I hope if they ever travel to another country, they become fluent in the language first.

I was wondering the same thing

There does seem to be a great deal to wonder about of late:)

I will admit to having traveled to Mexico without being fluent in Spanish.  I took 2 years of Spanish in high school, and it helped, but my Spanish was rusty by then.

But I didn't expect everyone to cater to me by speaking English, either.  If they didn't speak English, I muddled through.

And you're not the one who gets upset if someone in America is speaking a language other than English, either.

But I didn't expect everyone to cater to me by speaking English, either.  If they didn't speak English, I muddled through.

As we all attempt to.

I often listen to some of the folks that return from a foreign speaking Country that are in a snit that English is not spoken. I don't know the answer, American Exceptionalism perhaps

Nope, doesn't bother me at all.  I encouraged my son to have some of his Latino classmates speak to him in Spanish, as we have a large Latino population here, and I thought that knowing some Spanish would be helpful.  I think he wishes he'd taken my advice, now that he's struggling in Spanish class.

My sister and I were in a tourist town in Mexico, and at one shop, the cashier politely asked us to speak Spanish.  He obviously spoke English, as he asked us in English, but we spoke Spanish, and he helped us when we were in over our heads.

I was never so embarrassed as when my ex and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas, and heard one of our shipmates speaking to a waiter at a picnic lunch.  The young man was putting himself through university by waiting tables.  The vacationer asked in a very condescending voice if there were universities in the Bahamas, and said "so, you're smart?" to the waiter, as if it were a surprise that a Bahamian in university could possibly be intelligent.  I mean, he has an accent.  He couldn't possibly be smart /s

They wonder why we are sometimes referred to as the Ugly Americans, alas.

I muddled through.

Lol it's surprising how much communication can be accomplished through hand gestures, body language and pointing.

Of course being adaptable also helps, I remember one visit to Croatia we had a waiter who didn't speak English so me and my Dad just pointed to some random menu items (having no idea what it was) and had a good meal, my Step mom tried ordering by speaking gradually louder and louder English and went hungry.  

He was the very epitome of the Ugly American.  I wanted to tip a pitcher of lemonade over his head.

Lol it's surprising how much communication can be accomplished through hand gestures, body language and pointing.

Agreed. I do that a lot with people who do not speak a language I can speak, and it is not al that difficult to get the message across.

I was sitting on a bus bench years ago waiting for my buss when a kind of creepy guy walked up and looked down at me and said, "Hey! You! You speak English?" I sized him up for a minute and then asked him, "Parlez-vous français" (do you speak French) He looked at me in surprise and replied, "Huh? Then I asked, "Habla español" (Do you speak Spanish) He shook his head confused, so I asked "Sprechen Sie Deutsch" (Do you speak German) After this, he stammered a bit and then walked off. 

Hee....I took that cocky smirk off his face in a heart beat. (wink)

I suppose that means that they do not travel outside of the Country very often

I doubt very many of them have traveled outside their counties let alone country. Heck, I doubt many have been further than their nearest Piggly Wiggly. That's what a protectionist, anti-education, anti-science, anti-immigrant religious and racial superiority ideology will almost always breed, frightened cave dwellers fanatically devoted to their own ignorance.

[deleted]

Imagine talking about black Democrats that way.

Imagine talking about black Democrats that way

It's not about race. It's about ideology. When people ridicule higher education, claim science is from the devil and can't be trusted, claim anthropogenic climate change is a hoax, seclude themselves from modern society and are irritated just hearing a foreign language spoken, they deserve any derision they receive.

You can't change your ethnicity, you can change your ideology.

When I was 10 and visiting my grand parents in MI, my grandfather who was Sicilian took me to watch him play bachi (sp) ball.  I learned quite a bit of Italian but the majority of what I learned could not be spoken in mixed company.

but the majority of what I learned could not be spoken in mixed company.

Hee hee....that is kind of what happened with my German. (wink)

This part of the PEW thingy interested me.

"While most Americans say having a population that is racially and ethnically mixed enhances U.S. culture, views are more negative when the public is asked about the prospect of blacks, Hispanics, Asians and other racial minorities making up a majority of the population (which the U.S. Census Bureau projects will happen by the year 2050). In a separate survey conducted in December 2018, more said having a majority nonwhite population will weaken American customs and values (38%) than said it will strengthen them (30%); 31% said this won’t have much of an impact."

"A sizable share of Americans (47%) say having a population that is made up of people of many different races and ethnicities makes it harder for policymakers to solve the country’s problems; a small share (7%) say it makes it easier for policymakers and 45% say it doesn’t make much difference. Whites (52%) are more likely than Hispanics (42%) and blacks (30%) to say the country’s diversity makes it harder for policymakers to solve problems."

I  like the "Overall" parts ! No party affiliation needed.

I used to slam my head against the wall whenever I heard someone say, "they need to speak American!!!!". The term they were looking for is, "English". But to be fair? American is a dialect of English, (with off shoots from there, as others have pointed out). Then there is, "British English". We call it a trunk, they call it a boot, for example. 

I personally don't mind hearing people in the USA speaking in their native language, if that is what they need to use to more accurately deliver their message, go for it. I speak a smattering of German, (long story why I devoted time to learn it), Spanish, Latin, Greek...But English is the only one I speak fluently. English is a tough language to learn, the slang alone is pretty daunting. 

To

Too

Two

Their

They're

There..

.

Just a couple of examples, for sure. 

.

A brief anecdote to regale you.

.

A long time ago, I fell in love with a woman who was born and raised in Berlin, Germany, (blond hair, blue eyes, big boobs...you get the idea). Obviously, English is her second, (and to be honest, it's really her third language, she also speaks Italian fluently). We had a long discussion about language, (I was teaching medical language at the time), and she was explaining to me just how difficult English is to learn. One day at work, she came up to me and gave me a hug and said, " ich liebe dich". Which most people know means, "I love you", in German. Well, I didn't at the time so I smiled, hugged her back and started to walk away.. She being smart said, "I just told you I love you".. "OH!"... I felt really stupid, but my stupidity with regards to the German language, was only just beginning. 

A few months later, I woke up early and went to make coffee while she slept. The phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it wasn't a number I recognized but I answered it. It was a male voice speaking in gibberish, but at the end of the sentence, I heard, "Claudia".. I deduced that this was her father, who spoke no English at all, calling from Berlin to talk to his daughter... Now, don't hate, it was 4:30am, no coffee, no caffeine and only 5 hours of sleep.. I had to say something so he didn't think he got the wrong number and hang up...

I panicked...

My heart began to race...

My palms began to sweat...

What do I say!!!!!!!!??????

And then...it happened. 

" ich liebe dich"

VERY long pause, then......

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I woke Claudia, "It's your dad", could still hear him laughing as I handed her the phone...then.....

She started...."HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"

After the call, she kissed me and asked if I was going to finish making the coffee...

"Tell me, my dear, how do you say, "make your own fucking coffee" in German?""

.

In any case, one thing we know about language, no matter what language you speak, every language spoken on Earth can be broken down to a triangle...all languages have the same schematic.

I am going to include the link which goes into a lot more depth, but, it's done with one of those Dragon text to speech things which is beyond annoying. 

slideplayer

We call it a trunk, they call it a boot, for example. 

My favorite England based term is "pissed as a fart" for drunk.

Nearly half of white Republicans say it bothers them to hear people speaking foreign languages

They are jealous.

I live in the Southwest - part of the 1854 (?) Gadsden Purchase, which spent a lot of money for relatively little land. A sort of conscience payment to Mexico for having grabbed half their territory after the 1848 war.

There have been Spanish families in the region since the mid 1600s. (Anglos arrived two centuries later). The first mayor of the city of Yuma had a Spanish name, which I can't recall off-hand.

You'll often here Anglos grumbling about "these people who can't speak English"...

I think it was Jose Maria Redondo.