• UK at risk of being 'cut off from world' for not learning more languages
    245 replies, posted
[QUOTE=_Axel;32655291]What about Spanish ? You know most South-Americans/Spanish don't know more than a handful of english words ? Same applies with Chinese, which is more widely spoken than english.[/QUOTE] Quite true. But i think the reason mandarin is more widely spoken than english is simply because tehre are more chinese people on the earth than any other single nationality. lol However, you don't see people who aren't chinese running around speaking mandarin, but this is the case for people who aren't of western nationality speaking english. I think this is mainly because of the influence western nations have had on the world in history. For example, since WW2, More japanese people than ever speak english, simply because the predominant english speaking side won the war. In return, it is standard for Japan to teach english in their schools to a very extensive degree. Spanish is indeed quite different though, it seems to do business in spanish speaking countries it is more customary that business is done in their native language. I have no evidence to base this on though, i could and probably am completely wrong.
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;32652912][img]http://www2.travelodge.co.uk/assets/img/maps/static_uk_map.gif[/img] [editline]6th October 2011[/editline] I find English to be the easiest language I know tbh. Easier than Dutch.[/QUOTE] [IMG]http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/4272/britaininspace.jpg[/IMG] Oh, no, It has been cut off from the rest of the world.
[QUOTE=Coffee;32655319]As a native language. But if we include it being spoken as a secondary and tertiary language, and written via text, it is the most used.[/QUOTE] I'm not sure if we could take this as a matter of fact, more or less half of the population is terrible when it comes to speaking a foreign language. The situation here is honestly not much better than in UK. [editline]6th October 2011[/editline] [QUOTE=DiBBs27;32655361]Quite true. But i think the reason mandarin is more widely spoken than english is simply because tehre are more chinese people on the earth than any other single nationality.[/QUOTE] Well isn't that something to take into account when bothering to learn a foreign language ?
[QUOTE=_Axel;32655369]Well isn't that something to take into account when bothering to learn a foreign language ?[/QUOTE] No because you can't trade with people who have virtually nothing.
[QUOTE=_Axel;32655369]I'm not sure if we could take this as a matter of fact, more or less half of the population is terrible when it comes to speaking a foreign language. The situation here is honestly not much better than in UK.[/QUOTE] LOL! Well it seems this adds another quite different spin on the argument then. If the UK is in such apparent dire need of language diversity, how about other countries that are most certainly in the same boat? I mean is this just an issue because of national influence? or is it something more important than that?
I think UK is as much in need of better language teaching as any other country, it's just that most native Englishmen rely on other people learning english and that's what they are being warned for.
But in all honesty, the reason Europeans tend to learn English easily, is because it's all over TV and a lot of entertainment. English speaking countries have hindered their chances of learning languages, by making the whole of Europe speak english as a second language, so when I go to see my dad's family in Germany, it's difficult to even attempt to learn German as they always talk to me in English.
i think it'd be better to just get the whole world fluent in english and rename it "galactic basic"
[QUOTE=DiBBs27;32655171]Well no, that not what i mean to imply. I'm simply giving those examples because we are currently at war with them. And this isn't really about the UK just by its self. The UK speaks one of the most spoken languages in the world, English. As stated ealier in this thread, english is the official language of business in the world, and one of the most spoken languages there is, it's used all across the world. Edit: english is also known for being one of the harder languages in the world. I'm just trying to say that the UK has nothing to worry about. business wise, english is going to stay the official language of business in the world, not Arabic. So effectively, UK isn't going to be cut off from the rest of the world for speaking english, but countries that don't speak english risk being cut off from the rest of the world. Theres no ego in this, just fact.[/QUOTE] That "drop your weapons and get down" shit wasn't your ego speaking?
[QUOTE=Face Melter;32655546]i think it'd be better to just get the whole world fluent in english and rename it "galactic basic"[/QUOTE] But that would certainly be the death of culture would it not? Thoughtless makes a good point as well. If only western countries didn't immerse their countries solely in the english language, then english speaking nations would be as diverse as European and non english speaking nations. Immersion seems to be the key. You have to be involved with both languages on a daily basis to become fluent, or close to fluent in either. [QUOTE=Falchion;32655562]That "drop your weapons and get down" shit wasn't your ego speaking?[/QUOTE] No, it wasn't, I was saying that purely on the fact that a war is currently going on and during battle, there is little more interaction with the enemy than that.
I sort of wish I knew at least a second language, but learning Spanish in year 7,8, and 9 was shitty and I couldn't even carry a conversation and have forgotten just about all of it.
[QUOTE=DiBBs27;32655599]No, it wasn't, I was saying that purely on the fact that a war is currently going on and during battle, there is little more interaction with the enemy than that.[/QUOTE] yeah not like we're trying to win over the hearts and minds of the civilians there or anything I mean, if that were the case, telling them to just learn english while we make no effort to learn their language might come off a bit dickish, right?
Learn Latin from nursery, have basic understanding of almost every western European language and you know how hard languages can really be. There, sorted.
You guys need to adopt spanish as the national language, like us in the states! What's that? We used to speak English? Shit.
[QUOTE=DainBramageStudios;32655687]yeah not like we're trying to win over the hearts and minds of the civilians there or anything I mean, if that were the case, telling them to just learn english while we make no effort to learn their language might come off a bit dickish, right?[/QUOTE] Yes i see where you're coming from. Out of general courtesy, it is better to make an effort to learn their language if they make an effort to learn yours. On a more grand scale though, it seems more impersonal and not so much as we are coming off as being dickish. Having the courtesy to make an attempt at learning their language is usually an act of personal gratitude for doing business, not necessarily a "my language is better than yours" implication.
I went to Florida and there was a Spanish speaking person. "Sir, do you know the whereabouts of Ft. Lauderdale B&B?" He said something in Spanish so I said something like "Lauderdaleo B&B-o los where-os?"
I think the only languages we really need to know is German and French.
[QUOTE=Vasili;32655901]I think the only languages we really need to know is German and French.[/QUOTE]I'm assuming you mean other than English, correct? Cause even though many claim it's not as universal, it would appear to be quite popular.
Yeah I started learning a language in 7th grade... it was too late to remember anything. They should start at Grade 2 or 3.
[QUOTE=W00tbeer1;32656036]Yeah I started learning a language in 7th grade... it was too late to remember anything. They should start at Grade 2 or 3.[/QUOTE] That's rubbish, your brain doesn't stop working. I can't remember anything from the languages I learned when I was young.
[QUOTE=DiBBs27;32655599]But that would certainly be the death of culture would it not? Thoughtless makes a good point as well. If only western countries didn't immerse their countries solely in the english language, then english speaking nations would be as diverse as European and non english speaking nations. Immersion seems to be the key. You have to be involved with both languages on a daily basis to become fluent, or close to fluent in either. No, it wasn't, I was saying that purely on the fact that a war is currently going on and during battle, there is little more interaction with the enemy than that.[/QUOTE] you are really dumb firstly, the "galactic basic" thing was pretty obviously a joke so I don't get why you're picking it apart secondly, I don't see how english speaking nations are less "diverse" than any other countries. Britain is really multicultural - immigration rates are high, and if you sit on a train in london you're probably as likely to hear conversations in other languages as you are in english. Compare that to somewhere like Japan, with practically no immigration and only a very small portion of the population being anything other than Japanese born and bred. Thirdly, war isn't call of duty, nor is it an action movie, so shut up.
[QUOTE=Contag;32656358]That's rubbish, your brain doesn't stop working. I can't remember anything from the languages I learned when I was young.[/QUOTE] Immersion is key when it comes to learning languages. If you don't use it constantly, you lose it. You must be surrounded by your languages to be obtain fluency [QUOTE=Negrul1;32656434]you are really dumb firstly, the "galactic basic" thing was pretty obviously a joke so I don't get why you're picking it apart secondly, I don't see how english speaking nations are less "diverse" than any other countries. Britain is really multicultural - immigration rates are high, and if you sit on a train in london you're probably as likely to hear conversations in other languages as you are in english. Compare that to somewhere like Japan, with practically no immigration and only a very small portion of the population being anything other than Japanese born and bred. Thirdly, war isn't call of duty, nor is it an action movie, so shut up.[/QUOTE] What the bloody hell are you talking about? Go take your frustration out somewhere else. This is a debate, not a freaking play ground
[QUOTE=Garik;32652603]Pfft. Bullshit. What is the most known and international language world-wide and most likely the easiest to learn. English.[/QUOTE] English is not the easiest language to learn. If anything it is the exact opposite..
[QUOTE=Medevilae;32656818]English is the language of trade, and the vast majority of the internet is in English. (followed by French, followed by German)[/QUOTE] Ha, no.
[QUOTE=Medevilae;32656860]Ha, yeah. [URL="http://www.wikipedia.org/"]Prime example.[/URL][/QUOTE] [img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5483751/Photos/2011-10-06_2223.png[/img] [editline]time[/editline] And this: [url]http://www.webhosting.info/domains/country_stats/[/url]
[QUOTE=Medevilae;32656921]Wasn't trying to make a point on the order of the secondary languages... I'll fix it though.[/QUOTE] But you did, and that's all I'm arguing against.
[QUOTE=Medevilae;32656860]Ha, yeah. [URL="http://www.wikipedia.org/"]Prime example.[/URL][/QUOTE] I have no source to back this up, but this could be a misconception as when you google something, your region of the world dictates the language of the websites come up in. Now that is not to say that there aren't more english centric websites out there. But that can't be a certainty. For example, we know that china bans a lot of various websites from existing on 'their' internet as there are rules in china regarding the matter. In english speaking countries the internet is primarily a free zone. Thus it is fair to believe that more websites should exist outside of china due to less regional laws. Didn't china ban youtube? Also, wikipedia does have translation websites. But yes, the original wikipedia is designed and written in english.
[QUOTE=DiBBs27;32656963]I have no source to back this up, but this could be a misconception as when you google something, your region of the world dictates the language of the websites come up in. Now that is not to say that there aren't more english centric websites out there. But that can't be a certainty. For example, we know that china bans a lot of various websites from existing on 'their' internet as there are rules in china regarding the matter. In english speaking countries the internet is primarily a free zone. Also, wikipedia does have translation websites. But yes, the original wikipedia is designed and written in english.[/QUOTE] China is ranked third.
[QUOTE=mobrockers2;32656883][img]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/5483751/Photos/2011-10-06_2223.png[/img][/QUOTE] The English one is bigger than both of the two you highlighted combined.
[QUOTE=Medevilae;32656996]Wikipedia was just an example. [URL="http://www.webhosting.info/domains/country_stats/"]This link on domain stats[/URL] that mobrockers posted is another. English is definitely the language of the internet. The amount of English content is just so drastically higher in comparison.[/QUOTE] Oh! Useful link. Well this pretty much proves english is predominant as an international language. You know, just in case that even needed proving. :p
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