Force of language. Is it right?

Should languages be forced?

No, they should learn our language	65.5%	[ 72 ]
Yes, they are guests. We should cater to them	34.5%	[ 38 ]
Total Votes:			[ 110 ]

[Alessia_Luciano]

Lady.Rissa

anonymous celebrity

AliceContra

Evolutionist

We should all just go back to Latin. A universal language is probably the best idea.

There -is- a universal language. It's just not very widely known.

Esperanto. I think they came up with it in the 1970s (?) as a means to bridge language barriers between countries.

It totally tanked.

Actually, it's still quite active! There are several million people in the world today who have some level of fluency in the language, and there are actually now native speakers of Esperanto; that is, children whose parents met, communicate, and run the household using Esperanto. There's a conference every year... The first one was in China, where Esperanto is still quite popular. I think the one in 2007 is in Japan, but I don't remember for sure...

Have you ever looked at it? It's quite simple and ingenious, and very flexible. It makes perfect sense, and I highly recommend it! There are books, CDs, poems, and more out in the language, even. It sounds similar to Italian, and its grammar has sooooooo few rules. Seriously, you'd much prefer to take that than Spanish or French, if you dislike languages. You can even make up your own words, following the rules!

Not to mention, do you know how much MONEY the UN would save on translators if everyone just used Esperanto? eek Their expenditures are massive!! People who oppose the language really aren't thinking about it logically.

I speak Esperanto! biggrin My stepbrother got real into it about two years ago and doesn't talk to me in English anymore--only in Esperanto. sweatdrop So I kind of had to learn it out of necessity.

As for the main topic of this thread, I agree that if you're going to go live in another country you need to be able to speak the language. When I first came to America I only spoke Spanish and Italian and today I'm better at English than some native-speakers, as pathetic as that is. crying

But at the same time, I think they say that in something like ten years or so Mexicans will be the dominent ethnicity in the US, don't they? In any case, the Spanish-speaking presence is growing very big in the US with no end in sight and pretty soon we might see an America where both languages are required. 3nodding

I love foreign languages myself and I'm starting college this spring to become a foreign language teacher. heart


EDIT: PS. Esperanto actually has mostly slavic sounds with a strong Romance-language vocabulary.

[DefconSeven]

Piotr Stoochat

Your're the type of person that goes to Europe and complains that they don't speak english. rolleyes

when i was in france there was this old american couple speaking english to the waiter and the waiter just looked at them and shrugged said no and walked away becuase there was no more he could do. the furious looks on their faces made me laugh so hard.

[The Amazing Elazul]

If you live in a certain country, you should learn the prominent language if your staying there for a long period of time

[Ilshenar]

Neat facts: English is NOT the official language of the USA. You don't have an official language. Therefore people are allowed to live in your country and speak whatever language they want to. Make it official and in the future you won't have any reasons to b***h about it. Until then, don't bother - they have as much right to speak their language as you have to speak yours (but it will be harder for them as they have a problem understanding the language most people speak.)

[BlackWidowmaker]

Akana-san

I was at work today and this woman couldn't speak english. I was mad. xp
People who go to live in other countries NEED to learn the god damn language. And I'm serious!

Why should we (the country residents) have to learn a whole 'nother language to suit their wants and needs? Shouldn't they learn our language if they are gonig to live here for a long time? (like months/years. not weeks)

Should we force language into schools just because it's a good idea in the eyes of the government? Should we even have to learn a peticular language? Should we not have the option of choice in what language we want to learn. If any?

I think so.

Discuss!
Is it right for aliens from other countries to force their languages on the country they visit. Or should they learn the language of that country they go to live in?

You have a point if I were to leave my country it would only make sense to learn the language enough to get around and eat.

[Apanthropy]

I don't care if people can't speak English when in America, just as long as they don't get pissed off about it when no one understands them/doesn't want to speak their language instead.


Of course, if they're living here as opposed to visiting, I'd think it would be a fairly smart thing for them to learn it at some point, considering it's the extremely dominant language of the country. Just like if I were to move to another foreign country I would learn that language.

[Schizophrenic Rainbows]

People in England speak English, people in Spain speak Spannish, people in Italy speak Italian, people in France speak French...and personally...i think it should be kept that way..if you plan to leave the country to live in another then you should learn the damn language!!

I'm currently trying to teach myself Japanese XD

[Allerdyce]

DefconSeven

Piotr Stoochat

Your're the type of person that goes to Europe and complains that they don't speak english. rolleyes

when i was in france there was this old american couple speaking english to the waiter and the waiter just looked at them and shrugged said no and walked away becuase there was no more he could do. the furious looks on their faces made me laugh so hard.

I go on holiday to Spain and Portugal a lot and those people- ones who refuse to even try some of the country's native language- really piss me off. I hate it when I'm sitting there trying to eat a meal or have a nice time and all I can hear is some arrogant English or American couple going- 'Bloody language! That's the problem- every one should speak English!'

I just want to turn round and tell them to go ******** home if they have a problem.

[[ Webejebus ]]

Akana-san

I was at work today and this woman couldn't speak english. I was mad. xp
People who go to live in other countries NEED to learn the god damn language. And I'm serious!

Why should we (the country residents) have to learn a whole 'nother language to suit their wants and needs? Shouldn't they learn our language if they are gonig to live here for a long time? (like months/years. not weeks)

Should we force language into schools just because it's a good idea in the eyes of the government? Should we even have to learn a peticular language? Should we not have the option of choice in what language we want to learn. If any?

I think so.

Discuss!
Is it right for aliens from other countries to force their languages on the country they visit. Or should they learn the language of that country they go to live in?

YOU should learn English. "Peticular" is spelt "Particular".

[Lady.Rissa]

Moon_Light_Waters

Ya they should learn or language and yes we should to because hey everyone will laph at us just the same as we laph at them for not knowing what we/they are saying. rolleyes

...Am I the only one who finds it sadly ironic that most of the people here who have learned English as a second language speak it better than some native speakers do? sweatdrop I 'think' she was trying to say,

"Yeah, they should learn our language and yes, we should learn, too, because, hey! everyone will laugh at us just the same as we laugh at them for not knowing what we/they are saying."


Er... I don't laugh. stare I applaud people who are intelligent enough, fore-sighted enough, and courteous enough to bother studying another language before going abroad. I've traveled abroad quite a bit - including a year-long stay in Japan as an exchange student - and in all of my experience, the people of that country were grateful and very excited that I was trying to speak their language. After learning that I had made an effort to be able to communicate with them, people were quite friendly with me, and became much more willing to meet me halfway and use what (little) English they remembered so that, together, we could understand one another decently.


And to everyone who says that the French should keep French, the English should keep English, the Chinese should keep Chinese, etc... WAKE UP! stressed We live on an entire planet, and all of us are humans and interesting people! Are you trying to isolate each nation from the rest? Do you not see the necessity of cooperation and trade and communication? It amazes me how close-minded and ignorant some people can be.

[HOMOSEXUALSAREGAY]

Dey stay in my country, dey learn my language. Ka-pish?

[Akana-san]

Webejebus

Akana-san

I was at work today and this woman couldn't speak english. I was mad. xp
People who go to live in other countries NEED to learn the god damn language. And I'm serious!

Why should we (the country residents) have to learn a whole 'nother language to suit their wants and needs? Shouldn't they learn our language if they are gonig to live here for a long time? (like months/years. not weeks)

Should we force language into schools just because it's a good idea in the eyes of the government? Should we even have to learn a peticular language? Should we not have the option of choice in what language we want to learn. If any?

I think so.

Discuss!
Is it right for aliens from other countries to force their languages on the country they visit. Or should they learn the language of that country they go to live in?

YOU should learn English. "Peticular" is spelt "Particular".

Well excuse me for not having perfect english! scream
Don't go around correcting people. It's rude! And stick with the debate here or leave.

Everyone in a country should learn the country's language if they are staying. =p

[Lupakitty]

Some people don't have the intelligence to learn another language. My parents came here from Mexico 30 years ago and I still have to translate. I on the other hand know almost 5 languages because I know the importance of understanding people. People come to America to get away from the hardships of their countries. They didn't come here to be bombarded by closed minded people. Please have patience with people. They are only trying to better their lives, not to be brought down by bigots.

Peace and love. heart