3 ms·
> The language issue cannot be overlooked - a little less than 1/2 of Montreal is primarily English speaking A Joke for you: Little Johnny asks his mother: wh
by gerbilly 10y ago
> The language issue cannot be overlooked - a little less than 1/2 of Montreal is primarily English speaking
A Joke for you:
Little Johnny asks his mother: what does the word "bilingual" mean?
The mother answers, a person who speaks two languages.
Then Johnny asks, what do you call a person who speaks three languages then?
The mother answers: "trilingual."
How about one language?
"American"
- JoeAltmaier 10y agoNot sure where this myth comes from. America is a land of immigrants, and hundreds of languages are spoken here. Right up there with India and Indonesia. http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=15941 http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=15941
- jcranmer 10y agoThe US is a very diverse place, compared to many other countries. In the place I grew up, the schools basically had to translate their materials for parents into Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Farsi (looks like Urdu has now been added to that list). Nevertheless, it is a common stereotype that American tourists have a reputation of being unwilling to put any effort into learning foreign languages. I'll add that it appears to me that French-speakers appear to be the snottiest about it. I suspect that has much to do with the fact that English has largely supplanted French as the main international language of business and politics (which largely dates back to Wilson insisting that English be used when negotiating the Versailles treaty after WWI).
- edblarney 10y agoIt's not just Americans - it's the English and really Canadians as well. It's because English is the language that 'everyone else speaks'. There's just no reason to learn French or German when you can 100% get by in France and Germany speaking English.