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You shouldn't be surprised that people prefer to see doctors (and lawyers and plumbers etc) from their home country and speak their native language. Similarly,

by shard 7y ago

You shouldn't be surprised that people prefer to see doctors (and lawyers and plumbers etc) from their home country and speak their native language. Similarly, if you were living in a foreign country with a different national language, you'd likely prefer the same.

cameronbrown 7y ago
Just because someone is a different ethnicity doesn't mean we don't have a shared culture. Immigrants move to a country because they like the language/culture and want to be a part of it.
- handlegoeshere 7y ago
  Immigrants move to a country to take advantage of the opportunities there and improve their standard of living. I have never met an immigrant that moved to a foreign country because they "liked the language/culture and want to be part of it".
  - cameronbrown 7y ago
    Then maybe the incentives are wrong? If I ever move to another country, I'll pick the country based on the culture, not just on opportunity. It's too important not to think about.
    - setr 7y ago
      depends on the (source:target) pair. People immigrating from India->US are coming from a vastly different background/goals/needs than those going US->India. Money probably dramatically beats out culture wants until you reach a certain point; those coming from a first-world country likely have lower monetary wants, and so culture has greater relative value. Those coming from third-world to first-world are likely much more interested in money than culture, and I can't say for certain but my intuition is that the kinds of ethnic segregation (eg in NY/Chicago, where there's a whole array of little microtowns) that you see in the US are mostly generated by those poorer populations seeking wealth, not cultural value. I imagine the equivalent American/European expat towns don't exist nearly as strongly/commonly in india/china, as the inverse exists in the US. (of course, you'd also expect less americans/europeans migrating to india/china, since the monetary difference isn't as strong).
onetimeposter1 7y ago
What you are saying is true, which is why a single national language is important. People will naturally gravitate towards communities where their language is spoken, so we unify ourselves by ensuring that English is the common national language.

by shard 7y ago

cameronbrown 7y ago

Just because someone is a different ethnicity doesn't mean we don't have a shared culture. Immigrants move to a country because they like the language/culture and want to be a part of it.

handlegoeshere 7y ago
Immigrants move to a country to take advantage of the opportunities there and improve their standard of living. I have never met an immigrant that moved to a foreign country because they "liked the language/culture and want to be part of it".
- cameronbrown 7y ago
  Then maybe the incentives are wrong? If I ever move to another country, I'll pick the country based on the culture, not just on opportunity. It's too important not to think about.
  - setr 7y ago
    depends on the (source:target) pair. People immigrating from India->US are coming from a vastly different background/goals/needs than those going US->India. Money probably dramatically beats out culture wants until you reach a certain point; those coming from a first-world country likely have lower monetary wants, and so culture has greater relative value. Those coming from third-world to first-world are likely much more interested in money than culture, and I can't say for certain but my intuition is that the kinds of ethnic segregation (eg in NY/Chicago, where there's a whole array of little microtowns) that you see in the US are mostly generated by those poorer populations seeking wealth, not cultural value. I imagine the equivalent American/European expat towns don't exist nearly as strongly/commonly in india/china, as the inverse exists in the US. (of course, you'd also expect less americans/europeans migrating to india/china, since the monetary difference isn't as strong).

onetimeposter1 7y ago

What you are saying is true, which is why a single national language is important. People will naturally gravitate towards communities where their language is spoken, so we unify ourselves by ensuring that English is the common national language.