# Can you get by everywhere in the Americas with just four languages? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764 "2015-07-10T13:17:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/1 "2015-07-10T13:17:11Z")
My question is inspired by the thread on what other languages people in America should know. Assuming you can speak English, Spanish, Portugese, and French, is their any place in the Americas where you would be unable to communicate with the local population? Obvioysly their are a few places like “Little China” in various large cities or maybe the Somali immigrant communities in parts of Michigan. What I really wonder about, however, are languages native to the Americas. Are their any such places left in the Americas where a significant number of people don’t speak one of the languages I mentioned above? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/2 "2015-07-10T13:25:20Z")
[Oaxaca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_people_of_Oaxaca)is probably the largest such area. There are half a million people there who are monolingual in an indigenous language. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/3 "2015-07-10T13:46:14Z")
I believe there are also parts of South America where Quecha is the primary language? ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/4 "2015-07-10T13:58:56Z")
Quechua, Aymara and Guarani all have fairly significant numbers of speakers, and are official languages in Peru/Bolivia, Bolivia and Paraguay/Bolivia respectively. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/5 "2015-07-10T14:12:16Z")
Others having covered the large areas, there are still tiny pockets of the Amazon containing people considered “uncontacted”. They would probably speak a dialect of a known, nearby indigenous language. And while there are still a few places where Dutch is spoken, it’s hard to imagine you couldn’t get by with English in those areas. And let’s not forget Bermuda. You need British English to get by there! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/6 "2015-07-10T14:15:02Z")
There is [one South American country](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suriname#Languages) where Dutch is the official language…and a creole is the second-most spoken. I don’t know what the level of English spoken is, **John**. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/7 "2015-07-10T14:46:31Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > [Oaxaca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_people_of_Oaxaca)is probably the largest such area. There are half a million people there who are monolingual in an indigenous language. Cite? There are hundreds of thousands here in Los Angeles and every one Ive met speak Spanish. They have TV in Oaxaca these days… ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/8 "2015-07-10T15:04:21Z")
In Greenland, the majority speaks Greenlandic (a group of Inuit dialects) as their first language. A majority can speak Danish as a second language because it is used extensively in schooling. Most younger Greenlanders have been exposed to English in the schools, but I doubt anything near a majority of the population is fluent. ---
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/9 "2015-07-10T15:08:23Z")
> [@wikipedia](#): > > The 16 groups and the number of speakers of their language according to the 2005 census are: > > Of these, 477,788 are non-Spanish monolingual.[3] The majority of people speak languages of the Oto-Manguean family, either the Popolocan-Zapotecan branch or the Amuzgo-Mixtecan branch. > **[Indigenous peoples of Oaxaca](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_people_of_Oaxaca#Speakers_of_each_language)** > > The Indigenous people of Oaxaca are descendants of the inhabitants of what is now the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, who were present before the Spanish invasion. > Several cultures flourished in the ancient region of Oaxaca from as far back as 2000 BC, of whom the Zapotecs and Mixtecs were perhaps the most advanced, with complex social organization and sophisticated arts. > According to the National Commission for the Development of the Indigenous Peoples (CDI) Oaxaca has the greatest percentage of ind... > [@madsircool](#): > > Cite? There are hundreds of thousands here in Los Angeles and every one Ive met speak Spanish. They have TV in Oaxaca these days… You didn’t read the cite s/he provided in their first post, why should anyone provide another? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/10 "2015-07-10T15:23:36Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > And let’s not forget Bermuda. You need British English to get by there! 🙂 Been there. No, you don’t. It’s full of American tourists and locals who work in tourism, and some American military types from the USAF base. You’ll even find most of the cash in circulation is American, not local. Even the British tourists are foreign. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/11 "2015-07-10T15:32:38Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Cite? There are hundreds of thousands here in Los Angeles and every one Ive met speak Spanish. They have TV in Oaxaca these days… Those who come to the US are not necessarily a representative population. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/12 "2015-07-10T15:44:53Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Cite? There are hundreds of thousands here in Los Angeles and every one Ive met speak Spanish. They have TV in Oaxaca these days… The ones who emigrate would preferentially be the ones who speak Spanish. There are places in Panama where some of the older women may only speak an indigenous language, but there are plenty of people around who also speak Spanish, so you could get by fine. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/13 "2015-07-10T15:58:14Z")
While there are significant similarities between Haitian Creole and French, a French-only speaker would have trouble in Haiti. Probably similar to the challenges a Portuguese-only speaker would have communicating with a Spanish-only speaker where neither had every tried to bridge that particular gap before. While English is certainly spoken by some Haitians in some areas, and preferentially so wherever tourist dollars are sought, there are plenty of areas when it’s Creole or nothing. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/14 "2015-07-10T19:15:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The ones who emigrate would preferentially be the ones who speak Spanish. > > There are places in Panama where some of the older women may only speak an indigenous language, but there are plenty of people around who also speak Spanish, so you could get by fine. I buy the older folk but to say that in todays world there are hundreds of thousands of people in a major Mexican state who dont/havent been exposed to Spanish seems farfetched. Mexican mass media is huge and even in Mexico most folks have cell phones. I could be wrong but is there any evidence of the claim? ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/15 "2015-07-10T19:17:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Those who come to the US are not necessarily a representative population. Oaxaca is an unusual case. The Oaxacans face lots of prejudice in Mexico and they migrate in large numbers. It would seem logical that parents would make sure their children can speak Spanish so they can get by in the USA. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/16 "2015-07-10T19:30:57Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I could be wrong but is there any evidence of the claim? See post #9, then check the article linked in post #2, then the applicable reference in that article, then find the original census data mentioned in the referenced piece. If that’s not satisfactory I’ve got nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Haberdash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Haberdash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haberdash)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/17 "2015-07-10T19:49:09Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > I buy the older folk but to say that in todays world there are hundreds of thousands of people in a major Mexican state who dont/havent been exposed to Spanish seems farfetched. Mexican mass media is huge and even in Mexico most folks have cell phones. I could be wrong but is there any evidence of the claim? There are millions of people in the U.S. who do not speak English or Spanish functionally. In addition to substantial populations of monolingual Francophones in Maine and Louisiana, and members of Pennsylvania and Ohio’s rural religious communities who speak only 17th-century German, there are enough immigrants from Vietnam, China, Italy, and other countries to dwarf that 500,000 number 10 times over. If there are people in the U.S. who don’t speak the neighborhood language, why would it be any better in a country with substantially worse education and media penetration like Mexico? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/18 "2015-07-10T19:55:29Z")
> [@Haberdash](#): > > In addition to substantial populations of monolingual Francophones in Maine and Louisiana, and members of Pennsylvania and Ohio’s rural religious communities who speak only 17th-century German? Substantial? Maybe you should define that term. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/19 "2015-07-10T20:22:23Z")
Don’t forget the various island groups of the [Dutch Caribbean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Caribbean). Although, with tourism, presumably English can work in most places a traveler would go. Just avoid the poorest parts of towns and such. A language [map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/Languages_of_the_American_Continent.png) from Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2015, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764/20 "2015-07-10T20:36:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > while there are still a few places where Dutch is spoken, it’s hard to imagine you couldn’t get by with English in those areas. > [@ftg](#): > > Don’t forget the various island groups of the [Dutch Caribbean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_Caribbean). Although, with tourism, presumably English can work in most places a traveler would go. Just avoid the poorest parts of towns and such. I didn’t forget. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-get-by-everywhere-in-the-americas-with-just-four-languages/724764.md?page=2)