Sure, why not? Why do we need hundreds of different languages that can’t talk to one another? Pick one language (I don’t care what it is: Esperanto, Russian, Chinese or Pig Latin; it’s all the same to me) and have that be the official language of Earth. Problem solved.
I think it was the guy that you’ve linked to while he’s giving this lecture on the topic.
Flash - nsfw
Funny, that’s how I feel about your load of nationalistic bullshit. Do you have anything that isn’t an irrational emotion to base this opinion of yours on?
On second look, what Sarafeena said.
Hmm, not wanting to learn umpteen different languages just to get by every day because people moving to this country can’t be bothered to learn the language, yes, that is clearly an irrational emotion. :rolleyes:
Do you? The tone of your posts thus far convey a far greater emotional investment than the people you’re arguing with. And you have yet to give a single, objective reason for your position.
Motes and beams and all that Biblical stuff, y’know.
If you insist that the citizens speak several languages, why the fuck shouldn’t the immigrants speak several languages too (including English)? Why is it fine for someone to barge into your country and insist you speak their language but refuse to speak yours? Fuck that with a big rubber cock!
D’OH!!:smack: I should have looked at their location closer.
You know where I thought they were from, don’t you. Don’t you? :smack: I didn’t even look at the city name. I just saw WA.
There is no reason to be obtuse. It is entirely possible that someone could run into just one other language in everyday life. Personally, I mostly deal with people who speak Spanish. Should I project this personal experience of mine as if it is the only possible universal experience?
It is just as likely that she is dealing with one or two languages as that she’s dealing with more, yet you insist it can only be the latter case. Why? And would it reeeally be so hard to pick up enough to get by and be understood in ten languages, especially given how similar languages can be?
This is what I want to know: How come it’s always their problem? Why is it never yours? Because you march under a particular flag and you say ‘Oh, well, if you want to march with me you gotta play by my club rules, and my club enjoys being ignorant and homogenous, so leave your weird gibberish at the door’. Well, fuck that. I think it’s just a cover. You’re afraid you’re too dumb to really be able to know as many languages as you choose. But you’re not. It’s not that hard, certainly not just to get by.
I think the immigrants should learn English, too – because I think everyone should make an effort to learn the languages of the people they’re around. But when I perceive a communication gap between me and thee, as a grown up I consider what I can do to fix that. I don’t jump right to demanding YOU fix it RIGHT NOW because this is MY COUNTRY and bla bla bla. It all seems very conceited and stupid to me.
Indeed. Here are your assumptions:
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That coming to this country somehow obligates a person to adopt its customs. You assert this as if it is as true as the color of the sky, but why? Can you explain it? What is desirable about a culture in which everyone is the same? Do you imagine that we have this now?
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That their not wanting to learn a language equals “not being bothered”, being lazy, but your not wanting to learn a language, or even several, is somehow ennobled because of where you had the fortune to be born. Can you explain this?
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That it’s hard to learn enough in other languages to get by, even multiple languages. What makes you think this is the case? Given the very many multi-lingual people in this world, and the lack of things dissolving completely into chaos as a result of many languages being spoken in one area.
Apparently, you did do that, as you DID project your experience on FlyingRamenMonster.
I have no idea what the case is, and I never insisted. You gave your 1-language example, I gave my multi-language example. It would be a pretty tall task to learn every language you might bump into.
That is one of the funniest things I have ever heard. You are right…that is exactly what I am afraid of.
Wow. I must have been in a fugue state. Did I say all of that? For that matter, did the OP? I don’t think so. I am talking about practicalities and common sense. If I was an immigrant to another country, I would learn the language out of my own self-interest. I certainly wouldn’t expect everyone there to learn mine. Why should they?
Desole. Je ne comprend pas.
How about you get all conversational in Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Hebrew, Farsi, Tagalog, Czech, Urdu, Finnish, and Polish and get back to us. Dumbass.
Learning a different language is difficult for most adults. Asking them to learn even the rudiments of ten is just stupid.
Keep digging, sugar, you might just hit sense one of these days. My point, love, is that both of our examples are equally valid, which is to say not at all because we just don’t know what the case is. Your little slippery slope strawman is insufficient evidence in a world where many people speak multiple languages.
Why shouldn’t they? Can you explain to me? In words that make sense? Sure it makes good practical sense for them to learn the majority language. It also makes good sense for you to learn some other languages. Why does where you were born somehow make you immune from charges of lazyness when it comes to learning languages? Why can’t you take responsibility for your own life?
I’m done with you, SUGAR LOVE.
Oh, for goodness sake. If you’d have bothered to read my first post instead of jumping on this “I am so much more enlightened than the average American!” trip, you’d realize I said no such thing. In fact, I specifically said immigrants should not be required to assimilate to our culture. In case you’re too lazy to scroll down…
Let’s move on, shall we?
Because I am not living in their country. Again, if you’d bothered reading my first post…
We could save a little time if you’d bothered to actually read my posts instead of telling me what I’m saying.
Because I know one other language, one that is very predominate in the area in which I reside, and that was hard enough. I have neither the time nor the inclination to learn several other languages when the problem could be solved by others moving to a English speaking country to just learn English.
I’ve given my reasons, now I want yours. What objective, logical reason do you have for insisting those who speak English should learn a variety of other languages instead of immigrants learning English?
You still haven’t answered my question about why adopting a single, universal human language is a Bad Thing™. Society is based on clear, effective communication. Why shouldn’t we make an effort to make communication easier and more universal? Of course, it wouldn’t be easy, particularly for the first generation who has to go through the change, but few things which are worth doing are easy.
For someone who keeps shrieking about not being read closely, you haven’t read very closely. I never said ‘instead of’.
Sounds great. Now…who picks the language? Who pays to teach it to everyone? Who enforces the law that it must be spoken? Who deals with the protesters who think language is important enough part of a culture’s history that it shouldn’t die out? How many troops does it take? How many bombs? Is it worth it? What do you do when new languages start springing up again, as they inevitably will? You getting this yet, sweetheart?
At least there doesn’t seem to be any legislation prompting it this time around… although for all I know there could well be some proposed Amendment to the Australian Constitution at the back of the OP, seeking to enshrine English as the DoublePlus Official Language With Sprinkles. Oh if only Australians would learn to cultivate the same mature tolerance of linguistic diversity that we Americans embrace so proudly as part of our national heritage.
There is no shrieking, my friend. Especially since I’ve now just realized we’re not having the same argument. That, or we’re arguing parallel to each other. You seem to be arguing that immigrants should learn English, but the average Amercian should also learn several languages to make life easier, just in case. I’m saying that immigrants should learn English because if they did, it would dispense with the need for your average American to learn several different languages to get by. Are you disagreeing with this? Why?
In a perfect world everyone would speak every language, but in our own flawed, imperfect world, it just doesn’t make sense. Your average person doesn’t have the time to learn several different languages. It’s just not realistic and to argue that someone is lazy, ignorant or arrogrant because they refuse to is absurd.