[Nico]

Nobody would reply to him otherwise, go figure ( laughes at the irony )

[Genryu]

Originally posted by Stealth
Also, don't forget that most French citizens speak another language (English) fluently.  That's more than can be said for Americans... if ANYONE expects people to speak their language, it's Americans.  hence why they only speak one language for the most part:  English

I said it before, I'll say it again : Only the younger generation (below 25-30) had an education that let them speak English good enough to help people. Unfortunately, that means that in most of the place you can go, thee's nobody fluent enough in Englidh able to help you.

[Nico]

And to be honest ( at least in the classes I attended ), 2/3 of the studients didn't give a rat ass and are far from being fluent in english right now.

[Tiara]

I'm just so glad to live in Holland. Every person knows at least good English, basic/average French & German.

Ow, as a side note; The friends that went to France with me were English They didn't know any French at all. My vacation would've been a helluva lot better if i went with my Dutch friends

I mean, if a Frenchman comes to Holland we'll speak French to him. They won't EVER try to learn Dutch or even speak English. (At least thats my experience). At least the Germans try to speak English when visiting our country to buy some weed or to see the sea. But the French... Nope. I mean, if you expect others (foreigners) to speak French in your country at least try to speak our language or at least English when you're here.

[Viper1000]

Fools all of you.  Face it, the human race is arrogant.  Everyone is arrogant!  Everyone is spiteful!  It's in our nature!  We as humans love hating and being intolerant.  It runs in our blood.  It's why we always have had wars throughout history.  So why are we having these discussions over things that have been around forever?  Americans hate the French, French hate the Americans.  Nothing new there...

[Fineus]

Meh, I'd be happy to like everyone on an indivual basis - but if someone is arrogant towards me then I'm not going to bend over backwards to keep them happy... they can damn well be treated as I want to treat them from that point forth.

You reap what you sow.

[Setekh]

The behaviour of people in a group is of a demonstrably lower standard than the same individuals when they are on their own. Same goes for opinions of behaviour.

I think you guys are all pretty cool.

[Tiara]

Originally posted by Setekh
I think you guys are all pretty cool.

You're a real suck-up, you know?

[Ghostavo]

Didn't someone try to "invent" an universal language some years ago?

[Fineus]

Meh, from what I can tell most people treat English or (maybe?) German as the primary language for international dealings... since many more people know it.

That said, I wish England would forcefully teach students other languages properly... I feel it'd help a great deal. It'd also help if other nations attempted to speak the language of the country they're visiting but nevermind...

[Tiara]

Originally posted by Kalfireth
That said, I wish England would forcefully teach students other languages properly... I feel it'd help a great deal. It'd also help if other nations attempted to speak the language of the country they're visiting but nevermind...

Send the kids to Dutch schools...

On second thought, don't.

[Fineus]

Yeah, believe me - you wouldnt want the latest generation of English children anywhere near you. Heck I can't stand most of them

[Tiara]

Precisely why I said "don't"

[Nico]

Originally posted by Ghostavo
Didn't someone try to "invent" an universal language some years ago?

Well there's esperanto, but that's for retired people with too much free time on their hands

[Black Wolf]

Originally posted by WMCoolmon
Whee.

I thought modern English was invented by the Anglo-Saxtons, not exactly English or Germanic. And of course it wasn't like someone just sat down and said "Let's invent a new language today!" it just sort of evolved.

Modern English is pretty much a Saxon linguisitc descendent, but the structure comes from West Germanic stuff (Frisan mostly). so you're both right.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by Knight Templar

On a side note: I live in Northern California. I'm eating a can of Pringles chips. Everything on the can, save for the title is both in English and Spanish. T'wasn't like that 10 years ago.

it's worse here.  you know what happened the other day?  i was at HEB (it's a store over here, don't know if they have it in California, may just be a Texas thing) and they made an announcement in Spanish!  completely in Spanish!  i was so pissed... see what happens is the Mexicans swim the border, and then they stay in this country working and getting paid under the table (or they get a fake SSN, either one)... and then they expect everyone to bend to THEIR culture... to speak Spanish to them, rather than them speak English to us!!!  

I've got nothing wrong with them coming to this country... really... it's part of the American dream.  But part of the American dream is leaving your culture behind and starting fresh in America.  and America speaks English, not Spanish.  so they should learn English, not expect everyone else to speak Spanish to them.

I'm telling you KT, give it a few years, and Spanish is going to be America's dominant language... it will start in the northern states, like New Mexico and Texas, but it'll soon make its way up to California.  because the Mexicans have on average, twice as many babies as the average white family, so that, plus the fact that hundreds swim the border every day, in a few years, whites in this country are going to be a minority.  watch.

[Knight Templar]

Why did you just post the same thing...?  That confused the **** out of me.

[Grey Wolf]

Originally posted by Nico


Really, Quebec french and France french are really different. They use kind of the same grammar system, but the words are completly different. Take brits english and US english: there's some words that differ, from times to times ( car park, I think, for exemple ). Well then, imagine that 1 out of 2 words are now different... Do you know what french did you learn?

A really horrible mix, most likely.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by WMCoolmon


WTF? So the American dream is that you can have freedom of speech, religion, etc, just as long as you give up your culture and assimilate into ours?

And why, if there are SO many people who speak Spanish, does everyone have to learn English? Did Congress pass another law that goes against the Constitution?

yes.  the American dream is to become an American, not to bring your culture and try to force it upon Americans.  that's wrong.  if you want to come from your country, and give up the persecution and style of living and whatever the hell else you're leaving, then be prepared to learn (or at least TRY to learn) a new language, and not expect the majority of people to learn YOUR language.

Well in America English is the dominant language... it's just that in the southern states, you're seeing more and more and more spanish speaking people, because they swim the border, get jobs in this country, and expect everyone to talk to them in their native language, as opposed to the country's... so i think, in a few dozen years, America's going to be a Spanish speaking nation.  unfortunately (see my above paragraph as to why)

Why did you just post the same thing...? That confused the **** out of me.

sorry... i tried posting it earlier, but i must've done it as the forums went down, so i reposted when i got back home, and obviously it did work the first time i posted

[Ghostavo]

Stealth, the american "culture" is a mix of a lot of diferent cultures... that IS the american dream...