After hearing some truly lovely comments about immigrants to the US, their perceived lack of assimilation, and their English language skills/translating needs I wondered:
How many Sowallers speak another language? What are they and why do you know it?
When traveling abroad I have found that many Americans expect the rest of the world to speak perfect English, but rarely bother to learn/study a foreign language, even when they have jobs where I think those skills are necessary. (IMO a Scooterbug should not be the only available translator for basic phrases like "the plane is delayed because of weather" on a plane between Texas and Colorado.)
-Spanish and Italian I speak well enough that (after a brief refresher) I can go without English for days. I do interchange similar words (Scooterbug Spatalian) and my overly ambitious attempts at communication can produce some hilarious results, like when I try to have a comparative discussion of the mummies/embalming techniques of ancient Egypt and Guanajuato, Mexico.
-French and German I have a limited "travel" knowledge of. I read signs, know greetings, directions, and have basic phrases down, but any major talking needs to be done in English, Italian, or Spanish.
-Greek I can read it after a couple days, but speaking it eludes me.
-Korean, Arabic, and Russian I know a smattering of words and phrases, but can't read characters or script.
How many Sowallers speak another language? What are they and why do you know it?
When traveling abroad I have found that many Americans expect the rest of the world to speak perfect English, but rarely bother to learn/study a foreign language, even when they have jobs where I think those skills are necessary. (IMO a Scooterbug should not be the only available translator for basic phrases like "the plane is delayed because of weather" on a plane between Texas and Colorado.)
-Spanish and Italian I speak well enough that (after a brief refresher) I can go without English for days. I do interchange similar words (Scooterbug Spatalian) and my overly ambitious attempts at communication can produce some hilarious results, like when I try to have a comparative discussion of the mummies/embalming techniques of ancient Egypt and Guanajuato, Mexico.
-French and German I have a limited "travel" knowledge of. I read signs, know greetings, directions, and have basic phrases down, but any major talking needs to be done in English, Italian, or Spanish.
-Greek I can read it after a couple days, but speaking it eludes me.
-Korean, Arabic, and Russian I know a smattering of words and phrases, but can't read characters or script.
). I do have the book "Spanish for Dummies" which I plan to study one day, along with a handheld translator. Fuzz has a DOT manual which contains a section on foul language in Spanish, which is typically what is spoken when diversity occurs.
