Foriegn Language

[Roderick Usher]

All right, I'll try not to rant here, but something has building inside me and I feel I must discuss the topic with others or I'll go nuts.

I've done some traveling...not a ton, mind you, but enough to find myself visiting countries in which I do not speak the native language. As an English speaking American it has never been too hard to get by, as inevitably (even in the smallest town) someone who speaks English is rarely more than a stone's throw away.

But come to America speaking anything other than English and you're screwed. Sure you can get by in the heart of some major cities, but even there it will be difficult. So few Americans speak a foreign language...and I don't mean those who "took some Spanish or French in High School", I'm talking about being able to converse.

It seems this is part of an inborn American Xenophobia (and it isn't reserved to America - there are other countries out there - primarily English Speaking countries that fall into this same trap) that makes us such mad citizens of the world. When I ask people if they speak a foreign language, they so often reply "Why? Everyone speaks English." This really bugs me. Thinking that our nation - which has its faults, sure...but this country that I love is so full of people who simply do not care about opening a line of communication with anyone who doesn't speak their language - as if anything not in English is somehow less important.

I, myself am trying to do something about it. I can get by with my Spanish and have done so in Mexico repeatedly. Living in Los Angeles, I use it almost daily with shopkeepers and the like. I've picked up a tiny bit of Japanese, Cantonese & French, but only enough to get myself in over my head in conversation.

I am going to immerse myself in a foreign language and I challenge all of you out there to do the same.

I know there are a few on this site for whom English is not their first language, and I find that really cool. How many of us English speakers would post, let alone become members, on a discussion board in another language? You guys fucking rule!

Now I have a question...which language should I go for? My Spanish is O.K. and getting better all the time, so I want to add a third to the mix.

I'm torn between...

French - I want to be able to address people in Cannes without looking like the Ugly American...and it's big in Africa and the Carribean

Italian - I have a film in preproduction in Italy and would love to be able to chat with Dario Argento

Which one?

And any of you fluent in a second language, let me hear about it. Nothing would make me happier to find that I am simply mistaken in my observation.

[massacre man]

I took Spanish in 8th grade about 2 years ago, I failed so badly that by the end of the 4th marking period the teacher didn't even give me the work, same thing with a friend of mine who was in that class, now she tells them "Don't be a Michael or a Scotty". But I need Spanish to graduate so I'm taking it this year coming and next year, if I fail I'm fucked and I'm not graduating on time. So I'm gonna learn a foreign language... hopefully.

[jenna26]

I took Spanish in high school, 3 years actually......aced the classes and actually could carry on a conversation.....(though with my southern accent, it was a bit amusing) but have since forgotten almost all of it. If two people are speaking in Spanish I can pick up bits and pieces but that's it.
I would try Italian. Especially if I ever had the chance to converse with Argento. My husband and I also hope to visit Italy one day, and before we do, IF we ever have the funds, I do plan to try to learn the language beforehand.

[newb]

I would go for Ebonics.

Here are a few Ebonics' terms:
Crib.................................. place of residence
Dod.................................. worn out, bad, terrible
Boyz................................. gang friends
Ball out, jet......................... leave
Snaps, yayo, lutchi, cream....... money
Try-fo-lin........................... that's stupid
Phat, brick.......................... looks good
Peace out............................ good bye
Peeps, Homie...................... friend
Gank................................ to steal

[LoudLon]

I'm a steadfast patriot, but part of loving one's country is being able to recognize its faults and this one has always been a big one for me.

I'm the same way; I can speak just enough of a few other languages to get a conversation started, but then I'm lost. And I've learned that whatever language it is you're trying to speak, make sure you AT LEAST know the phrase, "My (insert language here) is bad. Do you speak English?" But even knowing that, it's an insult to the foreign-speaking person you're talking to.

I took a couple years of Spanish back in highschool, and it's been put to good use at my job, where we get a lot of hispanic clients, and I've been working a lot this last couple years to better myself at it. I've dabbled also in Cantonese, and when stationed in Hawaii while in the service I picked up some basic Korean, Japanese and Polynesian phrases.

But personally I think if you're an American who gets around even a little, you should at least familiarize yourself with Spanish, considering it's been indicated it'll sooner or later be termed America's second language.

[novakru]

French
.
.
.
.

[Despare]

Quick question for those who expect Americans to speak other languages. Do you also believe that people who travel (or move) here should speak English? What I've NEVER understood are the people who believe we should speak more languages but in turn believe we should make sure all our signs, packages, etc... have other languages on them as well. Anyway, I speak a little Spanish (4 years) and a VERY little bit of French (2 years), I don't expect it to help me very much as I don't put myself in a position to use it very often. I do however believe that some people should master the basics of their first language before moving on to another. We have far too many people who can't even speak English properly and I'm not even talking about immigrants.

[Doc Faustus]

Italian is a beautiful language with easier grammar than French. I love everything about it. It's also very easy to read and full of intriguing etymologies.

[zwoti]

i learnt french and german.

if i was to learn another language it would be italian or cantonese, or maybe mandarin.


as for your choice, it has to be italian

otherwise you'll end up like this :eek:

http://www.abfab.co.uk/Thumbnails/S21305.jpg

[Vodstok]

I took spanish and german growing up. I lived in germany for a total of 9 years, but my german was always rusty, because much like a veal calf's legs, since it didnt get much exercise, it never got very strong. Everywhere I lived, most of the community spoke fluent english. However, i tried to use german as often as possible, which was appreciated by most people.

[newb]

I took six years of Italian watching The Soprano's.
This should help you.


administration:
The top-level "management" of an organized crime Family -- the boss, underboss and consigliere.


associate:
one who works with mobsters, but hasn't been asked to take the vow of Omerta; an almost confirmed, or made guy.


the books:
a phrase indicating membership in the Family. If there is a possibility for promotion, then the books are open. If not, the books are closed.


boss:
the head of the Family who runs the show. He decides who gets made and who gets whacked. The boss also gets points from all Family business; also see: don, chairman.


borgata:
an organized crime Family.


capo:
the Family member who leads a crew; short for capodecina.

captain:
a capo.

clip:
to murder; also whack, hit, pop, burn, put a contract out.

code of silence:
not ratting on your colleagues once you've been pinched -- no longer a strong virtue in organized crime families. Also see omertá.

confirm:
to be made; see made guy.

consigliere:
the Family advisor, who is always consulted before decisions are made.

crank:
speed; in particular, crystal meth.

crew:
the group of soldiers under the capo's command.

cugine:
a young soldier striving to be made.

don:
the head of the Family; see boss.

eat alone:
to keep for one's self; to be greedy.

family:
an organized crime clan, like the Genoveses, the Gottis, or the Sopranos.

G:
a grand; a thousand dollars; also see large.

garbage business:
euphemism for organized crime.

Golden Age:
The days before RICO.

goomah (sometimes pronounced "goomar"):
a Mafia mistress; also comare.

heavy:
packed, carrying a weapon.

hit:
to murder; also see whack.

juice:
the interest paid to a loanshark for the loan; also see vig.

lam:
To lay low, go into hiding.

large:
a thousand, a grand, a G.

made guy:
an indoctrinated member of the Family.

mock execution:
to whip someone into shape by frightening the shit out of them.

mattresses, going to, taking it to, or hitting the:
going to war with a rival clan or family.

message job:
placing the bullet in someone's body such that a specific message is sent to that person's crew or family; see through the eye, and through the mouth.

the mob:
a single organized crime family; OR all organized crime families together.

mobbed up:
connected to the mob.

mobster:
one who is in the mob.

Omertá:
to take a vow of silence in the Mafia, punishable by death if not upheld.

outfit:
a clan, or family within the Mafia.

points:
percent of income; cut.

spring cleaning:
cleaning up, hiding or getting rid of evidence.

paying tribute:
giving the boss a cut of the deal.

pinched:
to get caught by the cops.

the program:
The Witness Protection Program.

rat:
one who snitches or squeals after having been pinched.

RICO:
Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Passed in 1970 to aid the government in clamping down on organized crime activities, its scope has since been broadened to prosecute insider traders and anti-abortion protesters.

shake down:
to blackmail or try to get money from someone; also to give someone a scare.

shy:
the interest charged on loans by loansharks.

shylock business:
the business of loansharking.

soldier:
the bottom-level member of an organized crime Family, as in "foot soldiers."

tax:
to take a percentage of someone's earnings.

This Thing of Ours:
a mob family, or the entire mob.

through the eye:
a message job through the eye to say "We're watching you!"

through the mouth:
a message job through the mouth to indicate that someone WAS a rat.

underboss:
the second in command to the boss.

vig:
the interest paid to a loanshark for the loan. Abbreviation of vigorish; also see juice.

waste management business:
euphemism for organized crime.

whack:
to murder; also clip, hit, pop, burn, put a contract out.

wiseguy:
a made guy.


http://artfiles.art.com/images/-/Sopranos-Poster-C12007091.jpeg


sorry for the stupid replies........its just my mood:D

[Zero]

au contraire mon frere - francais c'est la lingua franca - literally the language of the world (well before american imperialism) -- much more beautiful and, to be honest, useful in so many ways- it is, afterall the language of love!

[ferretchucker]

it's a shame that we here in England get annoyed when people come here and speak only in their native tongue (Usually they eventually learn to speak English, but many adults ((children are different, they pick it up right away)) take their time), but then we go on holiday and get annoyed that they can't always speak english, or have a very heavy accent.

[XtRaVa]

England and America are very nationalist (too nationalist sometimes) and the majority of the native english speaking citizens, of these two countries in particular, would often never want to learn any language other than english. I totally agree that its a shame and to a certain extent even racist.

I find it utterly disgusting how ignorant and insular countries can be and wish I had the time/money to learn another language. It's not completely our faults though, in schools all over the world they teach other languages from very young ages (particularly english) and are pretty much compulsory for many years (and taught to a very good standard). In england (and I expect America too) its not like this. Language classes are usually optional, or practically non-existant. I wasnt taught french until I was in secondary school and it was the only mandatory foreign language class we had to take (and only lasted around 3 years and was pretty basic).

That doesnt help us at all, by the age we started it, learning languages was already much more difficult than if they started teaching it to us in first school. So to say its all our own faults isnt quite right, its more the faults of the school system/government as by the time we leave school most people work full time and dont pursue learning another language, which is so much more difficult as an adult anyway.

I will try and find the time to someday learn some languages. I would particularly like to learn German, Ducth and Japanese.

[novakru]

It depends on where you live in America.
My kids are have been taking spanish class every week since 1st grade.
The town I live in has Spanish on signs, stores, well...everywhere actually.
And if you don't speak Spanish you can throw a rock and hit someone that does.

[XtRaVa]

Yeah, I wish they started teaching me languages when I was in 1st grade. What age is 1st grade?

In England we were taught basic french when we were the ages around 12-15 and it was pretty useless.

[novakru]

What age is 1st grade?

6 or 7 depending on school cut-off dates, or your income:D

[illdojo]

Which one?



Spanish is also my 2nd language. I've learned a lot working in the Restaurant business. I'm not fluent, but I can speak Spanglish very well. :D
If you ask me. I'd say learn Italian. From what I've heard it's similar to Spanish.

[Doc Faustus]

Definitely. It's pretty easy to learn if you know any Spanish.

[Bub the Zombie]

French d be my recommendation.

[Posher778]

I speak French fairly fluently... i'd say.. French.

[alkytrio666]

I speak Spanish.

I don't consider myself racist at all, and I'm usually very understanding. I have friends of all ethnicities, colors, beliefs, etc.
But to me, it's as simple as this. If I moved to France, and expected to live there, make a living there, survive there, I'd make damned sure I was practically fluent in French. The same should go the other way around. It needs to be give and take- I don't mind learning and understanding other languages, but I can also get very frustrated when I see some of the people that come to America to spend the rest of their lives without ever making an effort to learn the primary language.

In Germany, the primary language is German.
In Mexico, the primary language is Spanish.
In America, the primary language is English. It's just how it is.


Now, like I said, I'm not trying to be close-minded or mean. I just believe that in order to make it in America, you should probably know a bit of English.

[Zero]

fascist



......

[Doc Faustus]

The thing about that is that Spanish is catching up. Being the big cultural force it is, it will be smart for everybody to know some Spanish. Yes, English is the primary language, but if something is a massively close second, it can't be ignored.

[alkytrio666]

The thing about that is that Spanish is catching up. Being the big cultural force it is, it will be smart for everybody to know some Spanish. Yes, English is the primary language, but if something is a massively close second, it can't be ignored.
Absolutely. I agree 100%. I'm just saying, it should be the other way around as well.

[XtRaVa]

We all need to learn Mandarin, its the most spoken language in the world, spoken by twice as many people that speak English. Best be prepared for when China mobilise their armies and start a nuclear war in case they win and we have to learn a chinese language :P

[The STE]

I tried learning German, but I don't have much of an ear for languages so I've forgotten much of it. Fortunately English is a Germanic language so I might could get by in a short conversation by remembering things as I go.