[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.