Is it normal that i wish the us was more linguistically diverse?

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14 Comments

I love learning language, but the only languages spoken here in any significant number are English and Spanish. I want to learn a third language sometime soon, but it feels so pointless to put that time into something I will likely never even use. I know I could use it on vacations and other travel purposes, but 95% of the time I would probably never use anything except English and Spanish.

Voting Results
80% Normal
Based on 60 votes (48 yes)
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Comments ( 14 )
  • Jweezee
    12 years ago

    We're pretty diverse. I speak Canadian, austrailian and british fluently.

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  • Anime7
    12 years ago

    I agree completely. This country should be more diverse in the languages offered in school. It has always bothered me that at my school there are three Spanish teachers and only one French.

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    • ChasingAfterPond<3
      11 years ago

      That is exactly how my school is, except there is also one teacher for Japanese. I decided to take French. I don't understand it, schools should add more language classes so students have more variety and diversity to chose from.

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      • Anime7
        11 years ago

        I wish I could learn Japanese. French is pretty cool though.

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  • helice
    12 years ago

    I know exactly what you mean.

    It is frustrating to wish to learn another language but have no practical way of incorporating it into your everyday life, which I believe is essential to truly learning a language.

    Perhaps take up a language course? At least you would be surrounded by like-minded people.

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  • Cortexofknowledge
    12 years ago

    I can definitely appreciate the notion of wanting to learn a relevant language, but wanting america to become more so diverse within the realm of language, seems hardly rational. The U.S. needs people to speak a dominant language
    with fluency for the sake of clarity and opinion to keep america in the arms of the people. Most folks won't master the English language in their lifetime.

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  • nAt2017
    12 years ago

    I suppose it depends on where in the US you live. Where I grew up, loads of people spoke Japanese. That's because I lived on the East Coast, where a lot of Japanese immigrants lived. I assume that, if you live closer to the south, there are more Spanish speakers (just because it's closer to Mexico). The school that I go to offers Chinese, German, and French as well as Spanish, but I know schools that teach Italian, Japanese, and a couple that teach Welsh... go figure...

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    • Malaglinir
      12 years ago

      I'm from Michigan. Spanish is the only language ever found here except Arabic if you get near the Detroit metro area.

      I plan on moving out of here after college though. I'm probably going to move somewhere very diverse like Los Angeles, New York, etc, but even in those places the different languages are still spoken in small numbers.

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  • disthing
    12 years ago

    I feel the same way about the UK.

    I'd recommend finding some friends online that speak the language you want to learn and Skype / webcam with them. That way you can more easily be immersed in the language, whatever the geographical distance, and develop conversational ability rather than endless vocab :)

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  • Avant-Garde
    12 years ago

    So do I. I know English, but because I live here people expect me to learn Spanish. I want to learn Japanese, French, German, Russian, etc.

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  • BlueBarracuda
    12 years ago

    I couldn't agree more. How come there's no dial 3 for Francais and 4 for Deutsch?

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  • Frosties
    12 years ago

    There were many languages spoken in North America before the English and Spanish even set their sights upon it. Some still are. Have you considered learning the language of the native people who live(d) closest to you?

    I think learning a language so different (and untouched by European influence) would be amazing. And, in your case, potentially useful.

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    • Malaglinir
      12 years ago

      I live in Michigan, Native Americans are .6% of the population.

      I've never even consciously met a Native American here.

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  • TerryVie
    12 years ago

    I totally understand, and i'm very glad the EU is as linguistically diverse as it is...although THAT brings it's own problems.

    The real reason i post is different though: It's simply not true that learning a language would be a waste for you except on vacations.
    If you are serious about learning it, it's an asset. While you may not be good enough for translation, it's always great for companies to have someone that speaks the language of a trade partner.

    While not as much as, say, china, the US still has quite a bit of foreign trade. Working for a company with, say, partners in Russia or Germany, it could be a valuable thing to be capable of speaking the language-

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