There is not a second World language

Guest   Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:21 pm GMT
<<since my English isn't good enough, I often have difficulty understanding jokes<<

I wonder. I'm Slovenian and MY English is not nearly as good as yours but I totally get the jokes. It may be something about Chinese way of thinking or is it just you? Can you tell a Chinese joke (or two) and see if WE get it?
Guest   Thu Feb 07, 2008 6:27 pm GMT
I'm not Chinese but i find the English spakers' sense of humour rather strange. I don't get their jokes either.
Guest   Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:18 pm GMT
It's like pulling teeth.

I go into a Chinese restaurant with a friend. He knows that I am familiar with some languages, so I play a joke on him by "reading" the Chinese characters commonly found on scrolls or doorposts in Chinese restaurants overseas.*

He expects to hear something profound as I start out with "Honourable Guest", but then I relay the message which basically means "This is not McDonald's, do not ask us for ketchup."

Please try and understand the others. You have to imagine the situation to understand this.
Guest   Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:41 pm GMT
<<Ketchup...hm, yes, it's quite nice... but since my English isn't good enough, I often have difficulty understanding jokes - and even after close "examination" (reading)... the punchline is there, and it's never fallen flat, but, really, many (typically) British jokes are often seen as really flat in the Chinese mind. Is it a typical style of humour among the Brits, may I ask?>>

Many Americans don't get British humor. lol
Geoff_One   Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:18 am GMT
The title of this thread can be strongly challenged. Relevant points follow:
Spanish, by far, is the chief language of more individual countries in the world than any other language. In a part of this world that is about three and half times the area of mainland China, Spanish is either the chief language or has a very strong presence. Statistical reports indicate that Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in the Americas. Recently, I was travelling in East Asia, and heard many people speaking Spanish - some I spoke with in Spanish - they replied entirely in Spanish and showed no surprize that I have some knowledge of Spanish (which is an indication of a world language). According to a number of reports (I havn't verified them), Spanish is making a comeback in the Philippines. The new nation of East Timor has introduced Portugese (Some would say that it's a sibling of Spanish, others would say that it is a close cousin) as one of its official languages.

Not withstanding the above, the overall strength of Spanish as a world language is likely to be strongly influenced by what happens to it in Brazil.
Note, according to reports that I have read, Brazil is the world's largest meat producer and within 10 years is expected to overtake the USA as the world's largest agricultural producer. I have spoken with a number of people from Brazil, always in Spanish, and so far every single one of them has been able to communicate with me in Spanish.
Guest   Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:19 am GMT
Well, I think American humor is often hard to understand, but let's stick with the Chinese humor. Xie, anything?
Skippy   Fri Feb 08, 2008 3:33 pm GMT
I love British humor... I do not understand French humor... (and by French humor I mean Jerry Lewis lol).
Guest   Fri Feb 08, 2008 5:19 pm GMT
Jerry Lewis; makes me want to cry. I also have problems with Chevy Chase.
Asterix in Egypt, that was reasonably funny, on the other hand.
edo   Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:09 pm GMT
A few observations:

In the near future, I don't see any particular language becoming the MOST studied (after English). But I think that Spanish and Chinese will continue to make great strides.

In the States, it's almost impossible to avoid Spanish nowadays. In addition to it being used more and more in business (for example, "press 2 for Spanish" on business calls, or bilingual signs in many stores), and on TV and radio, it is by far the most studied language here--partly because it so prevalent, and partly because it is considered "easier" than French (especially in pronunciation), or German. Almost every high school, community college, and university offers Spanish, even if they offer nothing else. (And increasingly in elementary schools, including immersion classes.) Many (if not most) Americans can at least stammer out a few phrases in Spanish, and I know a lot of people who are fluent.

Chinese is making incredible advances, and is being offered in more and more places, including high schools (especially in big cities) and elementary schools--and not just in the U.S. The perception is that it will be the big business language in the future, and as we know, perception can be the drive to making it a reality. The disadvantage, as has been mentioned, is the writing system, but mainly because of getting adequate reading material--you have to know the character before you pronounce it, unlike reading a new Spanish word. (English is another story.) Having said that, the difficulty in learning to read is someone exxagerated. You can read most texts with ~3000 characters: that's takes learning less than 10 characters a day--hardly impossible, if you concentrate on reading, not writing. And the spoken language, especially the grammar, is very straightforward.

I totally disagree with those that say that learning anything else besides English is useless. I've known many Americans who have become fluent in another language (including "exotic" ones) in a year or two--with lots of "comprehensible input," as Antimoon suggests. And many of these have gotten great jobs because of that, even with German, where supposedly "everyone" knows English. A friend of mine is now the V.P. of a major Japanese company (the only gaijin), and got his start precisely because he knew enough Japanese, even though the other execs spoke English--his office is in Chicago!

Besides Spanish and Japanese, any of the major business, cultural, or politically important languages (like German, Japanese, French, Russian, Arabic) will continue to be useful for anyone who wants to make the effort.
greg   Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:33 pm GMT
edo : « I totally disagree with those that say that learning anything else besides English is useless. »

Je suis de ton avis. Et plus généralement quand l'apprentissage (quel que soit le sujet) est étiqueté "inutile", c'est pas vraiment bon signe.
Guest   Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:26 pm GMT
"I totally disagree with those that say that learning anything else besides English is useless. I've known many Americans who have become fluent in another language (including "exotic" ones) in a year or two--with lots of "comprehensible input," as Antimoon suggests. And many of these have gotten great jobs because of that, even with German, where supposedly "everyone" knows English. A friend of mine is now the V.P. of a major Japanese company (the only gaijin), and got his start precisely because he knew enough Japanese, even though the other execs spoke English--his office is in Chicago! "-edo

I think languages are useful, but I recommend that students studying languages, have another major as well.

I wonder what "enough" Japanese means. 2kyu?
mac   Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:59 am GMT
I agree with everything you said edo. I'm from the US too. I also doubt there will be any clear 2nd most studied langugage. But IMO think that while all the major languages will be fine and continue to have many students, I think Spanish and Chinese have the most potential and momentum for an increase. That being based on what you have said and also my personal experiences and observations.
K. T.   Sat Feb 09, 2008 6:08 am GMT
I think that's a fair guess about Spanish and Chinese. Chinese is showing up more in bookstores. Apparently someone thinks it a hot language for kids too.
Hewlett   Sat Feb 09, 2008 6:11 am GMT
I think and I opbserve, the speakers Spanish and Chinese will have the highest increase but it's unlikely that both could become a global language. Both languages lack appeal and prestige and even if the economy of the countries where they're spoken boom, those 2 languages would remain as regional languages.
Guest   Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:24 am GMT
Just because you see a Spanish sign doesn't mean you'll give a cent. Most people wont even pay the slightest attention, and just look straight to the English. If there's no necessity, you wont need to learn it, even if it's all over.