Why learn english?

>>>Quote: but for americans there is no obligation to learn foreign languages?<<<

that is not true, high school students have to take two years or more of foreign language...

ofcourse, I try to learn as many other languages as I can....:D

URIEL: oops! slappy wristy for me....of course Alaska has tundra. So there .... you guys over there really do have the lot then! Why leave the US to go and see something you already have?

OK OK I only included geographical/climatic features here....you may have all of that but the ONE big thing is missing......the atmosphere and cultures and lifestyles of other lands outside of the USA, Languages apart. That's what most Americans don't experience all that much I reckon.

Although we in the UK are much more of a monolingual country than other European countries (through having English as our native tongue) at least our very close proximity to so many other countries means we have much easier access to a whole range of other cultures and lifestyles. Not only Continental Europe but also parts of Africa and western Asia are much more accessible to us than they are for Americans.

Brits go abroad in huge numbers every year so we are used to foreign travel. If you have a nuisance value climate like ours then you would understand why we like to escape to warmer and sunnier climes. Our climate is mild and temperate, rarely destructive - just a pain in the arse sometimes. Not today - it's fantastico! Come to Sunny Scotland....+20C in the shade. Yaaaayyy!

Uriel,

=>Sander, you know better -- we've discussed this before. Most people in the US do take a language in high school, and also in college. Lots of Americans are also bilingual due to upbringing and circumstance<=

What are you talking about? :/

Actually, we have lots of exposure to other languages and cultures, if you know where to look -- it's just not a well-publicized fact.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island are crawling with Portuguese immigrants and their descendants, and Portuguese is spoken there all the time -- it was my father's first (and only) language until he entered the school system, despite being not first but second-generation American.

French is spoken in Louisiana, although it is an isolated dialect.

Spanish happens all over the southwest, from Texas to California, and the hispanic culture is very much alive there.

Chinese and Japanese are spoken in Hawaii and on the West Coast.

All manner of languages are spoken in NYC, of course!

The Amish are still speaking German, eschewing electricity and other modern technologies, and driving horse-drawn carriages down the roads of upstate New York, where I used to live -- there were LOTS of them in my area, although mostly they kept to themselves and didn't mingle with the rest of us.

And there are various isolated pockets of other languages all around the country.

je veux apprendrais la langue anglais rapidement pour free

You'd better try learning French first then.

i dont speak well english ,but it s very difficult

hi!

"Continental USA?? The USA is part of the North American continent."

Continental USA is the term used for that part of the US stretching across the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Traditionally, it does not include Alaska (even though it's in North America), Hawaii or Puerto Rico as well as other bits and bobs of islands.

we don't need to speak an other language except English

<<<<<we don't need to speak an other language except English>>>>>

Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the core of Yankiness in the USA!*clapclapclap* bravo! BRAVO! Want to ring that up with a Big Mac?