Barack Obama no habla espa?ol

Marianopolita · Jul 23, 2008

For those of you who enjoy reading good articles about Spanish, here is one that was published recently in the Peruvian newspaper El Comercio by one of Latin America's renowned journalists Andr?s Oppenheimer. Apparently, presidential candidate Barack Obama opened a can of worms by stating that 'Americans should make their children study Spanish or another foreign language'. As stated in the article the USA is way behind other industrialized nations when it comes to the ability of the population to speak a foreign language. Obama states: 'it's embarrassing when Europeans come here they all speak English, French, German and when we go to Europe all we can say is merci beaucoup (thank you very much). Is that not true?'

The stats reveal the truth about the situation in terms of the percentage of Americans that speak a foreign language.

Pero el hecho es que el porcentaje de estadounidenses que domina una lengua extranjera es pat?tico comparado con el de otros pa?ses ricos. Seg?n el Departamento de Educaci?n, de cada 100 cursos universitarios escogidos por los estudiantes estadounidenses, solo 8,6 est?n dedicados al estudio de una lengua extranjera.

Compared to the European stats that are just impressive in general.

Por comparaci?n, una encuesta reciente realizada por Eurobar?metro revel? que el 56% de los europeos habla al menos una lengua adem?s de su lengua natal, lo que significa un aumento respecto del 53% registrado hace cinco a?os.

When will the USA change its mindset about unilingualism and realize that bilingualism and being multilingual open doors? I totally agree with Andr?s Oppenheimer's opinion:

Mi opini?n: Obama tiene raz?n, aunque hubiera sido lindo que ?l mismo hablara espa?ol o alg?n otro idioma. No hay duda de que los estadounidenses, y especialmente los inmigrantes, deber?an mejorar su manejo del ingl?s. Por supuesto que deber?an hacerlo. Pero tal como los europeos y --cada vez m?s--los asi?ticos lo est?n demostrando, no hay nada en el cerebro humano que impida que un ni?o aprenda una lengua extranjera y al mismo tiempo domine a la perfecci?n su lengua materna.

Estudiar una segunda lengua no solo mejorar?a las posibilidades laborales de las futuras generaciones de estadounidenses, sino que ayudar?a a EE.UU. a ser mucho m?s competitivo en la econom?a mundial, a estar m?s alerta sobre lo que est? ocurriendo en el resto del planeta y, en ?ltima instancia, a ser un pa?s m?s seguro.

Here is the article:

Barack Obama no habla espa?ol

-LDG.

aegap · Jul 23, 2008

That's bullocks! European tend to speak more than one language because most of them have to. You know, it's like many people in part of Africa. They either live in a country with multiple languages, or it one that speaks a non-global language. In Europe you can't move for a few hundred miles without pretty much having to deal with a different lingua franca or official language. In the U.S. you can travel a thousand miles in any direction and English will still be the lingua franca that you'll encounter. Perhaps most importantly, American already speak the undisputed language of the world, so there's much less of an imperative to learn another one.

As an example most of the best universities around the world are in the United States and in addition, virtually all the top universities in the world are taught in English. If you're and American and want to study at any of the best universities in the world, all you pretty much need is good command of your mother tongue. The overwhelming majority of Europeans don't have that luxury.

Considering that, the number of American that speak a foreign language, which you don't provide, is actually pretty good.

-A Multilingual American.

aegap · Jul 23, 2008

Seg?n el Departamento de Educaci?n, de cada 100 cursos universitarios escogidos por los estudiantes estadounidenses, solo 8,6 est?n dedicados al estudio de una lengua extranjera.

Now here's something that is truly much overwhelming than that. Europe has a much larger population than the United States, yet look how the U.S. dominates the list of best universities in the world, ..

(source: University of British Columbia, Canada

Per the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient?ficas (CSIC), the largest public research body in Spain, ..

Top 100 Universities by Country

There are only 10 countries in the world whose official language is english and it is remarble that 4 of those are between the first five positions. Of course, USA is in the most importan position.

Marianopolita · Jul 23, 2008

In response to post #2

aegap,

If you don't agree with the article (not with me) you may want to address it with Oppenheimer, the journalist or Obama who made the statement about Americans.

Why must I provide a poll to show the opposite of the article when I agree in general terms with what is stated by journalist? Remember the article is about a comment that an American, Barack Obama stated about Americans and foreign language acquisition. Whether I agree with it or not is not the core issue. In my experience where Americans tend to fall behind when it comes to foreign languages is the "mindset". One language, English has always been favoured. Have you forgotten there were times when Spanish was completely rejected in some areas and still is today in some states in the East and mid-west? The fact that there are many languages spoken in Europe as you move from country to country is irrelevant because if people did not have the the mindset or willingness to learn another language they would not.

Your poll shows that 25% of Americans speak a foreign language which is low in comparison to Europeans as per the stats in the article by Oppenheimer.

Anyway, I am not looking to discuss opinions, they will inevitably differ. Corresponding points about the article, absolutely.

-LDG.

Ezequiel · Jul 23, 2008

Just to clarify something here, "The United States of American" DOESN'T have an official language.

Some STATES do have English as their offical language, but they can't enforce it, because the Supreme Court stroke down that law in the State of Arizona and Alaska.

RGVgal · Jul 23, 2008

I think Americans don't bother to learn another language because most of the world's business is conducted in English, so they don't see a benefit to learning another language. Europeans speak multiple languages because they have to.

Chirimoya · Jul 23, 2008

It varies from country to country in Europe: traditionally the British are not that great at learning second languages, while the Dutch and the Scandinavians are famous for their linguistic abilities. It is directly related to how useful your language is beyond your country's borders.

Sholly24 · Jul 23, 2008

RGVgal said:
I think Americans don't bother to learn another language because most of the world's business is conducted in English, so they don't see a benefit to learning another language. Europeans speak multiple languages because they have to.

That is very true.

English and to a lesser extent Spanish (in states with high latino concentration) are the main languages in the US and the fact that these 2 languages are the major languages spoken by the only neighbors that we have (canada and mexico) also contributes to our situation. Actually if not for the fact that we took a lot of land from Mexico with the inherent cultural legacy, we would have adopted english as the official language.

I also want to add that we (Americans) are highly insulated as a people because of the diversity and size of our country and we seldom travel out of america except maybe to the carribean, where english is also widely spoken. The incentive to learn a foreign language is just not there.

European countries on the other hand are within easy travel distance of each other and most europeans are far more widely travelled. The introduction of a single currency (euro) and the schengen visa has also made inter-european travel so much easier. it is not uncommon for most europeans to go spend the weekend in the neighboring countries. Also is the fact that Spanish,Italian and Portuguese languages have many similarities and also does Dutch and German. Any speaker of one of these langauges can easily pick up the other.

Sholly

A.Hidalgo · Jul 23, 2008

I don't understand why anyone would be proud to speak one language. I would think being multilingual enriches your life in multiple ways. Btw is this DR related.:cheeky:

Matilda · Jul 23, 2008

Ok lets make it DR related. I live here and I speak Spanish. Of the french people I know who live here some speak Spanish and some are trying to learn. The Germans the same. The british here (and I am just talking about Juan Dolio) also speak Spanish. The americans who live here full time - usually working in the Free Zones, and I should stress, just those I know, do not speak Spanish and appear to have no intention of learning. Why not? And we are not talking about people who have been here for a few months - most a few years.

I agree that why learn a language when you will never need it, and I understand that if you come from a country so vast that you do not need to leave it, then why learn it. I was lucky enough to study French and German at University and never used them at all until I became a diving instructor and since I have been here I use both French and German on an almost daily basis as well as Spanish.

Of course it enriches your life to be able to speak to people in their language. So, those of you out there who have not learned Spanish and who live here.............why not? And how do you manage to survive here without it???? As I know I couldn't!!!

Matilda

xamaicano · Jul 23, 2008

A.Hidalgo said:
I don't understand why anyone would be proud to speak one language. I would think being multilingual enriches your life in multiple ways. Btw is this DR related.:cheeky:

Being multilingual does enrich one's life however most people who learn an another language do so out of need rather than a desire to do so. Most English speakers, no just Americans, tend not speak another language. Quite a few English speakers study a foreign language but never are able to use it and thus lose it. If I didn't have the opportunity to practice my Spanish through travel or living in a country with a lot Spanish speakers I would have lost it.

catcherintherye · Jul 23, 2008

Being an US educator (high school Business Ed, General Special Ed, and Emotional and Behavioral) and a struggling second-language learner, I can tell you that far too many US students (and US citizens in general) are overly complacent about relying on knowing only English. They are under the mistaken impression that what is true today will remain true forever.

While it is true at this moment that English is the international business language, it will not be true for long. It is just a matter of time (a few short years) before anyone wanting to do business internationally will need to know Mandarin Chinese and Spanish, as well as English.

The arrogance of dismissing other languages only accelerates the inevitable. Other nationalities are becoming increasingly displeased with America's presumed supremacy and are actively pushing for another international language standard.

It does us no good to hope for the status quo to stay in place indefinately. It is time the US faced the reality of being only one of many significant countries in the world, and only one of the few still speaking only English.

Marianopolita · Jul 23, 2008

Good discussion and factual posts-

A good discussion of fact always makes for a progressive thread. Thanks to those who contributed thus far and please continue with this style of posting.

Just to add a few points based on what a few posters have said specifically Sholly, windeguy and catcherintherye whose posts emphasize the American "mindset' that I mentioned in my first two posts:

* In a globalized world of today the one language only concept is outdated. English is a lingua franca, the world's language of business however, other languages have dominance in other parts of the universe. For the upcoming generation to stay competitive it is imperative that they learn a second language (minimum) and depending on where they live or work it could be either Spanish, Mandarin or one of the strong European languages such as French or German.

* I think the one language mindset stems from the crisol vs. multiculturalismo concept. A country that believes in the melting pot ideology favors one language among its population and a country that promotes multiculturalism has a significant percentage of its population that speaks more than one language actively in their day to day.

* French is French and Spanish is Spanish. I am always lost when people try to segregate a language. Of course there are lexical differences from country to country but at the end of the day a French Canadian speaker can understand French from France and vice versa. The same holds true for Spanish. Regional differences don't impede communication. There so many variations within Latin America alone therefore to say Latin American Spanish and refer only to the DR is not justifiable. You have narrow it down further and an example is Spanish spoken in the Caribbean.

* I read an article in yesterday's El Nuevo Herald stating that New York is moving towards having all public messages in six languages which represents the six most common languages spoken in NYC. Of course Spanish is one of them. This is an initiative by the the mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Carry on...

-LDG.

A.Hidalgo · Jul 24, 2008

Lesley D said:
* I read an article in yesterday's El Nuevo Herald stating that New York is moving towards having all public messages in six languages which represents the six most common languages spoken in NYC. Of course Spanish is one of them. This is an initiative by the the mayor Michael Bloomberg.

-LDG.

At the news conference the mayor made it very clear by repeating one of his favorite words "it just makes common sense" that in a city like New York this will be implemented. He had several individuals from different nationalities with him. In the US Hispanics number over 45 million people that makes them the second largest ethnic group. I think that is more than good reason for the gringos to learn a second language.

Kyle · Jul 24, 2008

i love learning spanish in the DR. people are very patient with you and give you a chance to show off your skills. and in return i try to teach them a little english because most of the younger crowd always want to be hip as they listen to a lot of hip US music.

i think the "we don't have to learn a second language" is changing in the US. with the influx of spanish-speking people i belive in the next 5-10 years (if not already) most people will need to learn spanish. coupled with the fact that latinos are (or will be) the second largest minority overtaking blacks in the US, the second language is going to be crucial.

Chris · Jul 24, 2008

Lesley D said:
For the upcoming generation to stay competitive it is imperative that they learn a second language (minimum) and depending on where they live or work it could be either Spanish, Mandarin or one of the strong European languages such as French or German.

I was in Costa Rica recently and I must have seen upwards of seven Mandarin language schools. Imagine that .. speaking Spanish, English and Mandarin!

cobraboy · Jul 24, 2008

It is required in many US high schools and universities to study a second language for at least two years. That is great. But like any exercise, if you don't continue the muscles atrophy.

Fact is, across the largest, broadest swath of America, a second language is totally unnecessary. Folks only speak English. So even if you wanted to, there is no place to *practically* use the second language. It's not a matter of ignorance or intent, it's a practical matter. I'm as guilty of that as anyone. Outside the classroom, there was virtually no need to actually ~use~ it.

I don't see how someone could live in a country with a different language and NOT learn it. THAT, IMO, requires effort...unless you sequester yourself away for all things local.

Kyle · Jul 24, 2008

Chris said:
I was in Costa Rica recently and I must have seen upwards of seven Mandarin language schools. Imagine that .. speaking Spanish, English and Mandarin!

that's interesting...wonder if there are any Cantonese schools as well..

RGVgal · Jul 24, 2008

cobraboy said:
I
I don't see how someone could live in a country with a different language and NOT learn it. THAT, IMO, requires effort...unless you sequester yourself away for all things local.

I lived in Japan for a couple of years working at an American company and I didn't learn Japanese. I learned a few phrases (which I have already forgottern), but I was able to live and enjoy all local things with just English and Spanish. Almost everyone I interacted with spoke English and a few Spanish so there was no need for me to really learn Japanese. That may be the case with some of the Americans working in the free zone.

Exxtol · Jul 24, 2008

Interesting article which I completely agree with.

Americans may not have an incentive to learn a foreign language now, but we will get there in due time. We forget that every major world power has declined at one point or another. We'd be arrogant and foolish to believe the same will not happen to the US. We may not be dethroned as a world power per se, but we certainly won't be the world power forever--the EU and China are knocking at our door.

I suspect a premium put on mandarin in the coming decades.

--Exxtol

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