Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
yeah and Americans are so oblivious to it!  |
There's a similar joke:
What do you call someone who speaks several languages?
Multilingual
What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
An American...
In fairness, however, I think geography plays a part. The United States is a big place, where English has long been the official language, and the only close directly connected neighbors which aren't English speaking are Quebec and Mexico. Even in Quebec, English is the second language and you are likely to be understood there without speaking French.
Individual European countries are smaller, and directly connected to neighbors that speak different languages. Being able to speak languages other than your own will be a more useful skill and more frequently encountered.
I'm effectively mono-lingual. At one time or another, I've studied Latin, French, and Spanish, but remember next to none of it, because I've had no call to
maintain fluency. I sometimes think this is unfortunate, but it is the case.
______
Dennis