Another reason Americans can't learn languages

[Jamie (K)]

Another reason Americans have trouble learning languages is that immigrants to our country quickly start mixing their native language with English. They may have perfectly good words for something in their own language, but they'll use the English word instead.

Today I was in a Chinese restaurant, where if I listen, I can pick up a sentence or two on every visit. They asked me what I wanted to drink, and I said water. The hostess started calling out to the bus boy, "Bei water! Bei water!", which is half English and half Chinese for "a glass of water". There was no reason she had to use the English word, because they were both Chinese.

If you watch the Arabic channel on local TV where I live, you may see some expert giving people advice on some aspect of life. If a banker comes on, he talks like this:

Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic savings account. Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic four or five percent. That is, if you want Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic for your family. Or else Arabic-Arabic house Arabic-Arabic-Arabic-Arabic several types of loans...

It's very hard to get some people to speak their own language purely for you, and sometimes they've even lost the ability to speak a full sentence of it.

Add that to the "I need to practice my English" problem, and it's really hard for Americans to find people to practice a foreign language with.

[Rosalisa]

Surprisingly, such a case happens in my country too. Young people who can speak English often mix their mother-tongue with some English words like you what you experienced listening to on the Arabic Channel. It's sometimes found very damaging to one's own native language by nationalists who take care of and preserve their wonderful and unique language. But it seems nothing can help to stop this kind of word blending, doesn't it?

I think, of course, it's good to practice English, saying the full sentences of it. In other words, when it comes to English speaking practice, do it fully. And when it comes to speaking one's own language, one has to be alert not to bring more confusion to his/her language.

So, one of the things that I found in this context is that English is a very influential language to every place in the world. No matter whether you want to speak it or not, it's needed. Can things stop it?

[Lost_Soul]

Hi, Jamie

We, programmers, use your words as a part of our "lingo". For example:
Задеплоить версию на лайв (аксептанс, тест) = to deploy a version on live (acceptance, test)
Протестить = to test
Зашатдаунить компьютер = to shut down a computer
Зачекинить (зачекаутить) файл в соурссайв (из соурссейва) = To check in (out) a file to (from) the sourcesafe

That was only a part that spang to my mind at the moment, there's more.

Besides, all the documentation on computers I have dealt with so far is in English (a book I bought the other day on ASP.NET was in Russian but the translation was fraught with errors (mostly grammatical - apparently they used an e-translator instead of real translators) so I was literally pissed at the edotors)
To make the matters worse (or better...) we have to deal with our cliens in English because they are germans

It is indisputable that your language is the most popular on our planet. We're very anxious to learn it and wield it as our own (so we would not bother ourselves with our language which, to my grief, sucks)

[Princess]

The fact your said is real, I agree that the mixed people would impact the local language. However, I don't think the americans are hard to learn their own language. In Beijing,China, there are lots of different languages which came from many provinces. People even don't know others talking about if they don't from a same city. But the locals are still good in their own language. It had been added up many modern idioms and phrase but the basic skill in grammer and customs hadn't being changed. So I think whether you are good in your language or not is depending on your attitude. If you want to attain the good skill in the language that you would not be stopped by the immarigants. because in U.S there are lots of people who has great ability in English still.

[Jamie (K)]

[Princess]

Hi Jamie!

[Harry Smiith]

[Jamie (K)]

[Jamie (K)]

[Princess]

But this is a truth that you can learn anything if you really want to do. The difference is the extents on how hard to attain of them. However, if there is anything you want to do is not hard? Why you want to learn a foreign language? Because you have the eager to gain more and more knowledge. That is a human nature. From this angle, your language is mixed by other foreign words is represted the knowledge has been acculmulating but not a kind of lossing away. And to you, basically is not a bad thing. If you could not handle a foreign language merely caused by those words, I just say you will have more which you have to learn about this language. Because those people whose morther language is not english also can speak the English within those extra words living in the U.S.

It depends on your attitude and your want, I still believe that.

[Harry Smiith]

I doubt that in Moscow you ever have a conversation with an American immigrant who mixes Russian into almost every sentence.

Don't doubt, because even if they want they can't because Americans pronunciation of Russian is terrible. And Russians pronunciation of English is terrible,too. But the thing is that Russians want to speak a foreign language(English) and Americans don't.(Russian).

The English language consists mainly of words borrowed from other languages.

Yes, true. English has become a language with a large vocabulary due to the borrowings from other languages.

People have a right to forget anything they want.

If you forget your mother tongue you'll forget your Family. And if you forget your Family you'll be lost and Life will lose its meaning.

[Torsten]

Hi Harry,

Why would you say that "Americans don't want to speak a foreign language" -- isn't this too broad a generalization? It's probably true that there are more Russians who learn English than than there are Americans who learn Russian. But among those few Americans the percentage of successful learners is certainly higher than amongst the Russians trying to learn English.
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Jamie (K)]

[Torsten]

Well Jamie, I was referring to those Americans who are learning Russian -- you were talking about those American with bachelor's degrees in Russian. I think there is a huge difference between both. If you study Russian or any other language at a university in order to get a degree, the likelihood that you are actually learning the language is rather small. You can learn a lot of things at a university but I doubt that you can learn a second language effectively there. The Americans you met were interested in their degrees not the language.
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Harry Smiith]