"There is very very little pressure put upon the British to learn foreign languages" I guess the only pressure is that the British and Americans are being ridiculed and made fun of by bilingual and multilingual countries.
The sad truth is that most Brits and Americans really don't care. Look at Trump - he can't speak any languages except English, and speaks English at the level of a ten year old child - and he's the (self appointed) leader of the free world 🤣
@@phantomgrape not a native English speaker, but me wanting to learn a new language is due to many different reasons. Some of those reasons: for cognitive reasons and I got bored and "feeling stupid" for only knowing English and my own native language. I figured that it's time to step up my game.
@@phantomgrape as long as you can still think clearly and move, it's not to late to learn another language. Personally, I prefer that you learn a language that you badly wanted to learn and something that sounds beautiful to your ears because it can be pretty frustrating. Spanish may be considered as the easiest language to learn for people who know English but if you don't like it then you will struggle to be motivated to be consistent in learning it since consistency is key. I actually learned English thanks to playing lots of games in English. Now I am slowly doing the same in French.
I'm one of the minority of Brits who speak German as a second language. I don't pretend that I can speak native speaker standard, but I can hold down conversation and watch German TV and understand it enough to follow. Since I have learned German, I have made friends that I otherwise would not have made and the quality of my life has improved considerably. OK, English might be the language of business and commerce and spoken right throughout the world, but it is not an excuse not to try and learn a foreign language. People ask me why I have learned the language and my answer is, it boosts my powers of communication. Most importantly, it is the joy of knowng.
*Good points* same in the US, most people *can't be bothered* ( = take the trouble to do something) to learn a second language, though the trends are changing
@@faizariffin4660 If America has more bilingual people it is only because it has a lot of people who originally had a first language that was not English - usually that first language is Spanish - and they have subsequently learned English since moving to the US. The US born English speakers are generally terrible at speaking any other languages, worse even than we Brits, and that's saying something.
@New King Sorry, matey, Americans are not British, they can trace their roots back to lots of countries. One of our (I'm English) biggest problems is that we don't understand that the Americans now might speak English, but they are more foreign in their attitudes than most of our European neighbours. "Special relationship" my arse! It's basically the relationship between a dog (us) and its master (the US), although there is some give and take - they give orders and we take them.
Native English speakers are really lazy when it comes to learning a foreign language because the majority of native English speakers I know are monolingual. Whenever they travel abroad, they expect everyone to know English, yet they have the nerve to get annoyed when someone visiting the UK/US doesn’t speak perfect English. They just expect everyone to accommodate their monolingualism. Wow, you made it to the end.
I feel it’s worth mentioning that there are other languages native to the Uk besides English. However, minority languages like Welsh, Gaelic, etc. have been deliberately suppressed until fairly recently. I feel like that probably accounts for some of the issue.
Being Dutch, I learned to speak three foreign languages in highschool, English, German and French. These languages weren't chosen so much out of "lingua franca" principles as it was out of need due to their respective native speakers being our direct neighbours. Nowadays many highschools also offer Spanish (partly due to "lingua franca" ideas) and Turkish (large Turkish-speaking groups in the Netherlands), Italian is also on the rise, though only slightly. So to answer your question, yes I would have learned English even if Chinese or Hindi were the general Lingua Franca of the world. I myself now speak 5 languages in varying degrees of proficiency and can understand several more in their most basic forms.
This is not and has never been FAIR! one native language being the damn international language?! It SHOULD have been something like ESPERANTO to keep it non-native to all nations!
Esperanto doesn’t really sound that great unless it’s a native speaker speaking it (which, let’s face it, there aren’t that many native speakers). It comes across as too artificial sounding, not naturally flowing, no exceptions to its artificial rules, and not much native speaker media.
I'm from Switzerland. My mother language is Swiss German. I learned German, English and French (got a Delf B1). At the moment i'm learning a little bit Italian-just words.
I am from Finland and I speak Swedish, English and a little bit of Estonian, Spanish and I can understand spoken and written Norwegian quite well and written Danish.
Of those 38% who can speak more than one language, I'm willing to bet many of them are first, second and third generation immigrants. I'd be more interested to know what percentage of people - whose ancestors have lived in the UK for so long that they've long since lost any other language they once had - can speak a foreign language.
8% of people from the UK speak a non english first language. So 30% of people from the UK speak English as a first language and can speak at least one other. So that means if you only include people from the UK who speak English as a first language, 1/3.0666 people speak at least one other. That's less than a third! And keep in mind that when people say they speak "Basic Spanish" or "A little French" they may likely report that they speak another language, when they cant constantly talk in that language for even a few minutes. This data hasn't really changed much unfortunately, or fortunately, however you see it. Although I feel that over time this number could possibly increase, there will always be many people from the UK who simply dont feel the need to speak another language.
The majority of bilinguals I know just speak their native language plus English. I’m trilingual. I speak Hindi first language, English second language and Urdu third language.
It’s always good for people to learn languages. I speak English and modern Greek ... and I’ve started to learn Japanese, Spanish, European Portuguese, Polish and French. I may learn Italian, Korean and Mandarin in the future.
I didn't learn English because it is considered as a lingua franca. I've learned English because I used to love British and American pop/rock/soul/dance music. I wanted to be able to understand the lyrics and sing the songs. But then I started to learn Spanish which it is a life goal to me and even though I can still understand and write in English ,I lost my quite good pronunciation in it.
I learned English simply because you have no other choice if you want a career in virtually anything - science, business, etc - so many fields are globalized to a point that having an incredibly high English proficiency is seen as a given (at least in my country). Otherwise how will you read and publish science papers or communicate with your business partners? When I started school I had a really hard time learning English, and I remember being very jealous of the people who were lucky enough to be born as native English speakers for this reason - they automatically had access to the whole world, while I knew I would have to spend years trying to master a second language, just to get the same opportunities they had been born with. Now I guess I can appreciate having learned a second language, seeing as apparently it is good for your brain and can prevent dementia and what not, but I still think it is worth contemplating what a huge advantage being born as a native English speaker is. This is of course nobody's fault (at least nobody who is still alive), just a consequence of colonization and globalization.
I'm actually happy and more appreciative that I am not a native English speaker since it gave me the confidence that I could learn and be fluent in another language which is English. Currently learning French for my 3rd one. Sure, they're native English speakers but as a result, many of them struggle to learn a 2nd language since English has always been their comfort zone thanks to the media and internet being always in English. It's always so hard to go out of your comfort zone especially when throughout your life, it's where you've always been immersed to. Now, imagine if they wanted to play Japanese or Chinese games with no English translations and they suddenly thought of learning them but they realized that it's a struggle to do so. Or any other medias in a different language. Or perhaps they suddenly felt the urge to visit to other countries and make new friends but the language barrier is keeping them from wanting to do so. As for me, thanks to knowing 2 languages and both not having the same syntaxes or grammar, it makes me more confident to learn another one since I know how it feels like to struggle in learning a language and try to get used to it. Not only that but I am also at less risk of getting a dementia.
I think it may have to do with the fact that English lacks many features if other European languages such as gendered nouns and adjectives, and many conjugations of simple verbs.
Yeah, so i m romanian, everything is more available in english. That s why countries other than uk and us have to learn a foreign language. Most of europe has a higher precentage of people who speak a foreign language because of this. Also, english is really easy to learn compared to other languages
I think this is slightly changing. I’m English and learning Portuguese because our family has a villa there. My father and brother in law are learning too. My wife works for a French company and so is learning French. Then I have three friends who are in long term relationships with non-Brits and are learning their languages. I live in Burnley as well so that’s a working class northern town not cosmopolitan London
That’s a good question. Me personally, I’m the type of person who likes to live simply and meaningfully. I’d rather be a poor man in a Greek island than the richest man in London as money isn’t the be all and end all. Even if I had a model and a mansion and all the money in the world, that wouldn’t make me happy. However, if Chinese was the number one business language, then I’d learn it out of personal interest as I love learning languages, but I’d still speak more in Greek. You’ve made some good points!
As a monolingual Canadian, Even though I went through 6 years of French, I can't really remember much of what I learned, due to not having to use it at all where I live. I think the problem in English speaking countries (even in Canada if you live outside of Quebec) There is no need to speak another language when the majority of people only use English (outside of Quebec) for things like Business , and day to day life. The business language of the world is of course English. French is mandatory in schools but the majority of the French teachers just speak in English most of time anyway, so you can't really pick up how the languages is spoken, when you usually learn a load of words, etre, avoir etc. They don't really teach French that well at least where I live in Canada. I had one French teacher in my last year of mandatory French class who spoke all in French, but the whole class I wouldn't understand a word she was saying. Funnily enough I got a 90% average in that class too.
This question is simple. It’s because English is spoken in whole world. Before the Second World War, England was the biggest world power. After the war, the U.S.. Both of these countries speak English and, therefore, the whole world needed to learn English. Business throughout the planet have been done in English. If I were British or American, maybe I would know just English. Perhaps I would learn another language for fun, or due to a very specific necessity, like, for example, someone who works for a foreign company etc.
Me, a native spanish speaker from Mexico, I probably would have learnt english because we are so close to the US and it gives you some advantages here and there, and yes, been exposed to the language since I was very young does help a lot, having said that, I think that learning languages is a fascinating topic and anglophone people are really missing out on that, I've never met a single american who can speak proper spanish, whereas, due to my work, I've known many europeans who can speak speak at least two, mainly people from Germany, Austria, Netherlands and even France.. Unfortunately for me, been monolingual is a common thing in the past generations, I'm 30 years old, people of my generation know a bit of english and perhaps french or portuguese, but it is uncommon, but my parents for instance only speak spanish, and is a shame because since Mexico is quite large as well, there is not so much need to learn another language as it is in Europe, where you drive for a short while and you find people from other countries, with a different language, I have a younger cousin who live in Switzerland and she speaks four languages fluently, that is amazing for me, because I've been working hard for a long time and only speak 3 languages, anyway, long story short, I think americans and brits should really start learning a new language just for the fun and the culture that it represents!
I'm American so I would have ended up learning Chinese and English in school. Level of exposure to other languages depend on who is producing media to export everywhere.
I think in overall English speaking nations are so lucky cuz it's the most widely used language in all over the world and especially if you're interested in computer field then you can definitely feel that English is so dominant.
They're lucky? NO.. The bilinguals are lucky, lots of benefits we have to be bilingual, our brain is trained to switch from one language to another.. when we switch the languague, we have to change everything from the words, the sounds, the grammar, the way we perceive time.. and we do them at the same time.
Yes, Monolinguists have been absolute fascists in the USA and throughout the world, violently denying multilinguists the right to speak their language. However, barring THOSE situations, there is ZERO shame in being monolingual (or obviously multilingual). If being multilingual makes you happy & proud, go for it. Be proud. But it is NOT for everyone. And, obviously I speak for ALL monolinguists of ANY language, not just English, just because that happens to be the language I am typing this in now, and is my native language. First of all, I am already multilingual: English + math. Others are multilingual in native language + advanced technical science language. I know people who are multilingual in English + Java + Python + C++ and PHP. Even when I WAS fluent in Russian (studied it for a decade: 1975-1985, because our excellent public schools in New Jersey required we learn a 2nd language in Middle School: for 6th-8th grades, and since I had already put in the work, I wanted to continue through high school to build on what I'd learned, even though 2nd languages were no longer required in high school, I NEVER cared for nor wanted to speak + listen in a 2nd language (Russian, but would have been true no matter what language I chose). I liked only reading and writing, especially technical Russian. Same when I took 4 courses of French and went through the entire French in Action textbook and audiotape series. Same with my 1 semester of Chinese. I wish more students had signed up for 2nd semester Chinese, so that the 2nd semester Chinese course would have run, because we would have done more exercises from our textbooks that I paid for for the first semester. Some multilinguals act as though they are superior to monolinguists, and that does annoy me. Point is: even back then when I cared about learning noncomputer nontechnical other languages, I had ZERO desire to communicate with people, least of all in real time. Writing and reading I can do at my leisure. All governments should buy everyone on the planet handheld translator devices. After having put as much effort as I did into learning Russian, French, Chinese, I long ago concluded how insanely inefficient that is, and how superior handheld translation devices are and online translation services like Google translate. All that effort to just barely know barely 3 languages, versus a device that can translate between THOUSANDS of pairs of languages.
I’m admittedly disappointed by my monolingualism. I really, really wish I grew up with at least two languages etched into my mind. I envy multilingual people :( Edit: In response to your question, I’m a native English speaker so I would go through learning Mandarin if it was the global lingua franca.
Then start learning one now! It's not too late. Also, so many free sources(but of course, depending on the languages that you wanna learn). I'm from the Philippines and I grew up having to learn 2 languages (Filipino and English). Now, I'm self studying German and French. I started German since 2016 but I wasn't that consistent and I didn't have proper learning techniques. But now I do. And I'm motivated to learn. Although I'm disappointed at my fellow elitist Filipinos for acting like British and Americans, thinking that English is the only relevant language in the world. But anyways, you can always start. Just have good learning methods and be consistent. I recommend you to watch Ikenna's videos on TH-cam for tips.
I'm a native English speaker in the UK and speak advanced Russian. I also am learning Portuguese, though I can only speak on basic terms and not indulge into complex topics yet, though it's only been 10 months. There were a few times that I had to speak either Russian or my rudimentary Portuguese in the UK, because there are some people living here who don't speak English. And regarding French, classes were so ineffective, it's unbelievable. I had exposure to French a few hours a week for several years and never could say or write anything that a French person could understand. While with Portuguese, I am understood at 10 months of study. Turns out input is important and classroom drilling doesn't, who knew.
No I will not stuck with English ,if the chinese is the international language because I will find someone who wants to learn this language ,and we will enjoy learning with each other.
I think it's to do with the lack of everyday bilingualism. In other countries, the signs are in many languages, they broadcast films in many other languages. Here in Berlin where I live, the train announcements are in German and English. I used to live in Singapore, where every single sign was in four languages. In England, there are tiny pockets where this is the case - such as Brick Lane, where some of the street signs are in Bengali. I have also noticed that some train announcements are now also in French and Spanish. But when you consider that there are three other languages spoken *within* the UK (Welsh, Gaelic, Scots) and that they are barely taught, then I think you start to see that this is definitely an English problem, and I mean that in the sense of the English having a bad attitude towards other and actively discouraging any other language. I wonder whether Britain would be a more multi-lingual place if it didn't have England in the middle of it?
Welsh, Gaelic and Scots are weird examples. There are almost no monolingual speakers of those languages, and you usually have to travel to the more remote parts of Wales/Scotland to find anyone who speaks them day-to-day at all. Learning any of those languages would be the biggest waste of time. Even most Welsh can't speak a word of Welsh, why would the English bother? We don't actively disparage others, the problem is a lack of functionality. It's very nice to see learning a language as an end in itself, but to most people (and, importantly, the government) it really isn't, it's a functional exercise in gaining the ability to communicate with others. We could be the most outward-looking people in the world, it just isn't a great use of time (especially for schools) to insist on us all learning foreign languages to a high level, especially when any skills we gain are bound to degrade due to lack of use. We're never going to be a multi-lingual culture for so long as English remains a lingua franca
This is interesting. I'm british and i would class myself as bilingual. But i speak both english and fluent "British Sign Language" which has a different syntax and grammar to english and more of that of a european language structure. The most interesting thing would be other countries might be able to speak more than 1 language. But how many actually know "the language of the deaf" in their own country? how many people can communicate with the deaf in their own country?
I can only speak from an American perspective but it's similar here. It's just not required to know foreign languages if you live here. The country is the size of Europe and whereas you'd pass through multiple countries amd languages to go from Spain to Poland, it's all the same country and same language here. You can travel and see numerous cultures all in the U.S. speaking only English. The Americans who make a conscious decision to learn languages do just as well as everyone else and that's without years of schooling or natural exposure (except for Spanish, depending on where you live). It's hard to learn a language on your own and without an immediate need to do so, people don't do it.
Spanish speakers form Peru, And other parts of Latin America are lazy of learning too. I have a friend from Peru who only knew just one language which is Spanish, now we are exchanging I'm teaching him English and to me in Spanish.
I might fake a nationality when or if I choose to leant a foreign language 😅 I fake a nationality I can converse in another form of speech, pretending not to be in the slightest bit acquainted with English... Even though I'm from Leeds WY - UK 😂 I'm not kidding with that either!
well russians speak as an example chechnian etc while english people speak well one language and you speak with heavy accent in most languages because you dont learn a second language until your 30. how awkward
Many public and private schools offer Spanish and English classes, but all we learn is basic grammar rules which is not enough to make us become fluent. Also, many students are lazy to go further in learning another language. They have wifi at their home to google whatever they want, but they waste the opportunity to learn other cultures or languages because they are lazy.
IDK but Europe it's like many people speak different languages and people on Spain does speak at least English. But I think because English has become universal if we talk about how much spoken it is.
As for your question at the end of your video: yes I would still bother to learn English even if it wasn't the language of diplomacy, business, etc. Although at a later time in my life.
Why is it bad to not learn other languages if your language dominates others in culture, politics, and science and is prevalent on most continents? You should not learn other languages if you haven't learned English properly. Other people should learn a first-world language if they want to deal with a first-world country, not the other way around. Even European politicians understood that.
I am Filipino. We are in a third world country but the only blessing we have is being bilingual and trilingual sometimes quadlingual. We speak Tagalog(Filipino) , English, understood Spanish and always close to Chinese language. ... Colonization played vital role for this to happen. No one really colonized the British people they colonized other countries. Thanks to English most of the world ended up BEING BILINGUAL. ❤
Maybe Britain as people think of it today and in recent centuries hasn't been colonised/conquered, but the british isles itself certainly was in our earlier history, four times in fact. Around 43 AD the Roman Empire came and conquered the land from the Celtic tribes who were already living here, and named the land Britannia. Around 450 AD when the Roman Empire collapsed several Germanic tribes (mainly the Angles and Saxons hence the word Anglo Saxon) invaded, displacing the people already living here. Around 793 AD the Vikings, mainly from Denmark started pillaging coastal towns and villages and then settled here soon after. Finally in 1066 AD the Normans, who were the descendants of Viking settlers and French natives in northern France, conquered most of the southern british isles. Comparing what British people speak now to what they spoke way back then, the difference is overwhelming. The early Celtic Tribes spoke what is now called Common Brittonic, which after the Roman occupation split into separate minority languages, most of these have gone extinct but some such as Welsh still survive today. Another language was created by taking bits of Brittonic, mixing it with some Latin, then later adding a splash of Germanic, a dash of Old Norse and finally topping it off with some French and then leaving it to evolve over the next few centuries until it became what we now know as English.
When you live in the Netherlands and want to go to higher professional education or university, you really can't do without English because many lectures are in English.
I'm from the US and I'm literally the only person I know who learned a language to fluency that was also born here (Spanish, there are more Spanish natives in the Americas than there are English natives in the entire world). And I'm also learning Mandarin and plan to learn German with my gf (Spanish native, learned English to fluency, and I think she's like a B2 in Italian cuz she loves the culture). Here, we have all the added problems that normally make learning harder for English native speakers, on top of being in a country the size of Europe that almost universally speaks English. Imagime you drove to Germany. In that same drive, I would still encounter *only* English natives. They'll speak way differently than me, but we'll understand each other nonetheless. There might be a Spanish native, hell, maybe French or German along the way even. But they'll be speaking English, and pockets of these communities are few and far between. The second problem is that maybe half of the entire English native population has identified English as a superior language, and it has a national identity attached to it. There was even a movement like "this is America, learn the language or leave" (directed towards Spanish speakers) and now organizations have sprung up that coined the phrase "this is America, learn the *languages*" (because we're also the second largest Spanish speaking country). It's a cousterfuck but virtually no one wants to learn a language, and a lot of the time they'll learn French because they're pretentious (I'm not disrespecting French speakers, but to us, that's a useless language to know unless we plan on living in Montreal, people literally only learn it to feel superior here, it's such a "not taking it seriously" approach to language learning).
@jeff pentagon hey, I actually just graduated, but I'm getting into that field, and I've said the same thing before. Most people who want to be developers (the ones that I know usually are Spanish natives, but I'm sure this applies elsewhere also) learn English by default, because it's necessary not just to communicate, but to learn and actually do the job.
Why would i choose to speak a broken language when i could speak Chinese I'd rather be mute than speak a language with silent letters, opposite meaning words and confusing sentence structure
Your Queen speaks French. Well when she has to meet a French president it is better for her. Having say that Macron isn't to bad in English if you compare with François Holland.
Macron is actually quite good at English I would say. It’s clear that he understands it very well and can speak it confidently. But he has a very noticeable French accent on some words
English is an overrated language, you can’t tell me otherwise until you become fluent in at least one language that isn’t your native language(s) or English.
As a Brit from London. It's just that I have no exposure to the language or any need for it. Yes I did 3 years of cumpolsary French in secondary school but I came out of it remembering nothing. One it's very focused on grammar and how the language works and not much conversation. Second I would just never use it. I also never had an interest in French media to use it or anyone around to have exposure. And when I did take a trip to Paris the chances that my French would be better than their English is very low. The only kids who really stood a chance at French class were the ones who already spoke it or would spend hours outside class studying more than other subjects required. Speaking with online friends as well they all speak English due to it's spread and being the "standard". I think it's very similar to Japan or South Korea. They have English lessons. But they have so much native media and not much need to speak Egnlish that their English come out very poor.
I think that all the way from nursery and reception, there should be some exposure to a foreign language on a regular basis: at the start, put on a little show in French, or Spanish or whatever, for example, introducing basic vocabulary, speaking nice and slowly, just for exposure and children's TV should have a 20 or 30 minute window each day involving foreign languages. It should continue and advance going up the years too. Exposure is how you learn a foreign language, not memorizing tables of vocabulary and grammar: grammar should be the last thing that is formally taught, because it's important, but should come later. And in English, most people don't even know what a noun, verb, adjective and adverb is or that there are any tenses other than past, present and future, how do people stand a chance understanding how grammar works in another language when they don't understand basic stuff in English
Loads of UK People can speak French German plus Spanish has gotten loads of fans in UK Schools out there. Can you imagine knowing only Chinese or Korean Languages.
Not fluently, knowing just a few words and phrases don’t count. I mean, I know some people from the UK are fluent in at least two languages, but it’s rare…
Like he says, BUT ... Compulsory "School French" (in a vacuum) has a LOT to answer for! Also perhaps asking if Brits *speak* another langugage is probably the wrong question. You don't often need to speak another language since most foreigners you'll ever meet speak better English than you'll speak their language. But it's useful to read another language because a book etc. has to be understood as is, it can't change to English to please/help you!
...loll... we had that joke in Canada as well....unilingual person was considered a "maudit anglais"...English Canadians are much more chauvinistic than Brits...Brits are geographically closer to Europe and stand a much better chance of learning foreign languages...
At school the language our school taught French. I was very shy and did not like French as a language. So was not to interested. However now I really wish I had as we are now so cosmopolitan and I love lots of languages especially romanian Spanish
I learned English and German (being from the Netherlands) because our neighboring countries speak that language and I wanted to be able to have a conversation with them. Never liked the France so never learned much of their language. I also don't speak English very well, I have a hell of an American accent.
Look man, if you can't practice your target language because you haven't learned how to say "I'm studying and would appreciate the practice please." That is 100% on you. The vast majority of human beings alive are willing to inconvenience themselves slightly to give another person that assistance. Most of us find it really exciting and flattering.
I knew a German who'd been 30 years in the UK and people would hear him speaking English to his English wife on trips back home and insist on speaking to him in English! Germans who want to use English with each other! Duh!
In sweden there is a english guy who married a swedish woman and he learnt swedish and even avoided to speak english, now thats how you move to another country with style
English is the lingua franca meaning is the universal language. There was once a time everyone in England spoke French as a second language as it was the universal language back then
Okay, i learn English because i want to study science and technique by using this languages, sorry i don't learn English for business or economic but i really like your video, it is so funny😂😂😂
Contrary to popular belief, it's not arrogance that prevents the Brits from learning a language... but lack of necessity. If I want to learn French, I actually have to go to France to properly immerse myself. Whilst you could argue that you can get exposure from meetups etc, the simple truth is that English is so pervasive that it's actually extremely difficult to escape it, especially if you're a late learner. This is amplified by two other factors - the yearning of foreign youths to want to perfect their ENG with you (thus rendering it difficult to actually talk with them in their own tongue) and that the British culture is actually quite big around the world. Whilst the US took over the Occident's mantle after WW2, British culture - particularly in former colonies - is still seen as a mark of excellence, hence the adherence to English.
When foreigners learn English, they're only overcoming a disadvantage we don't have in the first place. I'm fluent in French but it's never been at all useful.
Le français serait utile dans le monde, si les tous les étrangers ne se mettaient pas à l’idée que la langue française est juste la langue de la france. Aussi si les sommets de la francophonie servaient à quelque chose autre qu’à se pavaner pour les présidents français…les anglais ont le Commonwealth qui est un atout énorme pour faire taurin et l’anglais dans le monde, la France a l’OIF mais pour l’instant cette organisation est invisible, elle a le potentiel de devenir une puissance économique, culturelle et diplomatique majeure. Il y a beaucoup de moyens de faire rayonner la langue française, il suffit de ne pas tomber dans la soumission à l’anglais et que nos politiques aient un peu de courage
I think my problem is that I want to learn so many languages that I try too much at one time, switch between them, find it more difficult and then give up. I feel awful for not learning at least one other language than my own. Gonna give Spanish another try and just stick to it.
@Joseph Seamark I also have a habit of going for ridiculously difficult ones for a beginner to start with, like russian, for example, (because it sounds cool)
There's no obvious foreign language for Anglophones to learn. Everyone else learns English because of the massive influence of the USA. Besides which, if you go abroad and try and speak Dutch, Spanish etc they will mostly switch to English immediately, which is incredibly annoying.
Are the Aussies and Kiwis any different? We live in a world where the United States of America, an English speaking country, is the greatest economy, the most significant cultural center and the most powerful military force. English is the current lingua franca and knowledge of English is an important skill for non native English speakers. The vast majority of bilinguals are people who study English as a 2nd language and given that Brits are native English speakers, they simply have no strong incentive to study other languages. BTW, the Dutch speak great English because Dutch and English are strongly related, more so than to any other language. In that respect, most Israeli high school pupils are given a choice of French or Arabic for a third language. Despite the tense geopolitical emotions and the fact that Arabic is often regarded as one of the world's most difficult languages, the vast majority chooses Arabic because for native Hebrew speakers, Arabic is a hell of a lot simpler than French.
New Zealander here. There is a lot of bilingualism here in Auckland amongst the Polynesians. It isn't uncommon to find a 4th generation Polynesian-Kiwi who can also speak their ancestral language. Reason being the Polynesian community spirit is super strong, so growing up they get a lot of exposure to their ethnic languages (Samoan, Tongan, etc.). Their attitude and sense of identity is what enables them to keep their language flowing despite being born in an English speaking country, which ultimately leads to bilingualism. Besides that, there is rarely an incentive for anybody to learn European languages as it isn't really a necessity, the handful of people that do take it on board merely do it out of curiosity and leisure.
I know this is a really old video and don't expect you to reply, but I believe on the attitude part you failed to mention a huge factor. If Brits try to speak a foreign word with the Foreign sounds in Britain they are seen as a prick. I won't hazard to say what I think about a nation that thinks showing respect to other cultures makes you a prick says about their moral compass.
Why not? If it’s because of all the characters, then don’t let that put you off. Even if you just learned one or two a day, you’d be surprised to see how much you know in just a couple months.
@@elainejones9299 That I think is the only thing that scares me a little. It’s a whole new alphabet. I would at least love to learn the basics especially so I can greet and thank those who work in the wonderful restaurants locally.
Nope, most Welsh people don’t speak Welsh. Not fluently anyway, being able to count to ten and saying that you like or don’t like coffee doesn’t count.
@@elainejones9299 i never said most welsh could? But the proportion of welsh who are bilingual, as well as the fact that we have a language other than English which is native to our own culture shows that by saying the British are crap at languages is a broad overstatement is all. In England they only have English and nothing else (exception of Cornwall)
I think I speak o ln behalf of most of the world when I say: We'd rather all learn English than being forced to listen to Anglophones not even trying to pronounce non-English words. My apologies to Anglophones who actually try. We can hear that and we appreciate you. "Horse Doffers" ; "Brrrettwörst" ; "Cafey Latay"
Yes, I am learning English because is the language of international business and I wanna be an international business agent , but I would like to learn anyway cause I like American and British culture and I would like to live in both countrys
Not fair tough... Because a "British" could be anywhere from Scotland, England, or Wales... I bet there are many bilingual people in Scotland and Wales...
Those self-proclaimed bilingual or multilingual are actually not enoughly proficient. Having proficiency on a daily basis does not mean you're close to nativity. A language costs to dominate. Even native speakers themselves struggle and misspell words. As an example, I'm Spanish, and I know that many native speakers have an mediocre orthography (not grammar.) With this said, I don't think proficiency is just about holding conversations. Bye-bye
maybe the british education system- regarding foriegn languages is totall shite- crap.... unlike in belgium, switzerland , in the UK it is not normal, unless your foreign, too speak more than one language, exeptions to gaelic and welsh speakers.... as you mentioned, if only young children were exposed to french and spanish-also world languages of the EU-UN-MECOSUR-NAFTA -WTO and widely spoken..... as much as english, also there maybe a lazy culture, not just a island mentality, or legacy of being the largest empire of all time... english is a world language of commerce & business, that is no excuse for a culture of not learning spanish & french, not just for travel but also for business, the UK must be at the very bottom of global rankings of translation-business briefings in major languages and the ability too communicate across borders, shouting ,being dramatic and hysterical in loud english is just not good enough for communication**, or expecting everyone too speak english....
I disagree with the idea of saying Americans and Brits are "dumb" or "lazy" for not learning another language - people who speak big languages usually have less need for another language. A language is a treasure, it's a key to a whole culture. I feel like knowing English and Russian gives me access to two massive cultures, and it's I shame I don't speak French and Italian as well, because I admire those civilisations (music and cinema in particular) - but I learnt English because I was genuinely drawn to it! However, a language is worthless without the culture attached to it. If you speak a "small" language, and only that language... like Hebrew, Ukrainian, Gaelic, Serbian, and so on... yes, if you don't learn another language, you end up being a very "simple" and limited individual (but to be fair, I haven't met a Ukrainian who doesn't know at least another language, like Russian, or a Gaelic-speaker who doesn't know English). Nevertheless, if you speak what I call a "mass language"... like English, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian... you have so much culture available to you in that language and translated into that language (because of how many speak it), you really can get away with only speaking that language. Someone who only speaks Gaelic or Ukrainian (doesn't exist, probably, but never mind) is NOT the same as someone who only speaks English or Russian, and let's not pretend it is. Sure, if you're an English speaker and only an English speaker... I do think you'd benefit from learning another "mass language" and enjoy the culture in that language. Like, I'm so jealous of those who can read Italian poetry or watch French films without translation. However, if you're not drawn to other cultures... fair enough. Let's be honest, most people learn English as a second language because of how culturally dominant English is today (I believe it was French in the 17th century, for the same reason). It reminds me of an argument I had with a friend of mine in Ukraine. He was really angry with those in Ukraine who continued speaking Russian and didn't learn Ukrainian, and he was like, "How come I, as a Ukrainian in Ukraine, know Russian, but they live in Ukraine and refuse to learn Ukrainian?" - but I told him, it's not exactly the same thing! Why? Because as a Russian, you'll benefit much more if you know another language, like English or French (or end up being a brainwashed dumb Putin voter)... but you can still survive on Russian alone. If you only speak Ukrainian, you'll get bored very fast of what is available to you.
pro tip : don't call the netherlands "holland" , it offends 80% of the dutch population because holland is only north-holland and south-holland , everything else isn't. (groningen , drenthe , etc...)
If people are offended by that, they'd better avoid the internet altogether lol. "Holland" is a synecdoche (the name of a part constituting the whole) and is perfectly acceptable as an informal name for the Netherlands used by many Dutch people themselves, so I wish people would shut up about this already.
I ask you, why should you learn any foreign languages, you don’t need to, in everywhere everyone speaks english, you are lucky. I’m Italian and I wish I was born in a country such as uk, USA… Australia Hahahahahahha
"There is very very little pressure put upon the British to learn foreign languages"
I guess the only pressure is that the British and Americans are being ridiculed and made fun of by bilingual and multilingual countries.
Like we care
The sad truth is that most Brits and Americans really don't care. Look at Trump - he can't speak any languages except English, and speaks English at the level of a ten year old child - and he's the (self appointed) leader of the free world 🤣
@@phantomgrape not a native English speaker, but me wanting to learn a new language is due to many different reasons. Some of those reasons: for cognitive reasons and I got bored and "feeling stupid" for only knowing English and my own native language. I figured that it's time to step up my game.
@@phantomgrape as long as you can still think clearly and move, it's not to late to learn another language.
Personally, I prefer that you learn a language that you badly wanted to learn and something that sounds beautiful to your ears because it can be pretty frustrating. Spanish may be considered as the easiest language to learn for people who know English but if you don't like it then you will struggle to be motivated to be consistent in learning it since consistency is key.
I actually learned English thanks to playing lots of games in English. Now I am slowly doing the same in French.
@@jollyview7778 Apparently, you do care because you just wasted your time here xd Pathetic.
I'm one of the minority of Brits who speak German as a second language. I don't pretend that I can speak native speaker standard, but I can hold down conversation and watch German TV and understand it enough to follow. Since I have learned German, I have made friends that I otherwise would not have made and the quality of my life has improved considerably. OK, English might be the language of business and commerce and spoken right throughout the world, but it is not an excuse not to try and learn a foreign language. People ask me why I have learned the language and my answer is, it boosts my powers of communication. Most importantly, it is the joy of knowng.
your parents are German ?
Do you know to pronounce the umlauts?
@@nordscan9043 It's pronounced oom-lout
@@jackmellor5536 Can you pronounce ä and ö? (ä is pronounced e by the way)
@@nordscan9043 ä is identical in most cases to to ‚e‘. Ö is pronounced like ‚Ehh‘ with rounded lips. Ü is an eeee sound with rounded lips.
*Good points* same in the US, most people *can't be bothered* ( = take the trouble to do something) to learn a second language, though the trends are changing
I think American is more bilingual then British
@New King What I meant is America have more people that are bilingual than the British. If I wrong please correct me.
@New King ok jeez. No need to be angry. Also, thanks for the information
@@faizariffin4660 If America has more bilingual people it is only because it has a lot of people who originally had a first language that was not English - usually that first language is Spanish - and they have subsequently learned English since moving to the US. The US born English speakers are generally terrible at speaking any other languages, worse even than we Brits, and that's saying something.
@New King Sorry, matey, Americans are not British, they can trace their roots back to lots of countries. One of our (I'm English) biggest problems is that we don't understand that the Americans now might speak English, but they are more foreign in their attitudes than most of our European neighbours. "Special relationship" my arse! It's basically the relationship between a dog (us) and its master (the US), although there is some give and take - they give orders and we take them.
Native English speakers are really lazy when it comes to learning a foreign language because the majority of native English speakers I know are monolingual. Whenever they travel abroad, they expect everyone to know English, yet they have the nerve to get annoyed when someone visiting the UK/US doesn’t speak perfect English. They just expect everyone to accommodate their monolingualism.
Wow, you made it to the end.
I'm all for learning languages but you can't expect tourists to speak your language beyond basic greetings
Hmm, well I wouldn’t visit a country without learning at least a few words and phrases, like “Hola” y “Muy bien”.
Rule Britannia. Vanquished nations are 2nd class.
Brexit Britain Eres un pendejo.
I am bilingual ( I speak Spanish) . I can also get by in at least two other Languages.
I feel it’s worth mentioning that there are other languages native to the Uk besides English. However, minority languages like Welsh, Gaelic, etc. have been deliberately suppressed until fairly recently. I feel like that probably accounts for some of the issue.
Being Dutch, I learned to speak three foreign languages in highschool, English, German and French. These languages weren't chosen so much out of "lingua franca" principles as it was out of need due to their respective native speakers being our direct neighbours. Nowadays many highschools also offer Spanish (partly due to "lingua franca" ideas) and Turkish (large Turkish-speaking groups in the Netherlands), Italian is also on the rise, though only slightly. So to answer your question, yes I would have learned English even if Chinese or Hindi were the general Lingua Franca of the world.
I myself now speak 5 languages in varying degrees of proficiency and can understand several more in their most basic forms.
Good on you - what are your thoughts on mono-linguists from the UK/US?
@@richardpeck7303 For me I think it's ok. At least they don't discriminate people who are bilingual
The thing is most people who speak English as a first language usually only speak English. Not just strictly a British thing. 😂
UK and USA mostly, Australians aren’t great either
@@aaraofordham6780 Some parts of Canada too.
@@elainejones9299most anglo Canadians* and the anglo supremacist mindset is very alive here too
This is not and has never been FAIR! one native language being the damn international language?! It SHOULD have been something like ESPERANTO to keep it non-native to all nations!
if you want it to be the global language. learn it
Mi lernas Esperanto hodiaŭ
Esperanto doesn’t really sound that great unless it’s a native speaker speaking it (which, let’s face it, there aren’t that many native speakers). It comes across as too artificial sounding, not naturally flowing, no exceptions to its artificial rules, and not much native speaker media.
We have to think what Language we want to learn. Because sometimes the language is not really useful
I'm from Switzerland. My mother language is Swiss German. I learned German, English and French (got a Delf B1). At the moment i'm learning a little bit Italian-just words.
AAAHH ITS SO FUN SPEAKING MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGES.
I am from Finland and I speak Swedish, English and a little bit of Estonian, Spanish and I can understand spoken and written Norwegian quite well and written Danish.
@@vinskilindqvist4554 I'M JELLY OF U huhu
Of those 38% who can speak more than one language, I'm willing to bet many of them are first, second and third generation immigrants.
I'd be more interested to know what percentage of people - whose ancestors have lived in the UK for so long that they've long since lost any other language they once had - can speak a foreign language.
8% of people from the UK speak a non english first language. So 30% of people from the UK speak English as a first language and can speak at least one other. So that means if you only include people from the UK who speak English as a first language, 1/3.0666 people speak at least one other. That's less than a third! And keep in mind that when people say they speak "Basic Spanish" or "A little French" they may likely report that they speak another language, when they cant constantly talk in that language for even a few minutes. This data hasn't really changed much unfortunately, or fortunately, however you see it. Although I feel that over time this number could possibly increase, there will always be many people from the UK who simply dont feel the need to speak another language.
The majority of bilinguals I know just speak their native language plus English. I’m trilingual. I speak Hindi first language, English second language and Urdu third language.
good work
Urdu is the same as hindi😂😂
It’s always good for people to learn languages. I speak English and modern Greek ... and I’ve started to learn Japanese, Spanish, European Portuguese, Polish and French. I may learn Italian, Korean and Mandarin in the future.
I didn't learn English because it is considered as a lingua franca. I've learned English because I used to love British and American pop/rock/soul/dance music. I wanted to be able to understand the lyrics and sing the songs. But then I started to learn Spanish which it is a life goal to me and even though I can still understand and write in English ,I lost my quite good pronunciation in it.
Aprendiste por tu apellido?
I learned English simply because you have no other choice if you want a career in virtually anything - science, business, etc - so many fields are globalized to a point that having an incredibly high English proficiency is seen as a given (at least in my country). Otherwise how will you read and publish science papers or communicate with your business partners? When I started school I had a really hard time learning English, and I remember being very jealous of the people who were lucky enough to be born as native English speakers for this reason - they automatically had access to the whole world, while I knew I would have to spend years trying to master a second language, just to get the same opportunities they had been born with. Now I guess I can appreciate having learned a second language, seeing as apparently it is good for your brain and can prevent dementia and what not, but I still think it is worth contemplating what a huge advantage being born as a native English speaker is. This is of course nobody's fault (at least nobody who is still alive), just a consequence of colonization and globalization.
I'm actually happy and more appreciative that I am not a native English speaker since it gave me the confidence that I could learn and be fluent in another language which is English. Currently learning French for my 3rd one.
Sure, they're native English speakers but as a result, many of them struggle to learn a 2nd language since English has always been their comfort zone thanks to the media and internet being always in English. It's always so hard to go out of your comfort zone especially when throughout your life, it's where you've always been immersed to. Now, imagine if they wanted to play Japanese or Chinese games with no English translations and they suddenly thought of learning them but they realized that it's a struggle to do so. Or any other medias in a different language. Or perhaps they suddenly felt the urge to visit to other countries and make new friends but the language barrier is keeping them from wanting to do so.
As for me, thanks to knowing 2 languages and both not having the same syntaxes or grammar, it makes me more confident to learn another one since I know how it feels like to struggle in learning a language and try to get used to it. Not only that but I am also at less risk of getting a dementia.
Gee. English is my first language. Then German, Spanish, Japanese, Portuguese, and Korean. I do not admit that I speak French.
I think it may have to do with the fact that English lacks many features if other European languages such as gendered nouns and adjectives, and many conjugations of simple verbs.
Yeah, so i m romanian, everything is more available in english. That s why countries other than uk and us have to learn a foreign language. Most of europe has a higher precentage of people who speak a foreign language because of this. Also, english is really easy to learn compared to other languages
I think this is slightly changing. I’m English and learning Portuguese because our family has a villa there. My father and brother in law are learning too. My wife works for a French company and so is learning French. Then I have three friends who are in long term relationships with non-Brits and are learning their languages. I live in Burnley as well so that’s a working class northern town not cosmopolitan London
Love this. It’s something which definitely should change (though I’m more than a little biased).
I'm Nigerian (West Africa) sadly I'm monolingual. Only speak English. It's just very hard for me to learn tho. Greetings to everyone 😊🌏♥️
Native english speaker Being Native english speaker
You don't even speak an African language?
@@jackfordon7735 yes man. I’m to lazy to learn cos I want to pursue a Geology Masters degree. My brain 🧠 is full 🤣
@@moyndebs6759 why and how come English is your native language and not an african language?
@@purnamamerindu8166 history.
That’s a good question. Me personally, I’m the type of person who likes to live simply and meaningfully. I’d rather be a poor man in a Greek island than the richest man in London as money isn’t the be all and end all. Even if I had a model and a mansion and all the money in the world, that wouldn’t make me happy. However, if Chinese was the number one business language, then I’d learn it out of personal interest as I love learning languages, but I’d still speak more in Greek. You’ve made some good points!
As a monolingual Canadian, Even though I went through 6 years of French, I can't really remember much of what I learned, due to not having to use it at all where I live. I think the problem in English speaking countries (even in Canada if you live outside of Quebec) There is no need to speak another language when the majority of people only use English (outside of Quebec) for things like Business , and day to day life. The business language of the world is of course English. French is mandatory in schools but the majority of the French teachers just speak in English most of time anyway, so you can't really pick up how the languages is spoken, when you usually learn a load of words, etre, avoir etc. They don't really teach French that well at least where I live in Canada. I had one French teacher in my last year of mandatory French class who spoke all in French, but the whole class I wouldn't understand a word she was saying. Funnily enough I got a 90% average in that class too.
This question is simple. It’s because English is spoken in whole world. Before the Second World War, England was the biggest world power. After the war, the U.S.. Both of these countries speak English and, therefore, the whole world needed to learn English. Business throughout the planet have been done in English. If I were British or American, maybe I would know just English. Perhaps I would learn another language for fun, or due to a very specific necessity, like, for example, someone who works for a foreign company etc.
Me, a native spanish speaker from Mexico, I probably would have learnt english because we are so close to the US and it gives you some advantages here and there, and yes, been exposed to the language since I was very young does help a lot, having said that, I think that learning languages is a fascinating topic and anglophone people are really missing out on that, I've never met a single american who can speak proper spanish, whereas, due to my work, I've known many europeans who can speak speak at least two, mainly people from Germany, Austria, Netherlands and even France.. Unfortunately for me, been monolingual is a common thing in the past generations, I'm 30 years old, people of my generation know a bit of english and perhaps french or portuguese, but it is uncommon, but my parents for instance only speak spanish, and is a shame because since Mexico is quite large as well, there is not so much need to learn another language as it is in Europe, where you drive for a short while and you find people from other countries, with a different language, I have a younger cousin who live in Switzerland and she speaks four languages fluently, that is amazing for me, because I've been working hard for a long time and only speak 3 languages, anyway, long story short, I think americans and brits should really start learning a new language just for the fun and the culture that it represents!
I'm American so I would have ended up learning Chinese and English in school. Level of exposure to other languages depend on who is producing media to export everywhere.
We had to learn English and Spanish in Indiana
I think in overall English speaking nations are so lucky cuz it's the most widely used language in all over the world and especially if you're interested in computer field then you can definitely feel that English is so dominant.
They're lucky? NO.. The bilinguals are lucky, lots of benefits we have to be bilingual, our brain is trained to switch from one language to another.. when we switch the languague, we have to change everything from the words, the sounds, the grammar, the way we perceive time.. and we do them at the same time.
@@quebecaaa1238 Not just bilinguals, but all multilinguals.
Yes, Monolinguists have been absolute fascists in the USA and throughout the world, violently denying multilinguists the right to speak their language. However, barring THOSE situations, there is ZERO shame in being monolingual (or obviously multilingual). If being multilingual makes you happy & proud, go for it. Be proud. But it is NOT for everyone.
And, obviously I speak for ALL monolinguists of ANY language, not just English, just because that happens to be the language I am typing this in now, and is my native language. First of all, I am already multilingual: English + math. Others are multilingual in native language + advanced technical science language. I know people who are multilingual in English + Java + Python + C++ and PHP.
Even when I WAS fluent in Russian (studied it for a decade: 1975-1985, because our excellent public schools in New Jersey required we learn a 2nd language in Middle School: for 6th-8th grades, and since I had already put in the work, I wanted to continue through high school to build on what I'd learned, even though 2nd languages were no longer required in high school,
I NEVER cared for nor wanted to speak + listen in a 2nd language (Russian, but would have been true no matter what language I chose). I liked only reading and writing, especially technical Russian. Same when I took 4 courses of French and went through the entire French in Action textbook and audiotape series. Same with my 1 semester of Chinese. I wish more students had signed up for 2nd semester Chinese, so that the 2nd semester Chinese course would have run, because we would have done more exercises from our textbooks that I paid for for the first semester.
Some multilinguals act as though they are superior to monolinguists, and that does annoy me.
Point is: even back then when I cared about learning noncomputer nontechnical other languages,
I had ZERO desire to communicate with people, least of all in real time. Writing and reading I can do at my leisure.
All governments should buy everyone on the planet handheld translator devices. After having put as much effort as I did into learning Russian, French, Chinese, I long ago concluded how insanely inefficient that is, and how superior handheld translation devices are and online translation services like Google translate. All that effort to just barely know barely 3 languages,
versus a device that can translate between THOUSANDS of pairs of languages.
I’m admittedly disappointed by my monolingualism. I really, really wish I grew up with at least two languages etched into my mind. I envy multilingual people :(
Edit: In response to your question, I’m a native English speaker so I would go through learning Mandarin if it was the global lingua franca.
Then start learning one now! It's not too late. Also, so many free sources(but of course, depending on the languages that you wanna learn).
I'm from the Philippines and I grew up having to learn 2 languages (Filipino and English). Now, I'm self studying German and French. I started German since 2016 but I wasn't that consistent and I didn't have proper learning techniques. But now I do. And I'm motivated to learn.
Although I'm disappointed at my fellow elitist Filipinos for acting like British and Americans, thinking that English is the only relevant language in the world.
But anyways, you can always start. Just have good learning methods and be consistent. I recommend you to watch Ikenna's videos on TH-cam for tips.
Then learn it, stop complaining and start your journey.
C'mon Man stop complaining,if you wanna learn a language JUST DO IT
@Lazarstrange do like i used to do,when you dont have people to practice with,talk to yourself
I'm a native English speaker in the UK and speak advanced Russian. I also am learning Portuguese, though I can only speak on basic terms and not indulge into complex topics yet, though it's only been 10 months. There were a few times that I had to speak either Russian or my rudimentary Portuguese in the UK, because there are some people living here who don't speak English.
And regarding French, classes were so ineffective, it's unbelievable. I had exposure to French a few hours a week for several years and never could say or write anything that a French person could understand. While with Portuguese, I am understood at 10 months of study. Turns out input is important and classroom drilling doesn't, who knew.
No I will not stuck with English ,if the chinese is the international language because I will find someone who wants to learn this language ,and we will enjoy learning with each other.
I think it's to do with the lack of everyday bilingualism. In other countries, the signs are in many languages, they broadcast films in many other languages. Here in Berlin where I live, the train announcements are in German and English. I used to live in Singapore, where every single sign was in four languages. In England, there are tiny pockets where this is the case - such as Brick Lane, where some of the street signs are in Bengali. I have also noticed that some train announcements are now also in French and Spanish. But when you consider that there are three other languages spoken *within* the UK (Welsh, Gaelic, Scots) and that they are barely taught, then I think you start to see that this is definitely an English problem, and I mean that in the sense of the English having a bad attitude towards other and actively discouraging any other language. I wonder whether Britain would be a more multi-lingual place if it didn't have England in the middle of it?
Welsh, Gaelic and Scots are weird examples. There are almost no monolingual speakers of those languages, and you usually have to travel to the more remote parts of Wales/Scotland to find anyone who speaks them day-to-day at all. Learning any of those languages would be the biggest waste of time. Even most Welsh can't speak a word of Welsh, why would the English bother?
We don't actively disparage others, the problem is a lack of functionality. It's very nice to see learning a language as an end in itself, but to most people (and, importantly, the government) it really isn't, it's a functional exercise in gaining the ability to communicate with others. We could be the most outward-looking people in the world, it just isn't a great use of time (especially for schools) to insist on us all learning foreign languages to a high level, especially when any skills we gain are bound to degrade due to lack of use.
We're never going to be a multi-lingual culture for so long as English remains a lingua franca
This is interesting. I'm british and i would class myself as bilingual. But i speak both english and fluent "British Sign Language" which has a different syntax and grammar to english and more of that of a european language structure. The most interesting thing would be other countries might be able to speak more than 1 language. But how many actually know "the language of the deaf" in their own country? how many people can communicate with the deaf in their own country?
to my mind im just one person who speaks russian, english, and UZBEK...
I can only speak from an American perspective but it's similar here. It's just not required to know foreign languages if you live here. The country is the size of Europe and whereas you'd pass through multiple countries amd languages to go from Spain to Poland, it's all the same country and same language here. You can travel and see numerous cultures all in the U.S. speaking only English. The Americans who make a conscious decision to learn languages do just as well as everyone else and that's without years of schooling or natural exposure (except for Spanish, depending on where you live). It's hard to learn a language on your own and without an immediate need to do so, people don't do it.
Spanish speakers form Peru, And other parts of Latin America are lazy of learning too. I have a friend from Peru who only knew just one language which is Spanish, now we are exchanging I'm teaching him English and to me in Spanish.
I might fake a nationality when or if I choose to leant a foreign language 😅
I fake a nationality I can converse in another form of speech, pretending not to be in the slightest bit acquainted with English...
Even though I'm from Leeds WY - UK 😂
I'm not kidding with that either!
not only British but Russian to :)
I spek three languages Latvian Russian and English
Russia has a lot of languages 😉 Anglo-lazy
And French people too because they hate english
Spaniards are awkward english speakers too.
well russians speak as an example chechnian etc while english people speak well one language and you speak with heavy accent in most languages because you dont learn a second language until your 30. how awkward
Hahaha you are saying about your native country but here in brazil i think there are less people who speaks english or another language
Exactly, even though we have a bunch of language schools and courses.
Same in Colombia
Many public and private schools offer Spanish and English classes, but all we learn is basic grammar rules which is not enough to make us become fluent. Also, many students are lazy to go further in learning another language. They have wifi at their home to google whatever they want, but they waste the opportunity to learn other cultures or languages because they are lazy.
We are a third world country,so do not except people to know how to speak other languages XD
Brasil é fudido jakakskskskskakakakak
IDK but Europe it's like many people speak different languages and people on Spain does speak at least English. But I think because English has become universal if we talk about how much spoken it is.
As for your question at the end of your video: yes I would still bother to learn English even if it wasn't the language of diplomacy, business, etc. Although at a later time in my life.
Why is it bad to not learn other languages if your language dominates others in culture, politics, and science and is prevalent on most continents? You should not learn other languages if you haven't learned English properly. Other people should learn a first-world language if they want to deal with a first-world country, not the other way around. Even European politicians understood that.
It's good for your brain.
I really liked your video and the actual topic for many people around the world for a pleasant and playful way of presenting. Thank you very much!
I am Filipino. We are in a third world country but the only blessing we have is being bilingual and trilingual sometimes quadlingual. We speak Tagalog(Filipino) , English, understood Spanish and always close to Chinese language. ... Colonization played vital role for this to happen. No one really colonized the British people they colonized other countries. Thanks to English most of the world ended up BEING BILINGUAL. ❤
Mabuhay!
Maybe Britain as people think of it today and in recent centuries hasn't been colonised/conquered, but the british isles itself certainly was in our earlier history, four times in fact.
Around 43 AD the Roman Empire came and conquered the land from the Celtic tribes who were already living here, and named the land Britannia.
Around 450 AD when the Roman Empire collapsed several Germanic tribes (mainly the Angles and Saxons hence the word Anglo Saxon) invaded, displacing the people already living here.
Around 793 AD the Vikings, mainly from Denmark started pillaging coastal towns and villages and then settled here soon after.
Finally in 1066 AD the Normans, who were the descendants of Viking settlers and French natives in northern France, conquered most of the southern british isles.
Comparing what British people speak now to what they spoke way back then, the difference is overwhelming.
The early Celtic Tribes spoke what is now called Common Brittonic, which after the Roman occupation split into separate minority languages, most of these have gone extinct but some such as Welsh still survive today.
Another language was created by taking bits of Brittonic, mixing it with some Latin, then later adding a splash of Germanic, a dash of Old Norse and finally topping it off with some French and then leaving it to evolve over the next few centuries until it became what we now know as English.
When you live in the Netherlands and want to go to higher professional education or university, you really can't do without English because many lectures are in English.
I'm from the US and I'm literally the only person I know who learned a language to fluency that was also born here (Spanish, there are more Spanish natives in the Americas than there are English natives in the entire world). And I'm also learning Mandarin and plan to learn German with my gf (Spanish native, learned English to fluency, and I think she's like a B2 in Italian cuz she loves the culture).
Here, we have all the added problems that normally make learning harder for English native speakers, on top of being in a country the size of Europe that almost universally speaks English. Imagime you drove to Germany. In that same drive, I would still encounter *only* English natives. They'll speak way differently than me, but we'll understand each other nonetheless. There might be a Spanish native, hell, maybe French or German along the way even. But they'll be speaking English, and pockets of these communities are few and far between.
The second problem is that maybe half of the entire English native population has identified English as a superior language, and it has a national identity attached to it. There was even a movement like "this is America, learn the language or leave" (directed towards Spanish speakers) and now organizations have sprung up that coined the phrase "this is America, learn the *languages*" (because we're also the second largest Spanish speaking country). It's a cousterfuck but virtually no one wants to learn a language, and a lot of the time they'll learn French because they're pretentious (I'm not disrespecting French speakers, but to us, that's a useless language to know unless we plan on living in Montreal, people literally only learn it to feel superior here, it's such a "not taking it seriously" approach to language learning).
@jeff pentagon hey, I actually just graduated, but I'm getting into that field, and I've said the same thing before. Most people who want to be developers (the ones that I know usually are Spanish natives, but I'm sure this applies elsewhere also) learn English by default, because it's necessary not just to communicate, but to learn and actually do the job.
Why would i choose to speak a broken language when i could speak Chinese I'd rather be mute than speak a language with silent letters, opposite meaning words and confusing sentence structure
Your Queen speaks French. Well when she has to meet a French president it is better for her. Having say that Macron isn't to bad in English if you compare with François Holland.
Macron is actually quite good at English I would say. It’s clear that he understands it very well and can speak it confidently. But he has a very noticeable French accent on some words
@@gregorarmstrong01 how the British parlent français ?? Very bad
Even Boris Johnson speaks French
I am Pakistani and I know English is no 1 language in the world i can speak english as well but not frequently slowly slowly
English is an overrated language, you can’t tell me otherwise until you become fluent in at least one language that isn’t your native language(s) or English.
As a Brit from London. It's just that I have no exposure to the language or any need for it. Yes I did 3 years of cumpolsary French in secondary school but I came out of it remembering nothing. One it's very focused on grammar and how the language works and not much conversation. Second I would just never use it. I also never had an interest in French media to use it or anyone around to have exposure. And when I did take a trip to Paris the chances that my French would be better than their English is very low. The only kids who really stood a chance at French class were the ones who already spoke it or would spend hours outside class studying more than other subjects required. Speaking with online friends as well they all speak English due to it's spread and being the "standard".
I think it's very similar to Japan or South Korea. They have English lessons. But they have so much native media and not much need to speak Egnlish that their English come out very poor.
Are you sure you remembered nothing from français? Surely you remembered some words like bonjour and un deux trois 🇫🇷
I think that all the way from nursery and reception, there should be some exposure to a foreign language on a regular basis: at the start, put on a little show in French, or Spanish or whatever, for example, introducing basic vocabulary, speaking nice and slowly, just for exposure and children's TV should have a 20 or 30 minute window each day involving foreign languages. It should continue and advance going up the years too. Exposure is how you learn a foreign language, not memorizing tables of vocabulary and grammar: grammar should be the last thing that is formally taught, because it's important, but should come later. And in English, most people don't even know what a noun, verb, adjective and adverb is or that there are any tenses other than past, present and future, how do people stand a chance understanding how grammar works in another language when they don't understand basic stuff in English
Loads of UK People can speak French German plus Spanish has gotten loads of fans in UK Schools out there.
Can you imagine knowing only Chinese or Korean Languages.
Not fluently, knowing just a few words and phrases don’t count. I mean, I know some people from the UK are fluent in at least two languages, but it’s rare…
Like he says, BUT ... Compulsory "School French" (in a vacuum) has a LOT to answer for!
Also perhaps asking if Brits *speak* another langugage is probably the wrong question. You don't often need to speak another language since most foreigners you'll ever meet speak better English than you'll speak their language. But it's useful to read another language because a book etc. has to be understood as is, it can't change to English to please/help you!
Actually the UK has welsh Irish and other Native Languages within the British Isles.
Spanish might become the next Cocoa in UK and Ghana you know.
...loll... we had that joke in Canada as well....unilingual person was considered a "maudit anglais"...English Canadians are much more chauvinistic than Brits...Brits are geographically closer to Europe and stand a much better chance of learning foreign languages...
At school the language our school taught French. I was very shy and did not like French as a language. So was not to interested.
However now I really wish I had as we are now so cosmopolitan and I love lots of languages especially romanian Spanish
How do you explain the Cymraeg / Welsh or even some Eireannach / Irish communities in the UK? They're pretty multilingual by virtue of their homeland.
Most Welsh people can’t speak Welsh tho. Fluently I mean, being able to count to ten and saying that you like/don’t like coffee doesn’t really count.
I learned English and German (being from the Netherlands) because our neighboring countries speak that language and I wanted to be able to have a conversation with them.
Never liked the France so never learned much of their language.
I also don't speak English very well, I have a hell of an American accent.
How can you have an American accent if you're from NEDERLANDS
We call gringos to people who only speak one language
do you come fron latin america
I speak broken German and understand a bit of French. I have no idea how people stick with it as long as it takes to really understand a language.
It’s not quick, it’s not easy, but it’s worth it in the end. There’s no such thing as a language that isn’t worth learning.
Look man, if you can't practice your target language because you haven't learned how to say "I'm studying and would appreciate the practice please." That is 100% on you. The vast majority of human beings alive are willing to inconvenience themselves slightly to give another person that assistance. Most of us find it really exciting and flattering.
I will eventually speak 5 forgein languages. Need to get back into it as my effort over the last week isn’t brilliant
I knew a German who'd been 30 years in the UK and people would hear him speaking English to his English wife on trips back home and insist on speaking to him in English!
Germans who want to use English with each other! Duh!
In sweden there is a english guy who married a swedish woman and he learnt swedish and even avoided to speak english, now thats how you move to another country with style
think he said it was because english was so unexotic/typical or something like that
I think it's because we learn in high-school instead of being little
The answer is no, I would not bother, but if the English from today would still be Old-English, I'd think about it.
Keep it up,I like your channel .👍
English is the lingua franca meaning is the universal language. There was once a time everyone in England spoke French as a second language as it was the universal language back then
Not everyone. French was a language of diplomacy and educated people.
Okay, i learn English because i want to study science and technique by using this languages, sorry i don't learn English for business or economic but i really like your video, it is so funny😂😂😂
I think you mean "science & technology" (that's how we generally say it).
marconatrix thanks
I quite like your accent but may I ask why you pronounce a k at the end of words wich ends with NG
It's a common feature of many British English dialects.
I'm British and far from fluent in German and Esperanto, but I'm a lot better than most British people.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not arrogance that prevents the Brits from learning a language... but lack of necessity. If I want to learn French, I actually have to go to France to properly immerse myself. Whilst you could argue that you can get exposure from meetups etc, the simple truth is that English is so pervasive that it's actually extremely difficult to escape it, especially if you're a late learner. This is amplified by two other factors - the yearning of foreign youths to want to perfect their ENG with you (thus rendering it difficult to actually talk with them in their own tongue) and that the British culture is actually quite big around the world. Whilst the US took over the Occident's mantle after WW2, British culture - particularly in former colonies - is still seen as a mark of excellence, hence the adherence to English.
When foreigners learn English, they're only overcoming a disadvantage we don't have in the first place. I'm fluent in French but it's never been at all useful.
Je parle le français.
Dermane Youness Merci beaucoup
Le français serait utile dans le monde, si les tous les étrangers ne se mettaient pas à l’idée que la langue française est juste la langue de la france. Aussi si les sommets de la francophonie servaient à quelque chose autre qu’à se pavaner pour les présidents français…les anglais ont le Commonwealth qui est un atout énorme pour faire taurin et l’anglais dans le monde, la France a l’OIF mais pour l’instant cette organisation est invisible, elle a le potentiel de devenir une puissance économique, culturelle et diplomatique majeure. Il y a beaucoup de moyens de faire rayonner la langue française, il suffit de ne pas tomber dans la soumission à l’anglais et que nos politiques aient un peu de courage
The British education never put emphases on foreign languages so...
I think my problem is that I want to learn so many languages that I try too much at one time, switch between them, find it more difficult and then give up. I feel awful for not learning at least one other language than my own. Gonna give Spanish another try and just stick to it.
@Joseph Seamark I also have a habit of going for ridiculously difficult ones for a beginner to start with, like russian, for example, (because it sounds cool)
@Joseph Seamark maaaaaybe just the alphabet😂
There's no obvious foreign language for Anglophones to learn. Everyone else learns English because of the massive influence of the USA. Besides which, if you go abroad and try and speak Dutch, Spanish etc they will mostly switch to English immediately, which is incredibly annoying.
Just learn any language you want. No excuses. There are plenty of languages to choose from online.
In Cornwall young people do get exposed to the Cornish language at a young age. But Cornish is not a foreign language really.
Last i checked Cornish was and is considered a dead language. The only people who speak it does it because it's a hobby.
I don't know, may be NOT,
but I like English now really
Are the Aussies and Kiwis any different?
We live in a world where the United States of America, an English speaking country, is the greatest economy, the most significant cultural center and the most powerful military force. English is the current lingua franca and knowledge of English is an important skill for non native English speakers. The vast majority of bilinguals are people who study English as a 2nd language and given that Brits are native English speakers, they simply have no strong incentive to study other languages.
BTW, the Dutch speak great English because Dutch and English are strongly related, more so than to any other language. In that respect, most Israeli high school pupils are given a choice of French or Arabic for a third language. Despite the tense geopolitical emotions and the fact that Arabic is often regarded as one of the world's most difficult languages, the vast majority chooses Arabic because for native Hebrew speakers, Arabic is a hell of a lot simpler than French.
New Zealander here. There is a lot of bilingualism here in Auckland amongst the Polynesians. It isn't uncommon to find a 4th generation Polynesian-Kiwi who can also speak their ancestral language. Reason being the Polynesian community spirit is super strong, so growing up they get a lot of exposure to their ethnic languages (Samoan, Tongan, etc.). Their attitude and sense of identity is what enables them to keep their language flowing despite being born in an English speaking country, which ultimately leads to bilingualism. Besides that, there is rarely an incentive for anybody to learn European languages as it isn't really a necessity, the handful of people that do take it on board merely do it out of curiosity and leisure.
ARROGANCE. As simple as that, as being shown by many monolingual English speakers that I have known.
As an Englishman
I found this video funny as fuck
Bare jokes blud
Boh toh ov woh tah innit
I know this is a really old video and don't expect you to reply, but I believe on the attitude part you failed to mention a huge factor. If Brits try to speak a foreign word with the Foreign sounds in Britain they are seen as a prick. I won't hazard to say what I think about a nation that thinks showing respect to other cultures makes you a prick says about their moral compass.
I am Scottish and learning both Latin and Italian. I wouldn’t want to learn Chinese though.
Why not? If it’s because of all the characters, then don’t let that put you off. Even if you just learned one or two a day, you’d be surprised to see how much you know in just a couple months.
@@elainejones9299 That I think is the only thing that scares me a little. It’s a whole new alphabet. I would at least love to learn the basics especially so I can greet and thank those who work in the wonderful restaurants locally.
Ottawa is NOT a bilingual city. Try going into a store speaking French in Ottawa and see what happens...
By British, I'm sure you mean English. The Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish are perfectly capable of being, and quite often are, bilingual
Nope, most Welsh people don’t speak Welsh. Not fluently anyway, being able to count to ten and saying that you like or don’t like coffee doesn’t count.
@@elainejones9299 i never said most welsh could? But the proportion of welsh who are bilingual, as well as the fact that we have a language other than English which is native to our own culture shows that by saying the British are crap at languages is a broad overstatement is all. In England they only have English and nothing else (exception of Cornwall)
Hi Julian. In case Chinese was the "lingua franca" I'll not be so interested in learning English than I am. What a pity, right?
I think I speak o ln behalf of most of the world when I say: We'd rather all learn English than being forced to listen to Anglophones not even trying to pronounce non-English words.
My apologies to Anglophones who actually try. We can hear that and we appreciate you.
"Horse Doffers" ; "Brrrettwörst" ; "Cafey Latay"
Yes, I am learning English because is the language of international business and I wanna be an international business agent , but I would like to learn anyway cause I like American and British culture and I would like to live in both countrys
If English was not a lingua franca, I think I would be learning Japanese.
Well you could learn Japanese anyway.
Not fair tough... Because a "British" could be anywhere from Scotland, England, or Wales... I bet there are many bilingual people in Scotland and Wales...
Wales yes, Scotland no.
Those self-proclaimed bilingual or multilingual are actually not enoughly proficient. Having proficiency on a daily basis does not mean you're close to nativity. A language costs to dominate. Even native speakers themselves struggle and misspell words. As an example, I'm Spanish, and I know that many native speakers have an mediocre orthography (not grammar.) With this said, I don't think proficiency is just about holding conversations. Bye-bye
Arriba toro
You're wrong. Someone who only knows one language is called a "beta"
In England, people make fun of you for speaking another language besides English
Racist people, yes. People with even the slightest bit of decency wouldn’t do that.
maybe the british education system- regarding foriegn languages is totall shite- crap.... unlike in belgium, switzerland , in the UK it is not normal, unless your foreign, too speak more than one language, exeptions to gaelic and welsh speakers....
as you mentioned, if only young children were exposed to french and spanish-also world languages of the EU-UN-MECOSUR-NAFTA -WTO and widely spoken..... as much as english, also there maybe a lazy culture, not just a island mentality, or legacy of being the largest empire of all time...
english is a world language of commerce & business, that is no excuse for a culture of not learning spanish & french, not just for travel but also for business, the UK must be at the very bottom of global rankings of translation-business briefings in major languages and the ability too communicate across borders, shouting ,being dramatic and hysterical in loud english is just not good enough for communication**, or expecting everyone too speak english....
Japanese : Hold my sake.
I disagree with the idea of saying Americans and Brits are "dumb" or "lazy" for not learning another language - people who speak big languages usually have less need for another language. A language is a treasure, it's a key to a whole culture. I feel like knowing English and Russian gives me access to two massive cultures, and it's I shame I don't speak French and Italian as well, because I admire those civilisations (music and cinema in particular) - but I learnt English because I was genuinely drawn to it!
However, a language is worthless without the culture attached to it. If you speak a "small" language, and only that language... like Hebrew, Ukrainian, Gaelic, Serbian, and so on... yes, if you don't learn another language, you end up being a very "simple" and limited individual (but to be fair, I haven't met a Ukrainian who doesn't know at least another language, like Russian, or a Gaelic-speaker who doesn't know English).
Nevertheless, if you speak what I call a "mass language"... like English, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian... you have so much culture available to you in that language and translated into that language (because of how many speak it), you really can get away with only speaking that language. Someone who only speaks Gaelic or Ukrainian (doesn't exist, probably, but never mind) is NOT the same as someone who only speaks English or Russian, and let's not pretend it is.
Sure, if you're an English speaker and only an English speaker... I do think you'd benefit from learning another "mass language" and enjoy the culture in that language. Like, I'm so jealous of those who can read Italian poetry or watch French films without translation. However, if you're not drawn to other cultures... fair enough. Let's be honest, most people learn English as a second language because of how culturally dominant English is today (I believe it was French in the 17th century, for the same reason).
It reminds me of an argument I had with a friend of mine in Ukraine. He was really angry with those in Ukraine who continued speaking Russian and didn't learn Ukrainian, and he was like, "How come I, as a Ukrainian in Ukraine, know Russian, but they live in Ukraine and refuse to learn Ukrainian?" - but I told him, it's not exactly the same thing! Why? Because as a Russian, you'll benefit much more if you know another language, like English or French (or end up being a brainwashed dumb Putin voter)... but you can still survive on Russian alone. If you only speak Ukrainian, you'll get bored very fast of what is available to you.
Jobs were you are required to speak other languages exist. You just have to seek them out. Not everything is done in English.
True, and I’ve worked a job that required me to work in a different language. But the scale is remarkably different.
@juliannorthbrook I'll seek one our once my German is B1 or better
pro tip : don't call the netherlands "holland" , it offends 80% of the dutch population because holland is only north-holland and south-holland , everything else isn't. (groningen , drenthe , etc...)
Valt wel mee hoor, je weet toch wat ie bedoelt. Ik ben niet echt beledigd. Je kan het ook gwn accepteren
Just like the way many people say "England" when they mean the whole UK ...
If people are offended by that, they'd better avoid the internet altogether lol. "Holland" is a synecdoche (the name of a part constituting the whole) and is perfectly acceptable as an informal name for the Netherlands used by many Dutch people themselves, so I wish people would shut up about this already.
Thumbnail: What do call someone speaks one language
Me: You missed the word ‘you’ after ‘do’.
Me: Wait, you? You mean I speak one language. Offensive
Don't learn English, learn Spanking.
I'm fluent in 5 languages! English, British, American, Canadian, and Australian!
I ask you, why should you learn any foreign languages, you don’t need to, in everywhere everyone speaks english, you are lucky. I’m Italian and I wish I was born in a country such as uk, USA… Australia Hahahahahahha