How long is it acceptable to go to a foreign country and NOT know the language?

[AndrewR]

<< A good friend of mine moved to Quebec...perfect French >>


I see a discrepency there. Canadians speak funny French just like they speak funny English. Heh.

Ask her how to say a door is locked.

 

[DABANSHEE]

Andrew's right, French Canadians speak French differently than the French do. Actually in some ways French Canadian French is more traditional than the French, the French speak.

 

[Mithras]

I would have to say that wether or not we invaded spanish speaking areas, the fact remains that they are &quot;ours&quot; now, and if people want to move from there to here, they should at least be willing to make an effort to integrate themselves. America is supposed to be a &quot;melting pot&quot; with many different peoples integrating. Instead we are several little communities that segregate based on color and language. The point is that we really need to all be on the same page, and speak the same language to encourage integration, and communication. Now, that language can be whatever language we all decide on, it could be spanish, esperanto, swahili, or even possibly english... and if we were asked to decide, I think the majority of us would probably choose english as an &quot;official&quot; language.

 

[Superwombat]

Mithras, quick! tell them you're a taco bell fan or they'll hurt you!!!

 

[Mithras]

But I don't like Taco Bell...
I prefer authentic Mexican food. There is a great little place close to where I live called &quot;El Rodeo&quot; that serves up some VERY good authentic Mexican food.

 

[JenniZ]

Chances are I would pick it up in short time. There is an odd dialect where I live right now. Its english based, but funny kine. Anyhow it didnt take me long to learn it.

I also lived in a border town in southern california for some time. I can understand basic mexican, but cannot speak it. (I call it mexican, because it is not really spanish, just as american is not exactly english, they are dialects)

 

[Teatowel]

ah, dam rait yeh yanks canae spik inglish teh sev yer life n all.

Peasbo.

 

[Priit]

Well, the Russians in our country think that they never should learn our language and demanding that we all should speak russian... now that's sucks!

 

[nickdakick]

Didn't do them any good in the end, huh Priit ?

 

[Priit]

Nickdakick: whad do you mean by &quot;Didn't do them any good in the end&quot; ??

 

[AndrewR]

DABANSHEE: Quebecois is more &quot;traditional&quot; compared to modern French in the same way 18th century English is more traditional than modern English, I suppose, since that's essentially what Quebecois is.

The one I mentioned, a locked door, is one that was told to me by a guy I knew from northern Maine who learned much of his French from his Canadian friends. A locked door in modern French is &quot;ferme a clef&quot; (closed with a key, literally). In Quebec, the same phrase is translated &quot;locked with a bar of wood&quot; -- but I cannot recall the word that is used for &quot;bar&quot; (ferme a -?- du bois). I found that fascinating.

 

[nickdakick]

They're gone, right ?

 

[Priit]

Nickdakick: yeah, russian army left years ago, when Estonia was declared not to be part of NSVL. But russian civilians, who came to Estonia during occupation period, cause life here was little-bit better than in Russia, doesn't want to leave any more We have about 400 000 of them in here. Don't wand to bore you with history thought, sorry about that...