(11-28-2018 01:09 PM)tanqtonic Wrote:  

(11-28-2018 11:15 AM)OptimisticOwl Wrote:  

(11-28-2018 11:04 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  

(11-28-2018 10:30 AM)georgewebb Wrote:  

(11-28-2018 09:37 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  If you travel anywhere in western Europe where English isn't the first language, almost everyone is bilingual (if not tri-lingual), and it's very impressive.

Of course, the fundamental reason for English-language fluency in non-English-speaking countries is that their own languages are not the language of the world's dominant economic, military and political power. I hope that's never the case for the United States.

I think the reason for other countries being bilingual is rather moot when discussing whether or not it is beneficial to have a populace that is bilingual. Being bilingual has multiple benefits to individuals, including having better reading comprehension, being better at using logic and solving complex math/language problems, and being better at learning other languages.

Not sure of your source for those claims, but I see no disadvantage to being able to speak (and more importantly, think) in other languages.

My sister speaks five languages and she is totally illogical. In all of them.

I think multilingualism is normal in Europe, where there are multiple languages in close proximity. I think it would be good for kids in the American Northeast to be bilingual in French and English.

Much like most of us border rats speak Spanish.

My father's first language was Spanish. When he was old, he often would have to search for a word in english, but I never saw him search for a word in spanish.

The language at my grandmother's house switched from English to Spanish and back with lightening speed, often several times in a single sentence. But my mother did not speak Spanish, so in my house all the conversations were in English.

School was in English but Spanish was a subject. When I moved north, I took Latin in HS.

I was not/am not very good with languages, including apparently english given how often I am misunderstood on these pages. I took German at Rice, and when my sister was studying in Zurich we would exchange letters using a mix of English, Spanish, and German. (she also speaks French and Italian - I barely speak English these days)

If I could have three wishes, they would be to have a good singing voice, a proficiency in languages, and to be three inches taller.