And then we go over to Europe and all we can say is merci beaucoup

And that's two more words of Froggie than a man will ever need.

RS doesn't speak French. ;-)

Well, I agree with Obama that we should know foreign languages better...and agree with Romney that we teach a lot more science and maths.

We can do both, and a lot of countries do both better than we do.

Patty, you've highlighted one of the reasons latte liberals like Obama turn off the middle of the country - stupid snobbery and ignorant assumptions seem to roll off their tongues without thought.

Did you see the speech Michelle gave when she basically called Texans knuckledraggers because she assumes everyone in the state wants to lynch gays?

Phantom, learning other languages is wonderful and most of our public schools do offer a variety of those courses - it's Obama's snotty tone about the whole thing that sticks wrong.

Fancy giving me a few lessons Daphne? i'll bring the wine.

Actually I think old Mitt speaks French, as he was there for thirty months during the Vietnam War as a Mormon Missionary (and obtaining a ministerial deferment during that time). Youtube's got him giving a speech in French if anyone cares.

Obama should concentrate on more important and urgent global matters like whether a guy can marry another guy.

Yes, but the public schools do a really poor job.

They teach for the test, and half the time I wondered if the teacher themselves could even order lunch in the language concerned. I think a lot of the methods need to be changed,

Plus you have a lot of bullshit like Puerto Ricans or Mexicans taking Spanish because they already know it and don't have to work at it.

I agree that he is an arrogant twit but think there is truth to his point.

Americans have such a super advantage when they speak any foreign language since no German or Japanese etc thinks any of us want to bother learn their language.and they are complimented that you took the effort

This despite the fact that so very many foreigners speak English.

Am not terribly impressed with the knowledge most Brits and Irish I've met have of foreign lingos either...which is a bit north of zero,with no interest in learning more.

I don't speak any other languages but I love tinkering with French and Spanish and have not given up on mastering them one day.

Obama n the same speech also said:

"Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English—they’ll learn English—you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish"

That could come back to haunt him.

Obama's comment is true not just of Americans but of native English speakers the world over. Because we speak the overwhelmingly dominant language of our planet there is little incentive for us to learn other languages. It's an issue of comfort and lack of necessity amongst English speakers not one of nationality.

The irony is that obviously alot of Americans ALREADY speak alot of different languages. Just not French! Or German!

Obama is an elitist who wants to get along with the white Europeans in Crans-sur-Sierre, or with the other American elitists who made their millions in computers and who live in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Hollywood etc. . Good for him. To each his own. I have no problem with this. Have fun.

Just stop trying to drag the rest of the country down with Marxist drivel, telling us that high school students will have to do required service, we can't drill for oil, taxes etc.

It's making me nuts to think I'll be bossed around for 4 years, made poorer by huge tax increases - by this inexperienced elite lawyer who got his "street cred" through the racist Reverand Wright and Black Liberation Theology.

Hillbillies! that is us he is talking about the Ulster Scots or Scots Irish.

Someone should tell him about the Mecklenburg Declaration.

Phantom: I speak fluent French. And by default poor Spanish. So frigging what.

Patty

If an immigrant-citizen from Vietnam speaks Vietnamese, as well he might, he gets no credit for that from me. If he learns English, thats cool.

If you strip away the American foreign language speakers who are from the foreign country concerned, whose parents are from there, or those who speak Spanish and are of Mexican heritage who live near the border...you'll have a really small percentage of Americans speaking foreign languages.

Obama has a bit of a point there. There are reasons for our unilingual status--America being a continent and not a normal size country, English being so dominant and international, but...we should and could do better at languages

What other languages do the Obamas speak?
My Spanish is decent (used to be great - use it or lose it), my French is lousy.

Mahons are you trying to get David's gaydar up again? :-)

Sam: Hillbilly is my word, not his. Just paraphrasing his attitude. Hillbilly being a common insult for "ignoramus."

Does Hillbilly come from Ulster Scot? Very interesting. Will look it up.

--So frigging what.--

Its good to know things!

--

The Obamas speak the language of politicians- that of lies and deceit.

RS - are you trying to make nice with me?

*I like beer & bourbon.

Phantom - you make a good general point: our schools could do a much better job with foreign languages. Starting the kids in elementary versus middle school would help quite a bit. The same could be said of math & science in many schools. It's amazing what small children can absorb when given interesting and engaging instruction.

Phantom: "we should and could do better at languages"

If there is no practical reason, why? Do we now owe the world comfortable conversation>? Do you agree with the Left that we are "arrogant," too rich, and our wealth should be redistributed? Because we speak English, and business is conducted in ENglish, it's not "fair?"

I know one of my friends and only one who mastered a foreign language.

He went to Paris for a semester abroad. He went to one day of class, was bored, and blew off the rest of the semester playing hooky in the pool halls, watching TV, hanging out in bars etc. He insisted that the locals teach him all the vulgar words which they were very happy to do.

He learned the language at warp speed, and twenty years on, he is still there. So there is more than one way to do it.

---

--If there is no practical reason, why?--

Because learning another language makes you think better,and is great fun. And because you can ultimately sell more stuff to the foreigners!

Again, you have no idea of what a compliment you are paying someone, especially from a "small" country if you show that you've taken the trouble to learn their language.

If there is no practical reason, why?

Er, export trade? They don't all speak English you know, and not all business is conducted in English. Never mind the cultural bond established, which is bound to help business relationships. The UK has a similar dearth of foreign language speakers, for similar reasons, and it hurts our economy too.

It's true to say that English is dominant in world trade, but it's not a monopoly.

Throw a scotch in there Daphne and we have a John Lee Hooker tune.

Im from a little village up the mountains, (them would be hills in America), count myself a hillbilly or a culchie, nowt wrong with it. Its what you do with your life not where u from that counts. Even here in Ireland we notice how mainland europeans seem to be better or more disciplined in learning at least one language aside from their mother tongue. I picked spanish in school by pure fluke, glad i did as i think its alot more useful in the wider world as opposed to French. Not fluent, but enough to get by.

Spanish is more widely spoken but a damn fugly harsh sounding throaty horrible language. French is utterly beautiful.

Spanish is poetry itself compared to Dutch, German or Hebrew. Or the hiss of Arabic.

Learning foreign langauges will help in math and science as much of the developments there are in non-English speaking regions. Nothing is wrong with improving education in all areas, it isn't an either/or situation.

Spanish i found is alot more phonetic a language than french i think. Which results in it being easier to learn i feel.

Spanish is one of the lovely romance languages. Always sounds pretty to me. I took French in school but am stuck at the Bonjour Jacques stage.

Phantom: I happen to love languages. And they do make you think differently. I don't know if this is "better." But not everyone has the same attraction to language - and I don't belittle them for this. In this global world of ours, languages are optional because there are already so many like myself who are attracted to language and already know languages.

Of course, the US needs Arabic speakers, and any language dialect from Iraq, Afghanistan etc. I can see the govt. encouraging investment in this area. But French? Please...that's such a waste of time.

Peter: export trade is a practical reason. As is any business application. With regards to language, International business seems to learn what it needs, when it needs it -- I don't think we need "leadership" from the President. Particularly not French or Spanish leadership.

Mahons: Interesting you write that -- I know in medecine around 100 years ago, most medical books were in German so if an American studied medicine they prob. also studied German. No longer the case.

Alison - no way is spanish fugly!! Get a man purring that business in my ear and I'm flying. French, not so much - Greek definitely not - a sweet Irish brogue gets me roaring- Italian, oh yeah baby.

mahons

This (lapsed) website, Merde in France will get you up to speed in French in no time.

We wouldn't have a language problem if the rest of the bloody planet did the decent thing and learnt to speak English fully, properly, and only !

But French? Please...that's such a waste of time.

Not if you're trying to make a living by exporting to France.

Phantom -The title alone was worth my ever reading ATW. Hysterical.

Spanish spoken at full tilt by a native speaker is just as pretty as any other language. Arabic too. German is a very mechanical sounding language to me, dunno about the rest of you.

Spanish is really easy to learn RS. The structures are to employ the vernacular :D a piece of piss. But Italian is prettier. And French is sublime. The grammar is perfect. That said i think masculine feminine words in all the roman based languages are a tad silly.

"The Hiss Of Arabic"

Someone should use that for a title, band name, something.....God, that was good.

Can German ever sound romantic or sexy ?

I wouldn't say Arabic is a hiss. It's more like the sound of someone trying to cough up flem.

I've told this before, but what the Hell. Was in an Irish Bar in Oslo, Norway once, could understand everone perfectly because they spoke English, except for one guy who I couldn't make out anything. I finally asked him where he was from and he said "Cork."

True story.

Mahons

"Merde in France" was the production of my friend who moved to France. He ran an anti French website from Paris. I so loved that.The thing had a lot of French readers too.

Phantom - Thank him for the laugh.

I went out with a Spaniard when i lived in Pamplona. Took me to a frikkin bull slaughter. That didn't last long XD

I dunno, i suppose it can be sexy but its fugly when the women speak it. Oh my gawd they sound like men who've been smoking Gitanes for twenty years.

I can swear in Arabic - anyone want a good one liner?

No Parasan is an excellent blog. I pull him up once a week.

German sounds awful. They sound mean.

Give it Alison.

Mahons i have a few friends from cork, still have to utter the odd 'excuse me' when in conversation. Next time you meet a corkonian ask him/her who directed goodfellas. Hearing a corkonian pronounce Martin Scorcese is a memorable thing.

"I pull him up once a week"

Lucky man :)

Hey Patty - did you expect the direction this post went? :-)