WHY DON'T MORE SPANISH LEARN ENGLISH

Interesting debate but it has gone off the original intent.  All I was pointing out is that as Spain is second only to the United States in terms of tourism, it would surely boost the Spanish economy, and employment prospects if the country was bi-lingual. The British don't need to because virtually all their visitors already get by in English.

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REALLY?  Is that what you were saying????    Zola thought he was being super realistic too - in Germinal.   Doesn't read that way............. 

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Just as an aside.   

 In over 15 years as a translator and helper,  with the National Police, I have hardly ever failed to communicate, using English (and my 5 words of French or German) with people, who do not speak Spanish,  who come to the police for help

I am not saying my experience proves anything, however, I cannot imagine that one could travel around the world with any language other than English and hope to get by.

 

PS Some officers speak some English, but that only comes to light when the victim is female, young and pretty !!!

 

This message was last edited by johnzx on 08/05/2014.

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Eurovision Song Contest: 180 million viewers worldwide, 37 countries participating; out of 26 finalists, only the entrants from Montenegro, Italy & France chose to sing entirely in their own languages. ALL the others sang entirely, or partly, in ENGLISH. Including the Spanish entry, by the way, much to the disgust of some fossilised academic from Madrid University. The DANISH presenters used English throughout the show, and one of them continually threw in some CHINESE words for the benfit of the many viewers apparently watching in China now.

So what have we learned from this most important of international annual events?
1) Chicks with beards are OK
2) SPANISH doesn't matter.

;-)

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sorry, duplicate post
This message was last edited by Roberto on 12/05/2014.

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Just a quickie!! Please do not forget a VERY important language, especially for me, as an Englishman married to a Venezuelan and that is "Spanglish".

Allegedly, a recognised language in Miami, USA.

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Also in Calahonda 

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I think that we have heard it all before – Wasn’t French going to be the dominant pan-global language in the 60’s then it was going to be Esperanto that dominated the world – fact is, change happens so slowly it isn’t even worth thinking about.

Not only will it require a massive cultural and economic shift for any change in language dominance  and order to occur terrestrially, the prescribed language of travel would also have to be considered. Maritime English and Standardized English in Aviation are not factored into language use, so consider 5.7 billion aircraft movements every year (excluding non commercial) and over 100,000 commercially registered ships (plus millions of privately owned boats and yachts) all communicating in English and this adds weight to a preference to learn English.

Aintcha sick of supercilious individuals telling you to learn Spanish because they can, therefore we should.Some people are fluent in more than one language but don’t consider it an achievement, so if some folk want to live here and don’t  want to learn Spanish it’s their prerogative -  so leave them alone to enjoy themselves.

 

This message was last edited by Woodbug on 17/06/2014.

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Sadly so many non Spanish who settle in Spain don't bother to learn Spanish because they are able to get by with the help of the Spanish that do speak English.

 

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Poedoe,  I don’t think that it is much of a problem for most people who just come to retire to Spain, providing they choose to live in an area where there are a lot of foreigners and so there are many services provided in English.  That is a big reason for not choosing to live in ‘el quinito pino’  (the back of beyond).

 

However, not speaking Spanish, often seems to leave people with the, usually false, impression that they are being discriminated against and not being dealt with like their Spanish neighbours.

I jokingly tell Spaniards who come to live on the coast,  that if they live here, they must learn the local language ..............  English !

This message was last edited by elaineG on 18/06/2014.

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My old school headmaster was a personal friend and admirer of General Franco. So he introduced Spanish as an essential language to learn instead of French. I shall always be grateful. He believed it would become the world’s first language eventually.

French was traditionally taught in most English public schools because it was the language of the diplomatic corps.

No longer the poor old French have been marginalised and actually have a national law against the anglisation of the language.

My point is as in Scandinavian countries, Holland and Germany learning a second language requires wide ambition, both nationally and individually. Spain and France traditionally have not felt the necessity for global ambition until the current internet generation arrived. Things will change.

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'Things will change'

Having said that Micky - The international language of the computer is English and this will not change. Its like expecting a donkey to walk on the left side of the road after 20 years walking on the right, it can't and won't happen. Many people can absorb new languages very easily and the youger they are the easier it is for them - this is a scientific fact. Others have a natural gift using their hands or with music but are unable to learn languages. I knew an old Roma guy who could play any instrument and read music but he couldn't read or write so I don't think it is fair to castigate those who don't or can't speak Spanish.

 

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Hi, perhaps its a question that should be answered by a spanish person of which I am sure there are a number of members on this forum. I think we would agree it is not necessarily a problem for the generation that are currently studying now or have been in say the last 10 years. This is not the same as the previous generation who probably did  not have the opportunity during their school lives.

Lets not forget Spain's turbulent history which included rule by military dictatorship really up until the 50's. Foreign tourism didn't really exist until the 60's and 70's to the important contribution it plays now to the Spanish economy. Even so the generation that experienced the Civil War, if they did take holidays, most of them occurred in visiting a different part of Spain rather than a foreign country. This is still true today and one can find those that do travel extensively will be visiting countries that predominantly speak Spanish as the first or second language. Of the older generation, especially those that are required to relocate to work in the UK, they have realised the necessity to learn English. There are many Spanish people living and working in UK especially London who learn to speak the language fluently.

There is a tendency, and I believe it is true of both the Spanish and English, that unless you are likely to be living in a foreign country, there is little benefit to learning the language, Many Brits that come on holidays, even some that choose to live here permanently.adopt this philosophy.

Generally speaking, I think the Spanish people tend to adopt a similar position in that persons who live or spend a lot of time in a foreign country should learn to speak the native language. I wholeheartedly agree that Spanish businesses would benefit more if their employees were taught English, which may mean more English teaching jobs, but on the downside, this would be bad news for people who make a living from translations.

I think those Spanish businesses that have UK or internationsl dealings, already realise the importance to learn English, but for the local shopkeeper or bar owner, probably the attitude is that they are unlikely ever to visit the UK or even travel outside of Spain in many cases, and that if you are in Spain one should learn Spanish rather than for them to learn English. Those that choose to grasp the nettle can receive the benefits and those that don't will have missed the opportunity. So, I think the Spanish people generally have the same philiosophy as many other countries in that rather than for them to learn a foreign language, if you want to communicate with them, you should learn the Spanish language. That being said, whether it is a Spaniard learning English or an English person learning Spanish, one can open a whole new world of possibilities and understanding that could enhance one's life experience both on a personal and professional level. Should more Spanish speak English? those that do not will probably say they do not need to, others that do, and are reaping the benefits will probably disagree and say yes they should.

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