Can a monolingual person be considered well-educated?

Question

Hi Honey, (and anyone else)
I didn't realize my question was ambiguous, and I didn't think for a minute I'd get so many replies so fast. (Although I think this is the first yes/no question I've asked.)

I am certainly not asking if a monolingual person can be considered intelligent, nor if bilingualism in and of itself constitutes education. I think those answers are obvious.

Two hundred years ago, learning languages was at least half of what education MEANT. Is the change because there's so much more "stuff" to know now?

Answer 1

How do you mean "well-educated"? I'm a grad student and so far I haven't had to learn a second language, but I have had to learn latin terms for things and several other language terms, but I do not speak another language fluently.

Just because you are a mono-linguist doesn't mean you can't go on and get a Ph.D. or attend law or medical school.

Answer 2

Ten years ago a some of the most brilliant minds in all of the world were monolingual, but now with the world becoming smaller and smaller due to the new technology developments in travel and the media it becomes more and more important to be able to speak two or three language. In the next 20-50 years it will become even more important to speak the Chinese language because they are about to go through the same rapid transformation that the US did decades ago. So in short a monolingual person can be considered well-educated but perhaps on a small area of expertise while a bilingual person may not be any more educated they may have a higher chance to succeed if they use the biligualness to exceed.

Answer 3

Of course!
They may be very well-educated. They may not be the most cultured human being, but even passing a judgment that harsh is rash.
There are many people who are socially conscious, culturally sensitive, and fluent in only one language. Many people know how to speak different languages colloquially but not fluently, this owing to the fact that they have relocated by chance or choice to another country. In such cases, a person's adaptablilty is dependent on their skills to speak the new language in order to survive in the new territory.
Then again, English is the predominant language of the world today, replacing French. It is not any Americans fault that social change has brought this about in the world culture, therefore, they should not be chastised. It is only by the grace of the universe that they have been blessed with the chance to live their lives in America. I too, attach a stigma to those who are blissfully ignorant to the needs and demands of the world at large, but I refuse to associate a persons indifference to different cultures to the number of languages they speak.

Answer 4

Yes, you don't need to know all the languages in the world to be educated so long as you make use of yourself in that one language. Many of the doctors interviewed on television do not know a second language. Does that mean they're idiots? No, that just means they focused much more time on medicine than learning something they'd probably not use later on in life.

It also goes to say that a trilingual person could be completely below the bar when it comes to education. They may spout "I know THREE languages!" but that could be all they know, and there is still not even a guarantee they're perfectly fluent at it.

Answer 5

the answer to it really is because English has overtaken all different languages to develop into the international Language. In all international locations of the international, English has develop into the medium of verbal substitute between those who does not be able to understand one yet another in the different case. hence, the English language is now a required tutorial subject in colleges and universities in only about all international locations (ok, except for France even if the French have continually been jealous). So it really is comprehensible to imagine that if someone can not communicate English then he has not had a lot get entry to to education and hence is uneducated. there are various evaluations about why English has reached one of those intense aspect of status, even if the significant causes are likely because for starting up newcomers English is truly effortless or maybe novices locate they're able to communicate highly nicely after having received merely the very undemanding skills. this isn't genuine of the different international language with the achieveable exception of Latvian.

Answer 6

I think bilingual people are considered well-educated not only because they know another language, but they also know at least the cultural background of the country whose language they are learning.

I've always thought that to properly learn a language, you have to live it, know the people who speak it and their culture, their life style and how they see the world, and if it's possible to not only talk to a native speaker but visit the country, so you can plenty experience that language through music, food, customs, etcetera.

Answer 7

Definitely! Knowing how to speak a language is not that big of a deal, being fluent in a language is, but there are very few of us who can be fluent in many languages. Being educated means having an education, especially one above the average. You don't necessary have to have linguistics major to be well-educated.

Answer 8

Sure, why not? There are plenty of people that speak 3 or more languages and they are not well-educated. If you live in an area where you need to speak multiple languages, you learn the languages. If you live in an area with one language, you learn one language. Language needs do not determine education.

Answer 9

well people with a degree usually have knowledge of more than one language. I don't think a well-educated person would want to shut out the world, but on the other hand, intellegent people are not necessarily well-educated due to a lack of funding (good example: African countries). R u talking about someone spesific, like yourself perhaps?

Answer 10

Absolutely. In fact, ANY language... as long as that language supports the idea of a free press and freedom to learn. As long as that language has published works that can make the well-educated.