Why would an American ever attempt a foreign language job, when there are natives from that country?

Question

Example. I speak alittle japanese, and sometimes i think about trying to go and find some job where i can use japanese. Ok but i think about it and isn't it useless being that i'm not japanese, i don't know everything as perfect as real japanese people, and there's a bunch of Japanese Americans here in California or elsewhere that know japanese like the back of their hand, 10000 times better than me.. so isn't it true that it is useless for me to try where there are already native or native-like people?
Then what about for you Americans who study say Spanish? There's a bunch of native spanish speakers in usa,,, so do you ever try to get spanish jobs? So, then, is it just useless for us Americans to attempt these kind of language related jobs? And i mean specially if you're not a professional in any other thing.

Answer 1

You make a good point, but the thing is that in your case, you don't do well in one language and well in another, and compare that to people who do well in both.

Which is the key - to do well in both languages. I know many English speaking Spanish speakers, and some don't do well in English and others do extremely well, many better than native English speakers.

Naturally, the native speakers know their language much better than someone who has learned it, even well. But if you learn a language very well, you can do a job that uses that language, just as speakers of other languages who learn English well do their "English language jobs" fine.

Answer 2

For many of these jobs you have to be able to translate from another language, say Japanese, to English. Many Japanese don't speak English well, and others don't have the education to get a professional job, so the market evens out. I mean you have to:

1) be fluent in Japanese
2) be fluent in English
3) be able to adorn an accent in both languages, at least well enough to be understood by all parties
--and--
4) have a professional education

It evens out (roughly, anyway)...

Answer 3

You speak "a little" Japanese? How "little"???

Don't tell me that you are hunting for a Japanese speaking post and you are not professional in Japanese!

How many foreign languages you are good at? fluent? I know american who speaks 4 languages fluently and he is working in Malaysia now

Answer 4

I'd be taught the language (if I might, a few are very, very elaborate to be taught overdue in lifestyles) however I realize humans who went to a international nation to paintings and by no means left the yankee vicinity (so that they by no means had any must be taught the language).

Answer 5

Most of the time it's the know-how that they need not that you can or can't talk there language.

Answer 6

I never worried about piddly little **** like that. And I won't start.