When will Americans stop acting paranoid when they hear a foreign language?

Question

That one thing is alienating me from a lot of my friends. I speak 12 languages and I think that people that hate the sound of other languages are ignorant. Is it because of illegal immigration and 9/11 or do Americans just hate other cultures? Am I an anti-American left coast liberal douchebag if I'm burnt out with my own people for that reason? I can understand if your town is overrun with illegal aliens but a lot of Americans even hate it when they are money spending tourists which doesn't make any sense...I miss the carefree Clinton years.

Answer 1

I'll tell you what. I embrace foreign cultures, have done a lot of traveling, and seen the world. However, people working in the US who don't speak english at all HAVE made me cringe when I hear a foreign language at a restaraunt, gas station, etc. It is because I know I most likely won't get good customer service, my order will be wrong, and no one will know how to fix it. Now on the plus side, I eat a lot less fast food, but I miss it dearly. I don't hate other languages, but I do hate hinderances on my way of life. My feelings on this have nothing to do with 9/11, and I think I am in the majority when saying this.

Here is an article I wrote concerning some of this: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/119024/toys_r_us_welcomes_illegal_immigrants.html

Answer 2

You sound like a person who loves languages just like me.
However, most people worldwide do not like bilingualism and prefer to know and use only one language. It seems to be basically human nature for the most part. The few countries where bilingualism has been successful like Switzerland, Singapore and Paraguay are isolated exceptions. On the other hand, it has not worked very well in Quebec. The Irish have made a very valiant attempt to revive Gaelic and it's been largely a failure. From what I've read, Gaelic is not a favorite course for most Irish schoolchildren either.

If you have a talent for learning languages, however, there are still many advantages. I believe that knowing a second or a third language can help you understand your native language better too. We tend to take our native languages for granted but learning another language can give you a new perspective on it.

I doubt that you are a douchebag and you may not be as alienated from your colleagues as you think. Human likes and dislikes in people often go beyond language. Many people who speak a common language don't always get along with each other. In fact, In civil wars, they often treat each other more cruelly than they do any foreign prisoners of war in international wars.

Answer 3

How could you learn 12 languages ? That is really amazing !
About your question, I think that not in this generation. People here loathe foreigners