i need the smartest person to answer these?

Question

should the use of english be encouraged in the us to foster cultural integration or should bilingualism be encouraged to foster cultural diversity? why?

how is the american english different from british english as a result of contributions by african american and immigrants who speak languages other than english?

how do differences in language exacerbate belgium's regional economic differences?

what would be the impact of quebec's independence on the remainder of canada, on the us, and on on france?

can you think of examples where the use of words can cause a british-american misunderstanding?

Answer 1

Here's a bizarre example of your last point. An American television reporter was interviewing a British government official about race relations in Britain. The reporter kept referring to "African-Americans" in Britain.

At first I was wondering whether she was refering to African American tourists or to African-Americans who were living longterm in Britain.

It turns out that she meant British Blacks! But she had it in her head that "Black" was a politically incorrect term and that "African American" was more respectful.....even if the Black people in question were not Americans!

The British official gently pointed out to her that these were not Americans, and proceeded to respond to her points.

Answer 2

1) The so-called bi-lingualism that you speak of which consists of only Spanish & English is a failed experiment. There are more immigrants from many other other countries than Spanish speaking ones, who mainly came illegally through Florida or California. The U.S. government should recognize this. Because they didn't recognize this, this is causing a major problem by letting them speak Spanish while others have to struggle and learn English?! Why do we have to press 1 for Spanish, press 2 for English. English should be the first language or the only language. Why do I need to see Spanish and English only on ATM machines? Ten years ago, there were only English on ATM machines, but now they've added Spanish, which I believe is a waste of money unless they have more languages: European, Asian, & African, besides the aforementioned two languages.

2) The British colonized American, African and Asian places. The differences were never a result of contributions by African , American and immigrants who speak languages other than English. We were forced to learn and speak English as a part of being a colony of the British Empire.
3) I don't understand your question.
4a) Most of Québec Province speaks French only. The rest of Canada speaks English only.
4b) It would have a great impact if they don't speak English, because people from the U.S. would need translators from French to English. It would certainly also affect those who don't speak French like tourists from abroad from such areas as far as London, Shanghai, Ghana, etc...
4c) I don't think it would have any impact except economical. Québec would be like a French colony, which is ironic because I think it was a French colony before becoming a Canadian Province. I guess it would be like a case of déja vu?! Everybody would speak French to each other.

5) A lot of examples: French fries in New York = chips in London, line in New York = queue in London, elevator in New York = lift in London, apartment in New York = flat in London, Main floor / lobby/ basement in New York = Ground floor in London, 2nd floor in New York = 1st floor in London, raincoat in New York = macintosh in London, movie theater in New York = cinema in London, etc...

Answer 3

First of all, you don't get to choose who answers your questions, and second, many people think they're smarter than they actually are.

Yes, bilingualism (or more) is pretty much the norm in Europe - it is distinctly American to be mono-lingual, and moreso to be a racist, xenophobic when it comes to accepting people who speak something other than English.

Not sure if an independent Quebec would have a major effect except maybe within Canada.

As for common words that cause misunderstanding between British and American English, the one that comes to mind is "fag". (Geezuz.... frikken' YAHOO! the word is "F-A-G")