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05-15-2004, 09:31 PM
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The most important second language
I think most people would agree that the most important language to know presently is English. What do you think is the second most important language to know?
Can you make an argument that English actually isn't the most important language to know?
Is the importance of a second language the location of the speaker?
Is the importance of a second language the industry that the speaker works in?
It also may be interesting to know which languages everyone speaks. (To save time, I will assume the Americans only speak English. LOL)
Joke
----
What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Tri-lingual
What do you call a person who speaks two languages? Bi-lingual
What do you call a person who only speaks one language? American
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05-15-2004, 09:40 PM
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Most important language being English?... There are a couple billion speaking Chinese. There are a billion of Indians speaking Hindi.
Hum interesting... !
Doubt it is. Maybe in a professional world, politics and so on but surely not in the number of people that speak it as primary language.
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05-15-2004, 09:44 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Grisu
Most important language being English?... There are a couple billion speaking Chinese. There are a billion of Indians speaking Hindi.
Hum interesting... !
Doubt it is. Maybe in a professional world, politics and so on but surely not in the number of people that speak it as primary language.
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A lot of those Chinese and Indians learn English so they can be involved in the world. The converse (English speakers needing to learn Hindi or mandarin to participate in the world) isn't true, is it?
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If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else? Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself. - John Lennon
April 15th, Make it just another day!
The best daily political cartoons can be found here:
http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/index.html
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05-15-2004, 10:07 PM
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It's not the point. English is only important in the business world, as far as personal use, it is far behind mandarin and hindi.
Now as secondary language it may be THE choice.
I speak German, English, French learning Hindi
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Originally Posted by Benjamin Franklin
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Nor are they likely to end up with either."
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by George Washington
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
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05-15-2004, 10:51 PM
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The most important language to know is english, closely followed by spanish and arabic.
I speak portuguese, english, french, spanish, and italian. I forgot most of my german.
Currently trying to learn arabic.
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05-15-2004, 11:10 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by SwamP_ThinG
Currently trying to learn arabic.
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Why? Personal edification or do you think it would help you in whatever industry you are in?
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If I'd lived in Roman times, I'd have lived in Rome. Where else? Today America is the Roman Empire and New York is Rome itself. - John Lennon
April 15th, Make it just another day!
The best daily political cartoons can be found here:
http://www.csmonitor.com/commentary/index.html
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05-15-2004, 11:11 PM
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I would have to say the the most important second language would have to depend on your area and surroundings, so for me that would be Hispanic language, asian or chinese followed by hindu.
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05-15-2004, 11:42 PM
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by hypedave
that would be Hispanic language, asian or chinese followed by hindu.
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What are those languages??? Where can I study Hindu? Who speaks hispanic???
 Just giving you a hard time!
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Benjamin Franklin
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Nor are they likely to end up with either."
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by George Washington
"Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action."
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05-16-2004, 04:42 AM
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I agree that English is the most important language. Though Mandarin Chinese and Hindi are spoken by more people than english, the fact remains that English is the world language for business, politics and personal use. You can't judge a language's importance just by looking at the number of people speaking the language.
I agree with hypedave in that the second language greatly depends on the region you're living in. I would say the possible second languages include e.g. Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, French and German.
I speak Finnish, English, Swedish, some German and a little Spanish.
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05-16-2004, 03:17 PM
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