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The stereotype is generally true except for Americans that are immigrants or of recent immigrant descent when we are comparing the US to other developed countries.
Also, southern California is one of the most cosmopolitan areas of the US so I think your sample is skewed (aside from other sorts of skewing that comes from using OK Cupid as the sample).
The stereotype is generally true except for Americans that are immigrants or of recent immigrant descent when we are comparing the US to other developed countries.
That depends. UK, Ireland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada (outside of Quebec anyway) don't do that well on second-language knowledge. Even in Europe, knowledge of second languages varies greatly.
For example, here are some stats for second language knowledge of English in Europe:
Places like France, Italy, Spain and Portugal don't rank that highly, when you consider they are located on a very linguistically diverse continent and how many English-speaking tourists they get.
That depends. UK, Ireland, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Canada (outside of Quebec anyway) don't do that well on second-language knowledge. Even in Europe, knowledge of second languages varies greatly.
For example, here are some stats for second language knowledge of English in Europe:
Places like France, Italy, Spain and Portugal don't rank that highly, when you consider they are located on a very linguistically diverse continent and how many English-speaking tourists they get.
According to that graph, almost 40% of French people speak English as a second language. I would assume that's more than the % of Canadians who speak French as a second language, for example. In Spain, over 20% of the population speaks English. That's probably more that the % of Americans who speak Spanish as a second language.
According to that graph, almost 40% of French people speak English as a second language. I would assume that's more than the % of Canadians who speak French as a second language, for example. In Spain, over 20% of the population speaks English. That's probably more that the % of Americans who speak Spanish as a second language.
Indeed, that's why I put the caveat in there "when consider where they are located and how many tourists they get..."
It is far better than in the U.S., you are right. And better than second-language knowledge in Australia, Japan, New Zealand...
As for the U.S., I think that knowledge of Spanish among non-Hispanic population is somewhere around 5%. And this is the number one second language.
As for Canada, among "English Canadians", knowledge of French is around 9%, although it drops to 7% if you take the fairly bilingual group of English Canadians living in Quebec (a majority French speaking society) out of the overall equation for Canada.
I believe that the % of Britons who can speak French is higher than the English Canadian number, probably in the 10% range at least.
But one final point - Not all continents and regions of the world are created equally when it comes to learning multiple languages. Europe is one of the best on this front. But there are large areas of the world other than the U.S. where almost everyone tends to be monolingual. Many countries in Latin America are like this, for example.
Americans speak English unless their parents taught them their native tongue,
I've lived in three different states. The people of one came from a diverse background and loved to travel. The people in another state traveled a great deal in the US and Canada but not over "the big pond". The third state had the most homebodies. I met people who hadn't been more than 100 miles from home (No they do not live in the isolated areas) and considered a trip to another state major lifetime trip.
I've seen American's overseas and it does NOT make me proud to be one. Many have no intention of attempting to speak the local language and expect other countries to be like America. I don't think it is really arrogance, they just don't realize how much they take for granted in America.
I believe that the % of Britons who can speak French is higher than the English Canadian number, probably in the 10% range at least.
Sounds a bit optimistic to me. French is the most popular foreign language at school and always has been, but since it only became compulsory to study a foreign language for three years at school (was five in my day only ten years ago) and the level is pretty low at that, the % who can speak it is probably going to fall. I'd guess 20-25% or so might be able to read a menu or introduce themselves but as for the amount who can actually maintain a decent conversation, perhaps 5%? There's still some antipathy towards having to learn foreign languages in schools here.
I've lived all over the US and in Europe. I used to speak French fluently but years of having no one to talk to have considerably limited my ability. I'm sure if I moved back there tomorrow, I would be OK and pick it all back up again.
I speak tourist German, Italian, and Spanish. I can ask for directions, bathrooms, and order from a menu. Basic hello, thank you, limited conversation.
Southern California is filled with first and second generation immigrants who usually speak thier parents language at home and have travelled to visit relative in other parts of the world. This would probably be the main reason you would see a different profiles of people who have traveled and speak other languages. When I went to university in LA many people couldn't get it into thier head that: no I don't have any relatives in foreign countries and no I don't have another nationality other than American.
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Americans speak English unless their parents taught them their native tongue,
