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Bit harsh? (thelemmy.club)
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[-] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 67 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Lean

Oh, the irony.

Bit oblivious, more like.

What value does a foreign language have for Bob, who lives in the middle of the country?

I learned two languages in school, have never used either one with a native speaker of that language.

[-] cattywampas@lemmy.world 38 points 4 days ago

If we had a different language in each state there would be a lot more Americans who spoke several.

[-] wieson@feddit.org 4 points 4 days ago

You have at least one Native American language in most states.

[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 5 points 4 days ago

America has 300 different answers for "what language do you speak at home with family".

Three hundred.

You could have 6 different languages per state, with no overlap, just by shuffling people around.

[-] arrow74@lemmy.zip 16 points 4 days ago

Yeah and there are people that speak Basque in Spain. However, you won't find many that are not Basque speaking that language. The Basque speakers all mostly speak Spanish.

Same thing in the US. Sure there are people that speak 300 languages, but the majority speak English. They are also spread out.

Only major exception would be Spanish

[-] cattywampas@lemmy.world 7 points 4 days ago

And even in the US there are a pretty good amount of native English speakers who have learned Spanish for this reason.

[-] cattywampas@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago

True, but that's out of a nation of 350 million people.

[-] muzzle@lemmy.zip 1 points 4 days ago

I mean, I understand the spirit, but that's bit too close to ethnic cleansing.

[-] Tja@programming.dev -1 points 4 days ago

You have a different language in each house. If you want to learn or practice a new language, you'll find speakers in any community.

[-] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 13 points 4 days ago

I already don't talk to the people who speak my language.

[-] Tja@programming.dev 7 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

You could not talk to them in so many more languages! I hear Finnish is particularly good for not talking to people.

[-] oce@jlai.lu 14 points 4 days ago

Sense of wonder from discovering how different people from different places think similarly or differently of the same experiences, or different experiences you never thought about.
Otherwise, maybe trying to interact with the immigrants probably covering the essential jobs in his small town that nobody else wants to do.

[-] grte@lemmy.ca 16 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Sense of wonder from discovering how different people from different places think similarly or differently of the same experiences, or different experiences you never thought about.

I mean, I'm sure some percentage of people who learn a language do so for that reason. But the vast, vast majority of time someone learns another language it's going to be because they expect to use it, I imagine.

[-] oce@jlai.lu 3 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Yeah, I was giving another idea in case there is no expected use.

[-] Sunshine@piefed.ca 6 points 4 days ago

immigrants probably covering the essential jobs in his small town that nobody else wants to do.

I heard from others say “they’re not your tutor” and they just switch back to English with me 😭

[-] oce@jlai.lu 5 points 4 days ago

It will depend on the people and how you approach them, some will be happy to learn your interest, some will expect that it goes both ways and some will not want to be bothered. That's just normal human things.

[-] velma@sh.itjust.works 10 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

What value does a foreign language have for Bob, who lives in the middle of the country?

I learned two languages in school, have never used either one with a native speaker of that language.

We have a huge population of Spanish speaking people here.

There's roughly the same amount of people in the US that speak Spanish that do in Spain.

I don't understand this post or why you said "Lean". Can someone explain? :(

[-] Beehaw_Girl@beehaw.org 6 points 4 days ago

You might notice the word "lean" somewhere up there. That's a typo that OOP unintentionally & ironically made while mocking people for their perceived linguistics shortcomings.

[-] chronicledmonocle@lemmy.world 4 points 4 days ago

The post says "lean" instead of "learn".

this post was submitted on 16 Jul 2026
439 points (94.3% liked)

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