SantaMufasa said:
...as long as the rest of the world accommodates us by their learning English, why should we "fat-and-sassy" Anglos learn a second language.
Columb, absolutely this quote is oozing with irony, sarcasm, self-resentment, et cetera.
First of all, English is one of the "craziest" and most difficult languages on earth to master (with all of its inconsistencies, idiosyncracies, departures from rules, et cetera). Why should such a "crazy" language become the world standard? IMHO, from an ease-of-learning-and-use and consistency perspective, either Spanish, Italian, or Esperanto should be the world standard.
English, however, is the world standard for one reason only: Commercial/Technological installed base.
And addressing another comment earlier about bi-lingual regions in the U.S.: Anyone who has been to South Florida knows that there are certain parts of Miami Metro-Dade that if you want to do business there, you had better speak Spanish (which luckily, I do). I, personally, am thrilled with the color and diversity that comes with multi-lingual/multi-cultural environments.
It is fascinating to ask those who are rabid proponents of "Single official-language" legislation how many languages they speak. I assert that an overwhelming majority speak only the language which they are pushing to become the single official language.
I've been on this soap box before, so I believe it's time for me to hop off it now.
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Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
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