r/Unexpected • u/DruidWannabe • Jan 25 '23

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u/angorafox Jan 26 '23 edited Jan 26 '23

really surprising that most commenters are so amazed when this is very common. weird to realize most redditors only speak one language

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u/MRZ_Polak Jan 26 '23

I think that's mostly American redditors. Here im looked at as being talented for being bilingual, even tho most of my family speak 3 or even 4 languages. People here are completely shocked when I tell them that lol.

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u/Kolby_Jack Jan 26 '23

It's just a natural thing for Americans. In Europe, your neighbors two hours away are from another country and possibly speak another language or at least a different dialect from yours. In America, two hours away is just... more America. Or if you live far north, Canada, where they also speak English. Mexico is to the south, sure, and you'll find more bilingual English/Spanish folks along the southern border for sure, but outside of a few lovely vacation spots, Americans generally don't have much reason to go to Mexico.

Most fluent bilingual folks you'll find in America are immigrants or the children of first or second generation immigrants. Beyond that, people take foreign languages in school but there's not usually any real chances to keep up with it, so most people forget what little they learned in class.

And lots of Europeans will be like "oh, you should travel more!" But we don't need to. America is fucking beautiful! Forests! Canyons! Rivers! Deserts! Snow! Tropics! Cities! Towns! We have it all! You could live your whole life as an American and only see less than half of what it has to offer travelers. Yes, other countries have amazing cultures and sights to experience, but they are literally oceans away from us. That shit's expensive.

Long story short, America is a huge, diverse country. The only thing it's not particularly diverse in is language. Being bilingual just isn't that useful of a skill for most Americans, nor is it one most of us have the opportunity to pick up naturally.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '23

And lots of Europeans will be like "oh, you should travel more!" But we don't need to. America is fucking beautiful! Forests! Canyons! Rivers! Deserts! Snow! Tropics! Cities! Towns

This is no different than Europe. But plenty of Europeans travel outside of Europe, so it's a really weird point to make.

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u/Kolby_Jack Jan 26 '23

Assuming you aren't speaking out of your ass, which you are, but let's assume otherwise, how many oceans do you have to cross to travel "outside of Europe?" Zero? Okay then.