Forum of the Saxes

toktok · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 17

I agree with you, my mother in law just told my wife and i last Sunday, about "the Ugly American" loud, no culture, and not wanting to try anything else. I think that is just a stereo type. Kind of like when people say French women don't shave. It's only true if you think it is. But you have to go further than that. People always say Americans are very patriotic, well who isn't?
I mean if you take a country like America, what like 250 million people, sure some will be red necks some wt, but not the majority. Most Americans i know are open minded, try new things and embrace other cultures. It's like saying that all illegal immigrants don't speak English. You have to get away from that.
In any country you will find idiots, etc... but you will also find great minds, open people and caring people that is what i love about diversity. You can't just stop at one group because you fell on a bad one. Does this make any sense?
How can you say that most Americans only speak English, when some of the great minds come from here. Language is a complex matter, and yes most people are turning to English because it is a fairly easy language to master. So why not find a common ground? Sure if we were all to loose our culture that would be sad, but it all comes down to numbers. I don't know the ratio but if you took all the people on the planet who spoke English and all the people who spoke French who would out number who? Wouldn't it be easier to teach 60 million people to speak English rather than 300 million to speak French? English is the universal language, so most nation are learning it.
I just don't believe in stereotypes.

JPSaxMan · Posted: Wed May 10, 2006 2:39 pm Post subject:

Well I wouldn't say I'm "fluent" in Spanish but if I had to go Spain, Mexico, etc, I'd at least be able to communicate vaguely. And Dave...I really don't give a crap as to what other Americans think about language, but I know from learning experiences that going to a foreign country and not learning their language is rude. So...why should we treat foreigners any different? I think I'm right in my statement...
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JP
Student of Saxophone
Music Education (BME) Major-2011
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania