i speak 3 languages with varying fluency...4 if you consider reading comprehension as a level of fluency...

anyway what really bugs me is when i'm out shopping i'll see these fobby parents who're OBVIOUSLY not from here (anywhere in the US), speak with either broken or heavily accented engrish, and struggle to talk to their kids in that as opposed to using their own native tongue. now i find it fascinating that many europeans i do business with speak at least 3 if not 4 languages fluently, and yet for some reason it's frowned upon or considered impolite when you speak another language other than red neck english here in indy or surfer english out in socal.

when i was a kid i was made fun of by so called ABCs because i didn't move here 'till i was 10 years old and i "spoke the language of the grandparents". i look back at those poor saps today and realized how stupid they were for not staying in chinese school on weekends. well, less competition for me out in the job market.

 

I can speak Spanish pretty well... not fluently, but I get by when I travel. I wish I could speak French and I am currently learning Italian, because I plan on moving there, but I agree with what you're saying. Language is such a funny thing if you think about it

 

I'm not sure where you got the frowned upon/impolite notion from when speaking a language other than the local dialect. In a multi-cultural area like so-cal, you hear @ least 3 different languages just walking down the street.

It's only considered rude if you're with a group, but speak to certain people in that group in another tongue, when you clearly know that some others don't understand it. What could possibly be so secret that you have to say it in a language in which other people of the group don't know? It's seems as if you're talking about them behind their backs, even if you're not.

I have a few Korean friends who speak to each other in Korean when all our friends are out chilln. We all just think "what the hell? why are you guys purposefully excluding us from the conversation?"

 

I learned Spanish in high school, but now I don't remember much of it.

I plan to learn Japanese though, ill be taking it up once I start school again. I plan to raise my children on a second language when their little. Im all Italian and my parents think im crazy for wanting to learn Japanese over Italian

 

JDM > IDM

 

obviously you lived in the more diverse areas of socal...or you're too young to remember when monterey park was the only place where they had decent chinese food? (this is back in the early/mid 80s), and when arcadia was MOSTLY white?

i grew up in oak park (near agoura hills/westlake village/thousand oaks) and i can tell you the ABK/ABJ/ABC in my schools were ALL bananas, the whiter the BETTER.

 

You lost me from the first post.. if you speak other languages teach your kids.. yet if your fist language isn't english, don't try and speak with with your kids?

Considering the FOB's are in the US, wouldn't it be a good idea for them to speak in English when they can, and learn from their kids?

You see the contradiction?

Ok, on the otherhand, the only time I speak another language is when I speak with my grandparents, and I lose more of it every day. One day I hope to teach my kids ( when I have em ) so you'll see a white guy in a mall one day talking to little white kids in something other than english.

Shit, I might have even confused myself now..is it time for my meds?

 

You're right. I wasn't there in the 80s; however, your concern seemed to be a current issue. From your reply, it sounds like this was something you had to endure through as a child but is no longer prevalent. I grew up a bit white-washed, but it just takes time for the child to appreciate their culture, whether the parents influence them or their friends.

 

ig-pay atin-lay

 

My little guys speak English primary-Spanish secondary- they also go to school on Saturday's to learn German.