[quote=svelte][quote=briansd1][quote=urbanrealtor]
That “one-must-learn-an-ancient-or-foreign-language-to-speak-English” is just about as credible as the dude belching out smog from his tree-hugger-bestickered volkswagen.[/quote]
Maybe there’s no direct correlation between the study of the foreign languages and how well one speaks English.
Perhaps it’s simply the amount of study/reading of the English language that’s important.
I know a Chinese gal who’s studied English on her own in China back the 1980s. She read all the English classics and speaks English beautifully. Of course, Chinese and English are not related languages.
My own experience is that people who speak a foreign language (e.g. Spanish) speak better English. They use more nuanced expressions.
[/quote]
Geez, my experience has been just the opposite. Most of the people I have known who speak/write multiple languages don’t do any of them well (though they think they do).
Jack of all trades, master of none is appropriate here.[/quote]
It would take a convergence of many fortuitous events and/or sacrifices for a native English speaker from this country to become highly bi-literate. Odds are so against it. Hopefully, this is changing. Perhaps being a jack-of-all-trades is a decent accomplishment, lignustically speaking.
