The need tolearn foreign languages

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Because English is the world language of business,is it necessary for U.S managers to learn a foreign language?

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Type: Question • Score: 7 • Views: 1,460 • Replies: 19

[+3] - maxdancona - 12/26/2013[quote="contrex"] [quote="Foofie"] Not necessary, but it could result in being pigeon-holed into a function that requires the second language. This could correlate with job...

@Lurt,

I think it is awfully beneficial. Learning a seconds language opens your mind. It forces you to realize that there are different ways of looking at things and different ways of expressing things.

And, it gives you a view into another culture and the rare opportunity to step out of your own cultural context into another. Having the ability to see things from more than one perspective is very valuable, particularly in an international business setting.

If I owned a business, I don't think I would make a second language a requirement. But I would consider a second language as a very big plus in anyone I was considering hiring.

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English is also the language of science. All scientific papers are written in English.

Concerning business people. I do not think that it is necessary for them to learn a foreign language, but when they learn the language of their foreign partners I think, they will understand them better.
You learn so much about people's culture when you learn their language. And that is always an advantage.

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@Lurt,

Lurt wrote:

Because English is the world language of business,is it necessary for U.S managers to learn a foreign language?

Not necessary, but it could result in being pigeon-holed into a function that requires the second language. This could correlate with job security, but it might also lead to a career path that someone might not want.

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It's only in English-speaking countries (most especially the USA) that people with any ambition at all think that knowing one language -- English -- is enough for success. In Europe, and elsewhere in the developed world, most people with any claim to education tend to be comfortable in at least one or two other languages besides the one they learned in their home.

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@Lustig Andrei,

I am sure you have heard the old joke....

Q: What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
A: Trilingual.

Q: What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual

Q: Ok... but what do you call someone who speaks one language?

1 Reply

@Foofie,

Foofie wrote:

Not necessary, but it could result in being pigeon-holed into a function that requires the second language. This could correlate with job security, but it might also lead to a career path that someone might not want.

That is a really stupid argument against learning languages. Anyhow, what's wrong with learning languages for fun, or because you find it interesting, and not for work reasons?

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@contrex,

Still, the common Army advice circa 1962 was "Don't let them know you know how to type". It was an uncommon skill for men at that time. If you didn't want to spend a few years locked up in the orderly room, it was best to keep quiet about it.

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I can add to that, "don't let on you know how to clear paper jams/change toners/print labels/create Excel macros". Mind you, speaking French got me sent on a trip to Paris because the booked person was sick, and led directly to the very interesting job I have now. Learning Spanish got me sent to Catalunya, and learning Catalan is reinforcing that and is also a lot of fun.

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@contrex,

It can go either way.

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@contrex,

When I visited Cadaques I was amazed at the youngsters that spoke Catalan, French, Spanish and English.

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@contrex,

contrex wrote:

Foofie wrote:

Not necessary, but it could result in being pigeon-holed into a function that requires the second language. This could correlate with job security, but it might also lead to a career path that someone might not want.

That is a really stupid argument against learning languages. Anyhow, what's wrong with learning languages for fun, or because you find it interesting, and not for work reasons?

I agree with Foofie. Ignorance is always good for your career. Knowledge increases the chance of you being pigeon holed.

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@maxdancona,

Quote:

I agree with Foofie. Ignorance is always good for your career.

http://www.smileyvault.com/albums/userpics/10172/loudlaff.gif

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@panzade,

panzade wrote:

When I visited Cadaques I was amazed at the youngsters that spoke Catalan, French, Spanish and English.

Most urban Catalans speak the first three, and anyone under about 25 has been taught English at school. The Catalan Ministry of Education aims that 75% of children will leave school speaking 4 languages by 2020.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

Q: Ok... but what do you call someone who speaks one language?

Maybe I don't get the joke, because I want to supply "monolingual" or "monoglot"? (Is the joke that there is a third Q but no A?)

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@contrex,

Q: What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
A: Trilingual.

Q: What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
A: Bilingual

Q: Ok... but what do you call someone who speaks one language?

A: American

Wink

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@maxdancona,

I figured 'unlingual'.

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@contrex,

contrex wrote:

Foofie wrote:

Not necessary, but it could result in being pigeon-holed into a function that requires the second language. This could correlate with job security, but it might also lead to a career path that someone might not want.

That is a really stupid argument against learning languages. Anyhow, what's wrong with learning languages for fun, or because you find it interesting, and not for work reasons?

Notice the question in the thread's title. The operant word was "need" with a question mark implied. Pick an argument with someone else.

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@Foofie,

Foofie wrote:

Pick an argument with someone else.

More **** from the fuckwit.

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@maxdancona,

That's a very old joke,max. You gave the answer before I could get around to posting it.

Funny thing about languages and learning them young. When I was teaching kids in detention facilities for the Massachusetts juvenile justice system (known as DYS or Department of Youth Services in Bay State politicalese), I had as a student a young man born in Cambodia who spoke the Khmer language at home and with others of his ethnicity. He also spoke excellent English and equally good street Spanish interchangeably. On the street he had to know both English and Spanish to operate safely and successfully. Listening to him, one got the feeling that he was barely aware that he was switching from one to the other at times.

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The need tolearn foreign languages

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