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Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/11/2009 7:52:26 AM

LotusSong

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(Taken from HERE)

I don't know how many Wolof speakers there are in the United States, but I've found a Web site, Languages of the World with some interesting U.S language statistics.

Here they are:

Number of languages spoken in the U.S.: 311.
Those languages indigenous to the U.S: 162

Those that are immigrant languages: 149
There are 14 million households in the United States where English is not the primary language.

My question is.. why is Spanish the only other selection when calling customer service lines? If it's just because it is a border thing..why not BOTH Spanish and Canadian French?

< Message edited by LotusSong -- 8/11/2009 8:11:56 AM >

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/11/2009 1:24:48 PM

fluffypet61

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i'm sure that it is based on demand.

i bet languages other than Spanish are on customer service lines in areas of high population density...maybe Chinese in San Francisco, etc.

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/11/2009 2:58:49 PM

LotusSong

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quote:

ORIGINAL: fluffypet61

i'm sure that it is based on demand.

i bet languages other than Spanish are on customer service lines in areas of high population density...maybe Chinese in San Francisco, etc.

Ok.. San Francisco residents.. what say you?

Minnisotsa residents.. do you have a Swedish option in your customer service lines?

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/11/2009 6:12:22 PM

fluffypet61

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A company in South Carolina is advertising for Korean/English customer service reps to answer telephones.

A company in Albany, NY is advertising for French/English customer service reps.

A company in Monterey Bay, CA is advertising for French/English customer service reps.

i'm sure if we keep looking there are others.

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/11/2009 9:03:20 PM

LotusSong

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Thank you :) I really was curious.

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/11/2009 9:07:24 PM

DesFIP

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The NYC public school system teaches English to native speakers of about 92 different languages. But when you call the phone company, how may Hmong(sp) speakers can they expect to get?

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/11/2009 11:14:52 PM

Termyn8or

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"Minnisotsa residents.. do you have a Swedish option in your customer service lines?"

Swedes would not need that. They are multiligual.

However to say something on topic, I have been told by immigrants that when you learn a couple of languagaes in a "family" of languages, the rest in that family are familiar enough to function. IIRC Swedes need to be fluent in three, but not whole families of languages.

Also Native Americans had many languages. The population was sparse and they were segrebated, so even if they had started out with the same language, by the time they ran into one another again the changes would make communication difficult. But not impossible of course.

Also, many of the original languages in this country have some components of Spanish, and German. These were earlier influences than when "white eyes" showed up and,,,,,,,,,,nevermind that.

So whether the squaw or brave was born in Mexico or Texas did not matter, until the line was drawn. And even to this day US citizens' hubris still makes people think that we are Americans, and somehow Mexicans are not.

I heard that in the beginning, when this nation had to decide on a national language it was almost German. I like German even though I don't know it at all. Even with no background in it, if I read German text I can usually almost get the idea. I think it is a very utile and finely crafted languange.

What I have a very hard time understanding is the symbolic, rather than alphabetic languages, such as Oriental languages. I suppose if you are immersed in it from birth you catch on, but I am different sort. Their language is like painting a picture. Then I guess there are probably enhancments or whatever. I would rather have it spelled out I guess.

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/12/2009 1:40:25 AM

JonnieBoy

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Thanks so much for this thread ... I have a lot to learn (as have we all)

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/12/2009 2:26:51 AM

WyldHrt

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Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the US, so no surprise that it is commonly offered as an option for customer service. In California, the default for forms, signs, and instructions is English/ Spanish, due to- the proximity of the national border, the number of Spanish speaking people here, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (although there is disagreement whether the treaty requires bilingualism).

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/12/2009 7:02:30 AM

LotusSong

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Thank you Termyn8or :)

I know what you mean about the Oriental languages. I would like to learn them just to try something outside of my language box.

quote:

However to say something on topic, I have been told by immigrants that when you learn a couple of languagaes in a "family" of languages, the rest in that family are familiar enough to function. IIRC Swedes need to be fluent in three, but not whole families of languages.

I find this true as well. I have lived in Arizona for 29 years. Due to my French, I find I can understand Spanish but I can't speak it.

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/12/2009 7:07:18 AM

LotusSong

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quote:

ORIGINAL: WyldHrt

Spanish is the second most common language spoken in the US, so no surprise that it is commonly offered as an option for customer service. In California, the default for forms, signs, and instructions is English/ Spanish, due to- the proximity of the national border, the number of Spanish speaking people here, and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (although there is disagreement whether the treaty requires bilingualism).

Yep, and here is a breakdown:

Languages of the United States

Official language(s) None

Main language(s) American English (82%), Spanish (10%)

Indigenous language(s) Navajo, Dakota, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Cherokee, Western Apache, Piman, Choctaw, Keres, Zuni, Ojibwe

Main immigrant language(s) Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Italian

Main foreign language(s) Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese.[1]

Sign language(s) American Sign Language

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RE: Languages of the U.S.A. - 8/12/2009 8:32:49 AM

beargonewild

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quote:

ORIGINAL: LotusSong

My question is.. why is Spanish the only other selection when calling customer service lines? If it's just because it is a border thing..why not BOTH Spanish and Canadian French?

In a nutshell....it's because of a mega pissy fit one bloody province took 20 some years ago and demanded that the entirety of Canada have two official languages. Plus at that time we have a Prime Minister who was was also born in the only province where french is the main language spoken.

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