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We were told by a lady that was hired to help the Spanish speaking people but instead ended up trying to teach us Spanish that they were incapable of learning English because they are so uneducated. LOL Therefore all employees were to learn Spanish for self-preservation. They brought their children into our public area and let them go wild. We had to learn a few phrases so we could ask them to please take care of their many children.
I'm in Tijuana, Mexico now. I'm surprised by the low level of English prificiency ordinary people have here, considering it's only 10 minutes away from the US border.
When I went to McDonald's to order some nuggets and fries, the service girl could not even say words like medium, large in English. And she could not repeat the price in English either. So I had to pretend and guess all the time.
When I had some trouble exiting the garage, the security guy (in early 20s) could not understand any English.
Yes there are people speaking very good English, such as the ones in my hotel. However, I wonder if English is compulsory in schools here? Or any foreign language?
It is not to blame them. Just curious.
I think you are expecting too much.
Do most people in the USA that live near the boarder speak Spanish?
Do most people in the USA that live near the [border] speak Spanish?
As someone who has worked in landscaping, restaurants, retail, and security in a large Southwestern city for over 25 years, i.e. encountered workplaces with a strong mix of native English and Mexican speakers, I would say Americans here have far better skills in Spanish than the typical Mexican immigrant working here has skills in English.
The average working class Mexican speaks virtually no English, at least at first and the second generation is another story, Mexican-American school kids often act as translators for their parents.
The average American in this region has usually studied Spanish at school, at least for a few years, and has been exposed to Spanish speakers in their neighborhoods and workplaces. Spanish is also a popular language for fulfilling university second language requirements, whereas your average Mexican in the States has possibly not even completed 8 years of schooling, total.
The average working class Mexican speaks virtually no English, at least at first and the second generation is another story, Mexican-American school kids often act as translators for their parents.
Same thing in Sacramento with Russians, many of the adults speak little or no English so they take their kids with them to translate.
OK I lived in Switzerland too.
You guess what? All Swiss people I met speak some English. All professionals there speak good English.
Mexican professionals tend to speak pretty decent English, it's just that the share of professionals vs overall population is kinda low when compared to a wealthy western European nation. Low skilled people will speak good English in touristic areas in Mexico, but it's not required to live a decent life in other parts of the country.
OK I lived in Switzerland too.
You guess what? All Swiss people I met speak some English. All professionals there speak good English.
Switzerland and Holland, which requires citizens to learn several languages in HS, including English, are developed countries. Mexico isn't. IMO it's not a fair comparison. You're comparing one of the wealthiest countries in the world, Switzerland, with a 3rd-world country.
As to the OP's question, I think it's helpful to bear in mind that a fair number of Mexicans speak one or two Indigenous languages, and in addition, Spanish. English is irrelevant to their world; they have no reason to learn it. The kids of the upper classes do learn some English in the private schools they attend. They rarely have occasion to use it, though, except on vacations to the US, or if they get a job with a company doing business with the US, maybe.
I may be wrong, but I feel that the question should be, why would you eat at McDonald's anywhere?
Quote:
Originally Posted by malcorub16
Why do so many people in San Diego not know how long a Kilometer is or how tall they are in CM's or how warm/cold 30C is if we are so close to the border and the rest of the world seems to know?
I don't see that as wrong if people don't know their height in metres etc., I once checked in for a flight on a small plane from Nassau, Bahamas to St. Croix U.S. Virgin Islands, and was asked my weight.
I said that I was 11 stone 3 lbs in English, 70 or 71 kilos in European, but if they wanted it in pounds, it would take me 5 to 10 seconds, they waited.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dangerous-Boy
probably because the spanish armada wasn't successful.
just like we don't speak french because of the battle of Trafalgar
I don't think that's true, after all, the Allies beat Germany, and helped the U.S. beat Japan, but they still speak German and Japanese there.
I speak French, because of family connections, which made French at school a walk in the park.
My German grandkids are fluently bilingual, because their dad, my son, spoke to them in English as they were picking up German from their mother as toddlers, if it proved difficult for the kids, he'd switch into German.
My German daughter-in-law speaks English like an Ivy League educated duchess.
99.9% of Scandanavians speak English, and probably 75% of Germans too, if they didn't, they'd be severely restricted in doing foreign business, how many people in the world speak Norwegian or Swedish, (not counting Minnesota, North Dakota, or Wisconsin).
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