[52859] in Cypherpunks
Re: Why Americans feel no compulsion to learn foreign languages
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Bill Frantz)
Thu Mar 28 15:07:21 1996
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1996 11:49:43 -0800
To: tcmay@got.net (Timothy C. May), cypherpunks@toad.com
From: frantz@netcom.com (Bill Frantz)
At 2:22 AM 3/28/96 -0800, Timothy C. May wrote:
>... In any case, the issue is not the
>classes taken by _some_ (the few percent who study Russian, Japanese,
>Mandarin, etc.), but the topic of this thread: "Why Americans feel no
>compulsion to learn foreign languages."
I, at least, want to know something of the language of the countries I
travel in. Being able to get a meal or a room for the night is useful. As
a rock bottom minimum, I want to know the phrases: Hello, Good by, Please,
Thank You, More beer please, and Where's the bathroom.
The look of pleased surprise on the face of the Budapest resident when I
said "Thank you" to in Hungarian as he gave up his seat to me because I was
loaded down with caving equipment is something I still treasure.
Regards - Bill
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bill Frantz | The CDA means | Periwinkle -- Computer Consulting
(408)356-8506 | lost jobs and | 16345 Englewood Ave.
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