Ron,

I would encourage you to leave your hotel room in Taiwan and take a trip outside the city and see how many people can engage you in english. It has been my experience that sure, in large cities you can find citizens of any country who speak english, but if you head out to the countryside, forget it. If I did not learn that country's native language, I would have a hard time visiting anyhting but its most largest cities. I think once again you are missing the point of the posters, which is are you requiring that all media and written literature and individuals you encounter in Taiwan to communicate in english? I dare say you are probably trying to learn Taiwanese. Especially if you are not in a city. I think if the other posters cared to respond, they would state learning multiple languages is great; it is brazen to insist everyone around the world speak english.

Could you provide some context or a link to what you're referring to?

FYI, the language spoken in Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese.

Actually, there are three main languages spoken in Taiwan. The majority speak Mandarin Chinese, the rest speak Japanese and Hokkein, or Taiwanese. The context is my own experience of travel to foreign countries. If you check my previous post, you would know this. The point I am making is when you travel or reside in another country, learn that country's native language. In Taiwan, that is Taiwanese. To expect or be catered to in your own tongue us presumptive.

Yes. I agree. Although I have certainly been glad that so many people in foreign countries I've been to know English. But it's certainly useful knowing some of the language of the place.

I didn't know that about Taiwan. Sorry. Interesting. What was the context of your first post. Who is Ron, and where did he write about this?

Si!

I actually don't see the problem.These are our people Spanish or English.
Your message carries the implication that people like myself are going to forget Spanish once we learn English.We speak both at home.My wife always speaks Spanish.It doesn't inconvenience me in any way.
There are many countries in the world where it it not seen as a negative to be bilingual or even trilingual. I'm actually in Asia right now teaching in one of the thousands of bilingual schools where Chinese and English are both taught.
One person said that the Germans didn't protest their having to learn English. Perhaps not, but there were concessions made to them. The first public schools in the US were taught entirely in German.
Countries like Switzerland have many bilingual German-Italian systems and the people also speak Romanch.England and Scotland have a re-emerging Gaelic and Welsh tradition.Spain has three distinctly different official languages; Basque, Gallego and Catalan.Here in Taiwan there are two langauges Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese.none of these languages are dialects, they are all distinct languages.
The languages that we are always forgetting are the Native American, especially Tewa and Dine, which are used in regular television and radio broadcasts in New Mexico.
Are we supposed to pretend that they don't exist and that we are all purely Anglo people with no need to diversify our view of America?
We've done a pretty good job of that until now.

Jr Baker:
With all due respect,you are actually the one being presumtuous here. I, at no time, implied that everyone here in Taiwan spoke English. They don't. By the way, I don't live in a hotel and I have been here for a year.
My point was not that everyone speaks English, far from it. They are Chinese people. My point is that they are not at all intimidated by langauge diversity and most of the children are enrolled in bilingual schools that put a heavy emphasis on English acquisition.
I'm not even saying that this is the ideal education system, but monolingual it aint.
You're quite right about the Mandarin/Taiwanese thing. My wife is Peruvian born Chinese and Taiwanese is fairly foreign to our ears.
I love Mandarin, but I have to admit that I sorely miss seeing or hearing more English or Spanish and I am extremely homesick for all things Peruvian.

A message for truth monger:
I agree with your statement about those countries that you mentioned teaching their students in what is those students first language.None of those countries have a gigantic immigrant popuation that speaks a single language as we do.45.000,000 and counting.
You should know that all of the countries that you mentined have a significant amount of bilingual instruction as part of their regular program and none of them have exclusive language laws.
In any case, I am not advocating a system of monlingual ed, nor am I setting any precidents as you seem to think. European systems, except for Nazi Germany, have alwways encouraged multilingualism. They see it as a plus rather than a minus. My Chinese speaking students here in Taiwan spend several hours every day, a common practice here, in English classes. They speak better English than any of my latin students from the states who were only alotted an hour or less per day and spent the rest of the day languishing in English only classrooms where they were unable to participate.
The other false argument in your letter is that the latin students are all illegal. In reality, less than one half of one percent of the students or their parents are illegal.There is such a thing as legal immigration and resident aliens.
They don't necessarily learn English all that fast unfortunately for you intolerant types.
my father in law doesn't speak well enough to go into that other fellers store. Of course, he's 94 years old.

ron - for an invading foreign population, willfully violating our Constitution to come here, to then demand we cater to them in their language, is presumptuous beyond reason.

If some private businesses or radio stations wish to provide materials in other languages, that is fine and dandy. But, for the taxpayers and American society to be bullied by a hostile invasion force is an act of war.

Conquering invaders compel generally force their language upon the conquered. This invasion force is actively taking over our political processes to compel our society to obey their wishes and this language issue is only one aspect. Again, this is an act of war.

Think about it.

Si!