Why are so few people in Britain bilingual even despite their close proximity to countries that speak several different languages?

Question

Yeah I know.

I’m an American so I’m kind of guilty of only knowing one language as well.

But I plan on doing something about it in the near future.

I’d like to move to Ireland in the future so I could use it as a launching pad for visiting other parts of Europe.

For right now I’m just trying to get through school and I can’t really travel and do much stuff.

But what baffles me is how, obviously in America there are millions of Hispanic people. Just like there are immigrant communities in the UK that speak different languages.

Maybe you’re like me and you don’t happen to be around any immigrant communities, that’s fair game.

But either way people in the UK can still land in many different parts of Europe in like under 6 hours.

Whereas for an American our only option really is to just visit someplace that speaks Spanish if we wanna get there quick. Because let’s be honest, who the f*ck in their right mind wants to visit the sh*thole that is Haiti?

But the thing is, here in America we are a much larger country than Britain.

There’s a much more wide and expansive varying landscape. Much more to see and experience and do.

We don’t even really have to leave the country to experience it all. There’s every type of landscape, and topography and weather, people, climate and culture

I mean there’s enough in our country to keep us entertained.

Whereas in the UK they obviously don’t have tropics or deserts.

My point being, it makes sense why Americans are monolingual, but it doesn’t make sense why most British people are.

Levin · Accepted Answer

This is more about the dominance of the English language.

Like, necessity is the mother of all invention. If everyone speaks English, there is no need to learn another.

Also, as someone who was born in England but whose parents spoke another language, language skills are something that need to be practiced all the time. If you don't use something, you lose it, pretty quickly, too.

I have toyed with learning other languages, but it's not even clear which I would learn, except with a passing interest. Like I once liked a Portuguese girl. Should I learn Portuguese? Spanish and Mandarin are some of the most spoken languages, should I learn those? Whereas because English is the dominant language, it makes sense to study and practice that because it is spoken everywhere.

And also, as alluded to, the education system here is poor, and people are lazy. The arts are neglected anyway except in a token sense. It's a materialistic culture where inner cultivation is neglected and scoffed at.

bolverk · Accepted Answer

From a historical POV where we have travelled we've take our language with us i. e. The British Empire. It coved 6 continents which resulted in English becoming the primary language for 68 countries, I may surprise you you to know that we do speak other languages, a lot of those who are frequent visitors to other countries we do pick up those languages, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, German, Italian, In UK schools foreign languages are not seen as a priority, French, German and Spanish may be taught, but the Government does not promote the teaching of particular languages.

purplepoppy · Accepted Answer

There's a lot of reasons.
British schools are terrible at teaching languages. You won't start learning one until you're 12 and will get an hour a week. Mostly it's just memorising phrases rather than learning a language. You'll learn how to ask where the train station is but you won't understand the answer.

There's a negative attitude, people think what's the point if everyone else speaks English. The English concept of speaking french is to speak very slowly, loudly and in French accent.

Percieved lack of opportunity to practice. You rarely see anything written in a foreign language when out and about. One thing
you notice in Europe is how much you see English everywhere. Even if you work with foreigners people feel embarrassed to ask questions about language etc

The British are terrible at speaking their own language let alone others. Ask someone one how to conjugate a verb, most won't know what a verb is let alone how to conjugate one.

sunflower00 · Accepted Answer

1. I think people generally are fairly ignorant and feel like wherever they go people can speak English so there’s no need to learn a language. It’s true most people do speak English when you visit places in Europe, it would be nice of us to put in some effort though
2. Like someone else said, from my experience at least, they are terrible at teaching it in school. We had the option to learn French or German but only once I turned 11 (it’s easier to learn the younger you are I think), and it was like one hour per week and again more like memorising phrases rather than comprehension.

Deliciouscookies · Answer

There are several reasons why fewer people in Britain are bilingual despite being close to countries that speak different languages.

The culture in Britain is strong in speaking English, making it less common to learn other languages.

English is widely used and spoken around the world, so there may be less financial incentive for the British to learn other languages.

The spread of English as a world language due to Britain's colonial past and time as a superpower may have made it less necessary for the British to learn other languages.

jshm2 · Answer

You need to stay in school longer, to finish your education, kiddo.

British people are among the most multilingual. We even gave your ancestors the English language and civility.

We have a more diverse mix in Britain than you do in America, despite us having a much smaller population.

AviatorTom · Answer

Englidh us the main language in the world, and many places emphasize learning it. China, for example, starts teaching kids Englidh in 1st grade. In today's world, people in many places like to learn, and practice, English.

D_Bone_Steak · Answer

Who holds the power should make it clear as to why. I ended up bilingual only because I lived in Japan for so many years. Still though, those mother fuckers will learn and prefer to speak English to me even if I understand their language.

FunkyMonkee · Answer

Couldn't prove it by me!! Most of the Brits I've ever met, known or heard of speak at LEAST two languages! German and French being the mostly likely!!

Anonymous · Answer

Because they don’t have to. They don’t have to learn a different language to go on week long all inclusive holidays in Spain or weekends in France. Most people in Europe speak English well so they can get by perfectly fine with just that.

KostasKouvalis · Answer

Because they don't travel or conduct business in places that require proficiency in a language other then their own. Very few people learn another language for fun

genericname85 · Answer

why learn another language, if everyone else can speak yours?

La_isla_bonita23 · Answer

'I am an American', Well, the word 'American' is a noun. Grammatically, you are wrong @goodguybreakingbad

AngryCarl2 · Answer

Because most countries accommodate us by learning English and because we're lazy and bad at learning stuff.

CubaPirate · Answer

Because we're historically lazy and arrogant in that field. Also failed my our education curriculum

Flight0 · Answer

Choice. If people want to come to an island they need to learn the native tongue. Not the other way around. When in Rome.

Jamie05rhs · Answer

Because they live on an island.

Why are so few people in Britain bilingual even despite their close proximity to countries that speak several different languages?

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