Language

美國(guó)語(yǔ)言

What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? An American.

你如何稱呼能說(shuō)三種語(yǔ)言的人？三聲帶。能講兩種語(yǔ)言的人又如何稱呼？雙聲帶。那么，只會(huì)一種語(yǔ)言的人呢？美國(guó)人。

To people in many countries, being bilingual or even trilingual is a way of life. But since the mother tongue of most Americans is English-a language widely spoken around the world-they often don\'t feel the need to learn a foreign language. Moreover, people who live in the heartland of America have little contact with other linguistic groups, making foreign language skills irrelevant.

對(duì)許多國(guó)家的人而言，說(shuō)兩種或三種語(yǔ)言，是家常便飯。但在美國(guó)，由于大多數(shù)人的母語(yǔ)為英語(yǔ)--一個(gè)世界上廣泛通用的語(yǔ)言--因此美國(guó)人都不覺(jué)得有必要學(xué)習(xí)外語(yǔ)。此外，居住于美國(guó)大陸內(nèi)地的人，較少與其它語(yǔ)言族群接觸，因此外語(yǔ)能力更顯得無(wú)關(guān)緊要。

Actually, though, this "land of immigrants" has always had people of many different nationalities-and languages. The 1990 census indicates that almost 14% of Americans speak a non-English language at home. Yet only 3% reported that they spoke English "not well" or "not at all." That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered bilingual. Besides that, many high school and college students-and even some elementary school students-are required to take a foreign language as a part of their curriculum. In addition to old standbys like Spanish, German and French, more and more students are opting for Eastern European and Asian languages. Of course, not all students keep up their foreign language abilities. As the old saying goes, "If you don\'t use it, you lose it." But still, a growing number of Americans are coming to appreciate the benefits of being multilingual.

事實(shí)上，在美國(guó)這塊「移民之地」，一直住著來(lái)自不同國(guó)籍、說(shuō)不同語(yǔ)言的人口。一九九○年的人口普查顯示，幾乎百分之十四的美國(guó)人，在家里不講英語(yǔ)。只有百分之三的人宣稱他們英語(yǔ)「說(shuō)得不好」或「根本不會(huì)說(shuō)」。這表示十分之一強(qiáng)的美國(guó)人可視為雙聲帶。此外，許多中學(xué)生、大學(xué)生，甚至小學(xué)生在校的學(xué)科都必須加修一門(mén)外語(yǔ)。除了西班牙文、德文與法文等常選的第二語(yǔ)言外，愈來(lái)愈多的學(xué)生選修東歐和亞洲語(yǔ)言。當(dāng)然，并非所有學(xué)生都能夠?qū)W以致用。套句老話：「不用就會(huì)丟掉?！贡M管如此，愈來(lái)愈多的美國(guó)人已經(jīng)開(kāi)始意識(shí)到會(huì)說(shuō)多種語(yǔ)言的好處。

Ethnic enclaves, found particularly in major metropolitan centers, have preserved the language and culture of American immigrants. Some local residents can function quite well in their native language, without having to bother learning English. Regions such as southern Florida and the Southwest have numerous Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In fact, Spanish speakers-numbering over 17 million-compose the largest non-English linguistic group in America. But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Polish and many other ethnic groups add to the linguistic flavor of America. Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!

Language

美國(guó)語(yǔ)言

What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? An American.

你如何稱呼能說(shuō)三種語(yǔ)言的人？三聲帶。能講兩種語(yǔ)言的人又如何稱呼？雙聲帶。那么，只會(huì)一種語(yǔ)言的人呢？美國(guó)人。

To people in many countries, being bilingual or even trilingual is a way of life. But since the mother tongue of most Americans is English-a language widely spoken around the world-they often don\'t feel the need to learn a foreign language. Moreover, people who live in the heartland of America have little contact with other linguistic groups, making foreign language skills irrelevant.

對(duì)許多國(guó)家的人而言，說(shuō)兩種或三種語(yǔ)言，是家常便飯。但在美國(guó)，由于大多數(shù)人的母語(yǔ)為英語(yǔ)--一個(gè)世界上廣泛通用的語(yǔ)言--因此美國(guó)人都不覺(jué)得有必要學(xué)習(xí)外語(yǔ)。此外，居住于美國(guó)大陸內(nèi)地的人，較少與其它語(yǔ)言族群接觸，因此外語(yǔ)能力更顯得無(wú)關(guān)緊要。

Actually, though, this "land of immigrants" has always had people of many different nationalities-and languages. The 1990 census indicates that almost 14% of Americans speak a non-English language at home. Yet only 3% reported that they spoke English "not well" or "not at all." That means that slightly more than one out of 10 Americans could be considered bilingual. Besides that, many high school and college students-and even some elementary school students-are required to take a foreign language as a part of their curriculum. In addition to old standbys like Spanish, German and French, more and more students are opting for Eastern European and Asian languages. Of course, not all students keep up their foreign language abilities. As the old saying goes, "If you don\'t use it, you lose it." But still, a growing number of Americans are coming to appreciate the benefits of being multilingual.

事實(shí)上，在美國(guó)這塊「移民之地」，一直住著來(lái)自不同國(guó)籍、說(shuō)不同語(yǔ)言的人口。一九九○年的人口普查顯示，幾乎百分之十四的美國(guó)人，在家里不講英語(yǔ)。只有百分之三的人宣稱他們英語(yǔ)「說(shuō)得不好」或「根本不會(huì)說(shuō)」。這表示十分之一強(qiáng)的美國(guó)人可視為雙聲帶。此外，許多中學(xué)生、大學(xué)生，甚至小學(xué)生在校的學(xué)科都必須加修一門(mén)外語(yǔ)。除了西班牙文、德文與法文等常選的第二語(yǔ)言外，愈來(lái)愈多的學(xué)生選修東歐和亞洲語(yǔ)言。當(dāng)然，并非所有學(xué)生都能夠?qū)W以致用。套句老話：「不用就會(huì)丟掉?！贡M管如此，愈來(lái)愈多的美國(guó)人已經(jīng)開(kāi)始意識(shí)到會(huì)說(shuō)多種語(yǔ)言的好處。

Ethnic enclaves, found particularly in major metropolitan centers, have preserved the language and culture of American immigrants. Some local residents can function quite well in their native language, without having to bother learning English. Regions such as southern Florida and the Southwest have numerous Spanish-speaking neighborhoods. In fact, Spanish speakers-numbering over 17 million-compose the largest non-English linguistic group in America. But Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Polish and many other ethnic groups add to the linguistic flavor of America. Foreign languages are so commonly used in some ethnic neighborhoods that visitors might think they are in another country!