There is really only one major language which is relevant to neighbors
Spanish
French Canadians would like to habe a word with you
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 16 hours ago
It hasn’t really been an economic necessity or cultural priority like other countries.
Most countries who have a population who speak more than one language usually either have a variety of languages spoken within/near the country or rely on ESL speakers to participate in the international workforce.
With English being the current lingua franca, Americans already know the current dominant language. There is really only one major language which is relevant to neighbors, but Americans are usually in the more dominant economic position and there is a cultural aversion to adopting Spanish more.
ageedizzle@piefed.ca 15 hours ago
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 14 hours ago
They could, if they were economically relevant on the continent. Spanish and Portuguese are far more relevant when interfacing with international trade in the Western Hemisphere.
I pointed out cultural reasons for maintaining a language as well. The USA, as a country, has no current cultural reason to have portions of the country maintain a different language.
ageedizzle@piefed.ca 14 hours ago
Is Canada not economically relevant to the continent? French is an official language of Canada, on equal footing as English. By law anything imported into Canada must include both English and French labelling, software, instruction manuals etc. For parts of the US that trade a lot with Canada, French is at least as economically relevant as Spanish.
HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 13 hours ago
Quebec isn’t Canada.
Having to get documents translated is a cost of doing business in Canada. You don’t have to speak both languages to conduct business in Canada.
fizzle@quokk.au 16 hours ago
This is the correct answer.
If you live in SE Asia for example you speak your local language at home but you need to learn English for work.
If you already speak English at home then you already know how to speak English at work.