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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don’t think it matters much.  And it will matter even less as time goes on and things like Google Translate make it even easier to communicate with others in a different language.

Also, there are tons of bilingual/multilingual kids in this country and around the world.  [/quote]

Technologies like Google Translate are wonderful for enabling extremely basic, practical communication.  They don’t help much, for example, with getting the host’s joke at a party with 50 people talking and loud music playing.  Or with being able to form relationships with people you meet while traveling.  Or with being able to socialize generally with non-English speakers.

I’m always surprised at people for whom the value of not sticking out as the monolingual foreigner is not obvious.  It’s like the idea that it might be worthwhile to fit in socially in a non-English environment doesn’t even occur to them.  This is not just about language - it’s about behavioral norms and being respectful.   I’ve been in situations where my language skills were primitive, but I accomplished much more than other Americans just by listening, watching how people behaved, and working hard to not be rude. Google translate will never help with this stuff. [/quote]

This is likely an unconscious elitist view.  If you are White, doesn't matter where you go, people treat you well, try to talk to you in your language, assume you are rich, etc.  If you are Brown or Black, doesn't matter how many languages you know (unless maybe if it's your home country) or how much money you have,  you are a second-class tourist.

Also, you can't really be fluent in the languages of all the countries you plan on traveling to, unless of course, you will only travel to Spanish (or the language you are fluent in) speaking countries..  No way it's going to help you in France or China or Japan.[/quote]

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