Perhaps you've heard this joke:
What do you call someone who speaks only one language?
American.
It seems to be true - many Americans speak only English. If they do speak another language, they speak it poorly, and ought to credit any language knowledge to school requirements.
I am guilty of upholding this stereotype. I speak severely broken Spanish, I can say barely more than "hello" in German and French, I know a few sentences of Russian, and, of course, I know a few Dutch curse words. (They sound so damn cool!)
If you want to take a truly critical eye, it's fair to say that we ought to be slightly ashamed of our geocentrism. We EXPECT that people will know our language when we travel abroad, and we EXPECT that those who move to or travel to the states will know English. It's an unfair double standard, and we ought to do more to keep up with the languages we study in school.
All of that aside, there is something to be said for knowing a little bit of various languages. I may not be fluent, but simply knowing how to say "hello", "goodbye", and "my name is..." can go a long way in connecting with someone.
Just today, I made a cold call to a woman from Russia. Her last name looked Russian, and her accent sounded Russian, but I figured it was safest to not assume.
So I asked.
"Your accent is beautiful! Can I ask where you're from?"
"Well I'm originally from Russia..."
"Oh! привет! меня зовут Alicia!"
And boom. The lady on the phone instantly felt more comfortable. No way in hell could I sell her entire insurance policy by speaking only Russian, and for that I am regretful. But the bottom line is, I took advantage of the little scratches I do know, and used them to make my customer feel comfortable and excited.
Americans should learn a second language, fluently. I should learn to take my own advice. But in the meantime, we can still get by without making total fools of ourselves if we grow the balls to ask people if they speak X language, and do our best to show we're trying.
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