Quote:
Originally Posted by acottawa
Most places that graduate fully bilingual people are places where the second language is English and it is supported by it being the dominant global language for over a century. Twice as many Finns speak English as Swedish, for example, despite the latter being an official language that is required for many government jobs.
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But even knowledge of non-dominant languages is usually much higher when compared to Anglophone Northern America.
For example, sources suggest 15% - 23% of people in the UK speak French, while only 9% of Anglophone Canadians do. And people in the UK do not really have as many practical incentives to learn French; for example, their public service doesn't have many positions reserved for people who know French and no region within their country is French-speaking.
And while more Finns speak English than Swedish, still 34% of them speak Swedish. Compared to 9%.
I'm not even talking about matching Quebec's ~40-50% bilingualism or exceeding that. But there's a very annoying close-mindedness I've noticed among Anglophone Northern Americans when it comes to learning other languages. Indeed, Canada has spent the bulk of its history trying to stamp out French.
But yes, I agree that the situation in the world re languages means that it will almost always be the case that more Quebecois will know English than Anglophone Canadians will know French, and that a lot of bilingualism across the world involves English. But 9% is pathetic.