Personal experience: is it possible to live in the USA without knowing English
'30.03.2021'
Source: Yandex Zen
For me it was initially surprising, but yes - in America it is not necessary to speak English. I met a lot of people who not only do not communicate in the local language, but are not going to learn it, the author of the channel Amerussian girl writes on Yandex Zen.
Despite the slogan of the country Out of many one (America), America is divided into communities - Russian, Jewish, Arabic, Chinese and so on. And, as a rule, people of the older generation who were transported by children are not particularly integrated into the new culture. They don’t need it.
The situation in the New York subway
Sitting opposite me are elderly women from Russia or Ukraine. They discuss their affairs, talk peacefully. The Chinese are entering the car. Our former compatriots began to look at them contemptuously and say that they are very noisy and there are many of them. One of them even uttered a phrase that was very typical for Moscow: “Come in large numbers here”. It's funny.
They themselves came to the United States or, most likely, they were brought by children. They don’t speak the local language, they don’t care about American culture, society, multinationality and so on. They are at home - as in Russia or in any other country of the former CIS. They live exactly the same life as before America, only in other decorations. Of course, why should they strain their brains and communicate in a foreign language - they don’t need it.
On the subject: 'Everyone supports each other, except for Russians': how the 44-year-old Russian woman began life from scratch in the USA
Another example. You don’t need a language when you’re kind of in the USA, but you’re spinning around in a Russian-speaking society and not studying at a university.
I have a friend who has lived in New York for almost 10 years. She recently decided to return to Moscow. The funny thing is that a friend said: "Damn, I really want to learn English." The comic nature of the story is that she spent so long in an English-speaking society, but this tool was never useful to her. She married a Russian-speaking, worked with Russian-speaking, made friends with Russian-speaking. Why does she need English?
On the subject: Where do Russian communities live in the USA
It’s the same as for example, starting to learn French. I don’t use it, for me this language is not applied - I am not a fan of this culture. So where then to get motivation to cram words, do exercises, communicate?
The moral is this. You can live in America without English, but only in large cities and in the Russian-speaking community. But if you want to find a qualified job, get an education, and truly “fit in”, then you can't go anywhere without language. Learn English!
