by Forrest Sheng Bao http://fsbao.net
Before the Civil War, people said "United States are". After the Civil War, people said "United States is"
-National Treasure II: Book of Secrets (I watched it this morning and not sure whether I remembered this tips correctly.)
This is a phenomena hard to explain. Why?
Coz according to US census 2000, English is not the most major ancestry. The top one is German(15.2%), followed by Irish (10.8%)
Then, it's English(8.7%). But Italian and Scandinavian are of similar percentage.
So why the States speaks English? Funny. But it's good. 80% population of USA speak English. It is better than Europe, especially Switzerland, and better than Canada in the north. O/w, we have to study German, Irish, Italian, Norwegian and Svenska.
There are many "irrational" things in USA. For instance, this country has no official language. Many important stuffs are provided in several languages. It is ironic that such words are also written in English: If you can't read these languages please ask for an interpreter. Webpages of US gov are also written in several languages. When applying social security card, I read English pages first and then the Chinese pages. The page looks like the homepage of Wikipedia-links to different language links surrounding the seal of US. The explanation is that all ethics are equal. According to US census 2000, there are 336 languages used in USA. So, there is a way to "play" cops if you are arrested. You refuse to answer any questions unless he brings you the interpreter speaking the 336-th least frequently used language. O/w, his problem is racial discrimination.
Many city names of the States are the same as other countries. When Dutches came, they named a place New Amsterdam. Later Englishes came and renamed it New York. There is a town in the middle USA called Bismark(Deutschland über alles) whereas another town is called Napoleon(Vive La France!). There is a city in Georgia called Athen, a very famous city in Greece. ("Shut up Forrest! We all know this") There are also a town called Peking, named after the capital of China. But no king's palace this time.
So are street names. People from all over the world use their hometown names to name streets, such as Frankfurt Ave., Oxford Ave., etc. When I was in China, I lived on a street called Guangdong(Canton) Road. Now I am on Canton again. But this time it's not No.38 but No. 1030. Am I kidding? Try Google maps: 1030 Canton ave, lubbock, tx, usa. You will find the Experimental Sciences Building of Texas Tech at this point.
So this morning, when I rode to the theatre to watch National Treasure II, I left from Canton (Ave.) to Frankfort (Ave.). But this time, no Miles-and-More award.
美国怎么会说英语呢？
by Forrest Sheng Bao http://fsbao.net
南北战争前，人们都说“联合州是(United States are, 复数)”，南北战争后人们都说“合众国是(United States is, 单数)”
--国家财富2：古籍迷辛（我早上才看的，不知道台词记错没有）
这是一个非常不正常的现象
为什么呢？
因为美国人口普查的数据表明，英国人不是最大的族裔
最大的是德国人，15.2%，下面是爱尔兰人10.8%
下来才是英国人，8.7%
而且和英国人数量不相上下的还有意大利人和挪威－瑞典人
这怎么搞的最后美国说英语了呢？好奇怪阿。很好很好，美国80％的人会说英语，比欧洲好，特别是比那些用好几种语言的国家，比如瑞士要好，至少比北边的加拿大也好。不要搞的还要学德语，爱尔兰语，意大利语，挪威语和瑞典语。
美国想不通的事情太多了，这个国家居然没有官方语言
什么和人命相关的东西都是5，6种语言写一遍，居然还非常搞笑的用英语再写一遍：如果你看不懂这里的文字，请提出需要翻译的请求。
你看看美国政府有些部门的网页，比如我申请社会安全号码的时候，我先看一遍英文的
再看一遍中文的。那个网页中间一个国徽，周围一圈语言，感觉像看Wiki百科首页一样。
这样作的理由是，所有民族都是平等的—2000年人口普查数据表明，美国共有336种语言在被使用
OMG，如果警察抓住你了，你有一个好好玩他的办法，你挑出使用频率最低的那第336种语言，然后对警察说，你给我找翻译，我不和你说英语，他要不带你找他就犯法，他就种族歧视
这国家的城市名字到处和世界各地的重复，荷兰人来了，就叫新阿姆斯特丹，英国人来了，就改名叫新约克，中部有个城市，估计是德国人去的，就叫卑斯 麦，大概旁边是法国人去的，就叫拿破仑，Georgia有个城市，估计是希腊人去的，就叫雅典。美国连叫北京的城市都有，可惜这个北京不是首都了，皇帝的 大宫殿也没了。
街道的名字也是一样，世界各地的移民把世界各地的城市名字都带来命名街道，你看南京最多什么广州路，上海路，青岛路，这些城市太不够劲了。偶们这里 可NB阿，什么法兰克福街，牛津街，等等，咱中国地方也有份。 偶以前在广东路上吧，飞了大半圈地球，我又跑到广东路上了。只不过上次是广东路38号，现在是广东路1030号了。你不信？ 去Google Maps一下，1030 Canton ave, lubbock, tx, usa 边上就是俺在的ExperimentalSciences Building. 这个广东路比南京的广东路好阿，没有城管队员，但有日尔曼美女阿，穿的好性感阿，比衣服邋遢的城管队员好多了。
美国这边说街道光说个名字，不说广东路，法兰克福街，你要问我早上怎么去看电影的，我就是从广东到法兰克福，吓人吧。可惜这次没有汉莎的里程了，哎，骑了40分钟的自行车还没有积分.
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