I certainly agree with your thoughts about being exposed to other cultures and cultural idioms. I believe there is a great deal we individually take for granted and that, by learning the things that others take for granted, you expand your own awareness, knowledge, and understanding about others. In turn, this makes you a richer person, for you can at least understand more than your local idioms.

This set of articles from the Associated Press discuss the recent spread of English as a common tongue as well as some concerns about that spread. They make for interesting reading on the phenomenon.

Locally, I don't mind it when folks converse in different languages in CB. Sure, I usually wish I know what they were saying, but I tend to figure that if I really want to know, then I'd best get myself to the local community college for some classes. Similarly, I really don't mind when people pose questions in other languages. After all, BabelFish does a reasonably decent job at translating the major languages to English. It's usually enough to get the point across. (I've recently, with the author's permission, been using it to translate articles on a French site into English for inclusion on a site I run.)

I would ask, though, if people do post in another language, that they indicate which language it is. While French can be reasonably obvious, there are other languages that aren't necessarily so. For example, Portuguese and Spanish sport a number of similarities. Not many, perhaps, but enough to be confusing to a translation device. Similarly, there are variants of Spanish (Castilian, Mexican, Puerto Rican, and so on). It might also help if a multi-lingual monk could summarize the main points for the rest of us.

While English questions will usually garner the most responses, I can imagine siutations where posting in one's native tongue seems the best way to get your point across. There are many needs and, while we may not always understand why someone considers something important, I believe it's best to respect that person's belief in that importance.

--f