Over 90% of Germans speak English. What foreign language do you speak?

[MineralMan]

127. Yup. You should have.

Here's the thing: Yes, you can get along fine just knowing English, but you won't be able to interact well with many people you may encounter. In my own neighborhood, there are native speakers of English, Spanish, Hmong, Somali, and Vietnamese. I only speak Spanish well enough to have a conversation, but I can be polite in all the rest, offering greetings, farewells, thank yous and the like. Guess what? It helps me get along with my neighbors.

Elsewhere in St. Paul, we have communities who speak those languages, plus many others. Some businesses have signage in other languages. In those stores, other languages are spoken, although the people inside will do their best to help you if you come in. Same with restaurants. We have dozens of ethnic restaurants, some with no English on the menu. I love visiting them and trying their food.

Why wouldn't I want to learn other languages? Why would I want to insist that my language is the most important one? I learned Spanish because I lived in a town with an over 50% Hispanic population. I learned it through living there. I learned French by studying it in High School for four years and maintain it by speaking and writing it whenever I can. I learned Russian because the USAF sent me to a total immersion language school so I could do the job they had in mind for me. I've discovered Russian language speakers everywhere I have lived, and try to stay relatively fluent by interacting with them.

In other languages, and in languages that will be spoken where I travel, I learn enough to be polite, ask directions, and understand street signs and numbers. It doesn't take long and it goes a long way toward enjoying my visit.

Insisting on speaking only one language is an enormous limitation for anyone. I've never understood why people do that.