migamoo

I think one of the main points to this is the immigrants who do not know the language well enough to read it. But, even with that, you'd think that some place like D.C. might have a pretty good literacy rate.

sunnykerr

I remember back when I was in college studying journalism. One of our classes was on how to work databases—both finding information from them and actually making them. Anyway, the information we were given back then is obviously dated by now, and might have even been dated then...

But, anyway, here goes. I do remember that D.C. also had the biggest proportion of its population in jail. The highest prison population was in California (most populous state and all that) but the highest prison population per capita was D.C.

It also had the highest poverty rate or something close to that in meaning.

It's been a while, obviously.

Point is, though, that D.C. is like a microcosm for American society in a way, inasmuch as there's a huge disparity between the haves and the have-nots. Yeah, it's the seat of government, but the people who actually live there year-round aren't necessarily moving in the same spheres, you know?

So all to say that I'm not tremendously surprised to hear about this. Even if one third seems pretty high.

I'm also not sure that immigrants are to blame on that one. Just because someone may not be able to speak English does not mean they can't read.

migamoo

I know when I was learning different languages, I was more able to speak it than read it.

chicah

Fieryangel: I've always been the other way around. My written English and Spanish (or Norwegian for that sake) is a whole lot better than my spoken language.

I don't know much about the situation in DC, but if this is the case, they do have a problem.

TheAngel

I've always been able to write and read German better than speak it, although I can speak it well it's just comprehending what other people say that I find the most difficult. But when it comes to Spanish and French I can speak both of them much better than I can read/write them because what little I know of both languages I have learned orally and not in a classroom setting. I don't know how such a problem can be solved other than totally retooling the US education system, which I think needs to be done. I think immigrants play some role, but not a huge one. A lot of it I think is just an education gap in the poor, uneducated, minority that live in DC.

sunnykerr

I think I'm the same way. I can pronounce Spanish like nobody's business, but I don't have nearly enough vocabulary (and verb tenses) to consider myself fluent. So reading or writing it is even worse.

I can speak an teensy weensy bit of Portuguese, Italian, Russian and Croat, but I can't read it. I couldn't even write the little bit that I know if I tried.

French is my native tongue... but, let's face it, it's not an easy one to learn, especially when it comes to writing. So, while I have no problems reading French, it's been so long since I've had to do any extensive writing in French that I really wouldn't trust my skills there.

English, my second language, I sure as heck hope to have mastered in terms of reading and writing. I do that for a living.

migamoo

You know, English is my first language and I'm not quite sure I have mastered that.

chicah

Am I the only one who finds written languages far easier than spoken? Sometimes, if people say something, I have to read it to understand. I understand what I read instantly but I don't always understand what people say.
I've always been comfortable with words and reading so it's possible that plays a part.

Jacob1983

This isn't really surprising to me. I mean isn't D.C. isn't dominated by crime and murdered? Maybe the district should care more about the regular people than the politicians.

migamoo

Chicha, I think it depends on what it is. There are a lot of times when people with strong accents say something in English and I have no idea what they are saying. If they can write it, it's a lot easier for me to understand.

chicah

Fieryangel: Well, it's like that with everything. Whenever I learn a new language, I can write almost perfectly within very short time, while I have a problem with pronouncing the words correctly.
And my written English is much better than my spoken, I feel more comfortable writing in most languages, and even though I talk a lot and am quite good with words, I am better when it comes to writing also in my main language (Norwegian). I've just always been that way.
I also can recall very good what I've seen written somewhere - our history book, a forum, a conversation on msn, a webpage. While if someone says something I forget it quite quickly. My teacher called it something, something with memory, I just can't remember what it was.

quaist

Same here, chicah.

It's been always a problem for me to speak in other languages, at the moment I'm studying French and English. It's strange, but I'm far better in writing something than speaking. If my english teacher asks me a question I'm surprised myself that I lack the words - same thing with french. But if we write a test, I get along well. My teacher told me that this has something to do with which type of learner you are.

elisheva

Same here, chicah and quaist! I guess some people just learn by reading/writing while others learn by hearing. I actually can't stand when people read things out loud to me - it makes me want to grab it out of their hands and actually read it so I can understand it myself. (Although I haven't done any French reading in ages - but I bet I can write more comfortably than I can speak.)

migamoo

Elisheva, it depends who is reading what. Sometimes it is easier for me to read it myself than to have it read. Sometimes people add their own stylizations to things that makes a simple sentence ten-times more confusing for me.