I can understand if Bolbi is from Europe, and that's fine, but if you were born in and have lived in an English-speaking country for your entire life, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to speak basic English.
I respectfully disagree. Different upbringings prioritize different things. A person coming from a lower-class family might have been prioritizing taking care of younger siblings or preparing food during youth, and literacy may have been put on the backburner. As they grow older, providing for the family may also come in as a factor, and literacy will again not be their prime focus.
If school is the only place they get to practice their reading, I don't think making fun of them then for not being able to read is the greatest way to tackle the issue of illiteracy in the world.
And this is not to say that only poor people are illiterate -- disabilities like dyslexia can affect anyone from any socio-economic class/status, and in many cases can significantly hinder their literacy rate.
And also, @banana speaking and reading are two very different things. A person can speak a language so fluently it either is or is almost native-like, but never know how to read or write it. This is very commonly seen in children; before they know to associate a meaning to a word, they can already create coherent and meaningful sentences.
I've gone to private catholic schools full of rich kids and can still relate quite a bit to annoying illerate kids volunteering to read. (At least in middle school. They don't do that in most high school classes, at least from my experience.)
I ain't got time for little Byron to read like he can't understand the only language that he knows
If school is the only place they get to practice their reading, I don't think making fun of them then for not being able to read is the greatest way to tackle the issue of illiteracy in the world.
And this is not to say that only poor people are illiterate -- disabilities like dyslexia can affect anyone from any socio-economic class/status, and in many cases can significantly hinder their literacy rate.
Well I have some trouble in pronouncing English
But I'm excellent at reading in my mother tongue