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It seems english fluency in europe is mostly a northern european phenomena. To my knowledge still very few southern and eastern europeans/russians have fluency in english.
the majority of people who live in northern ireland are not irish , you insult a large number of people through your implication
Why people consider an insult when someone else is confused or call others by other nationality? I have been told Italian/Portuguese etc... and I don't feel insulted. Just the other person was mistaken.
Quote:
Originally Posted by espizarro
Wait a second... Why English? Why can't it be French? Or Spanish? Or Italian or German?
Yes true, Spanish is the 2nd most spoken language in the world actually, after Chinese.
Physicist Michio Kaku believes that as we become a Type 1 Civilization, we will eventually all speak one language and that most likely it will be English. English is already the lingua franca of the world, and 300 million people in China are learning it. When a German and a Swede need to speak to each other in a European hostel, they will often use English as their common medium. In many European countries more music is sung in English than in the native language.
Do you think English will become so dominant that eventually European children will start forgetting the language of their parents and will be raised in English? Or are Europeans too proud of their heritage for that to happen?
As long as France exist English language has not even smallest chance to replace native languages of europeans.
Well, because it is an international language that so many people know, its influence covers alot of countries. USA, UK, Canada, Australia, hong Kong.
Quite alot.
French or Spanish have nowhere near the size of influence that English has. I mean Spanish is really only in South America, Mexico and Spain and perhaps the carribean.
Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world and certainly spoken everywhere, although in a less degree than English.
Still, there are many countries which do not have that much of an English-speaking population.
If you go to a country you cannot simply go there and say to a native to speak English. Try do that in Mexico- it could end up pretty bad.
English is the language of business no doubt. But is is not the language of all the world. If you want to go to country with a different language, take your dictionary with you and try to learn from the culture you will visit. Unless you are going for business reasons, you can't impose English in another country that is not anglophone.
I have even heard that many Europeans that do not speak English or Spanish prefer that you speak Spanish over English. I guess that the British's "not so friendly" reputation in Europe is analogous to what Latinos here in the Americans feel for the Americans and their "English-only" attitude. It would be impossible to learn all the languages of all the regions we visit, but to impose our language over them is kind of invasive and unacceptable.
Don't be lazy. At least take a dictionary, if you have a tablet you can download Google Translate and just write in English and read the translation, it may not be grammatically correct but at least the natives of the country you go to will appreciate your effort to learn their culture. You are certainly not going to be welcome if you go to a foreign country and impose your language there. You might end up wanting to leave and have a really wrong impression of the country you visit. If you can't, then simply stay on Ireland and try visit the Anglophone countries only. Fortunately for English speakers there is a lot of things to see in the Anglophone world, you have the US, Canada, Jamaica, some of the Lesser Antilles, several countries in Africa, UK, Australia, NZ and some Pacific Islands. You choose.
Why people consider an insult when someone else is confused or call others by other nationality? I have been told Italian/Portuguese etc... and I don't feel insulted. Just the other person was mistaken.
Yes true, Spanish is the 2nd most spoken language in the world actually, after Chinese.
By the sounds of things, you know very little about Northern Ireland.
the majority of people who live in northern ireland are not irish , you insult a large number of people through your implication
Quote:
Originally Posted by irish_bob
that was my point , most people accept that two different nationalitys live in northern ireland , around 47% british - 43% irish , roughly speaking
Ask someone in anywhere else in the UK what a person from Northern Ireland is and you'll get "Irish". Irrespective of religion, The Plantation of Ulster, self-identification, whatever.
It was a question, come on explain me the insult thing, I want to know.
There are people here who fully believe that they are British. You saying that we are confused about our nationality is very offensive.
Perhaps, you Americans should actually go and learn about Northern Ireland and its history instead of taking sides and being rude. It really irritates the hell out of me when you people sit and say that we are Irish whether we like it or not.
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