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I get the impression that in most European countries English is already very widespread among the young people. Plus, lots of products are written in English. The internet, ease of travel, and television are always making the world more connected.
Would it be reasonable to assume that most babies born in the EU in 2018 will grow up to be fluent in English? IF that does happen it will mean English is guaranteed to be the future one day, with other languages slowly dying out. Their kids, (born in 2048) would probably want to speak mostly English, and speaking the local language will be something they only do with their families. This will be further encouraged by the fact that other countries around the world learn English as their second language.
At the current rate the world is changing, I cannot imagine that it will be more than a couple of generations from now that young people will begin to see learning their local language (beyond a basic level) as more of a chore than useful.
This is not likely to happen unless the European peoples are replaced for the most part by Arabs and Africans, speaking English as a lingua franca does not mean to give up one's native language. Why would somebody speak with his parents or friends in English rather than their mother tongue. Some languages might actually vanish, but Spanish, French, German or Italian will prevail, maybe at some point the Dutch will either speak French or German to adapt to their larger neighbours, but this didn't happen in the past, why should it happen now?
This is not likely to happen unless the European peoples are replaced for the most part by Arabs and Africans, speaking English as a lingua franca does not mean to give up one's native language. Why would somebody speak with his parents or friends in English rather than their mother tongue. Some languages might actually vanish, but Spanish, French, German or Italian will prevail, maybe at some point the Dutch will either speak French or German to adapt to their larger neighbours, but this didn't happen in the past, why should it happen now?
IF our language changed, it wouldn't be German or French. The German and French proficiency is not nearly as high as the English.
Wiki:
90% Speaks English
71% Speaks German
29% Speaks French
As a second language, the importance of English will grow, but we will never be native speakers.
I can’t see why parents should switch their language when talking to their babies and children. I agree that sub languages (= dialects) fade as they are increasingly seen as uncool, are not reinforced in writing and are hardly used in TV or radio, but the native languages of nation states will prevail.
By the way, Sven, Holland neighbours Flemish Belgium and not France. I see no cultural orientation towards France in the Netherlands.
Also, I don’t understand your notes about Africans and Arabs. Example Germany: There are about 750000 Africans and 1.3 million Arabs in Germany. Neither of them speaks English as mother tongue, they all speak or learn German, and why should such a small minority replace the Germans? (The situation in other European countries being similar, maybe a little bit different in France)
IF our language changed, it wouldn't be German or French. The German and French proficiency is not nearly as high as the English.
Wiki:
90% Speaks English
71% Speaks German
29% Speaks French
You're Dutch? Dutch is kind of German dialect btw., but I think you didn't get my point, I don't expect the Dutch to speak French or German (or English) anytime soon, however I think it's reasonable to suppose that over centuries smaller countries adopt the languages of larger neighboring countries and some languages simply die out, however it did not happen in the past, the EU is no such a new idea, we had the Roman Empire where Europe was a political entity in some sense as well, yet not all Europeans adopted Latin or French, so why would they adopt English?
@Geggo, I had in mind the Netherlands borders both France and Belgium
Belgium is a kinda stupid and strange country anyways, they should split to both France and the Netherlands, would make more sense for me, Brussels could be turned into a large open air Zoo for worthless politicians
What about international marriages between citizens of European countries, where people tend to speak English with each other? Will the ongoing growth of their amount affect the spread of English at the expense of local languages?
English is the most important language because of the united states. As its cultural exports continue to grow, so will the language's importance around the world.
English is the most important language because of the united states. As its cultural exports continue to grow, so will the language's importance around the world.
The US speaks English (like many other countries) because of the British Empire, its called English for a reason you know!
For most people living in European countries becoming fluent in English is fairly useless, believe it or not. I don't think it is essential for a mechanic from Brussels to master the English language to be successful at his job, same thing for a baker in Amsterdam or a cashier in Lisbon. They willl likely rarely encounter English speaking customers in their daily lives but many speaking the local language. Having a good command of their national language is far important than mastering English. I'm not saying that knowing English is useless I'm just saying that most people do not need it in their professional or personal lives.
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