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In Germany they never use subtitles, they dub every program from abroad, be it American, Brazilian or French. I didn't know the real voices of popular actors until I moved away from Germany.
I seen that and personally I feel that it is stupid. I have watched the Simpson for a bit and it was so weird.
Indeed, bilingual, some are even fluent in 3 or 4 languages. Since you are from Ireland, what happened in Ireland won't happen in Europe, i.e. English replacing native languages.
No I think that would be cruel but I think it could've happened if the English people had got going further.
Again, you can go to most places in Europe and get by using English. Most hotel staff speak English, tourist attractions often have English-speaking guides, etc. And you can ask almost any younger person for help, they will understand and try to help you. What more can you ask for in a foreign country which has a perfect, complete language of its own?!
Not in Spain.
And I agree with you but people in Europe are not native English speakers so most conversations will be in their language, television and of course advertisements/road signs etc. So it is quite different to here and America.
I seen that and personally I feel that it is stupid. I have watched the Simpson for a bit and it was so weird.
Animation movies and TV series are dubbed even here in Portugal, unless they are specifically aimed at adults, like the Simpsons if I remember correctly. There are also Japanese and French animation programs on TV, also dubbed of course.
Personally, I doubt subtitles contribute much to learning a language. One reason is that the translations are usually very loose and mediocre. There is only so much space, so a lot of the spoken words are simply dropped. So one doesn't really know which spoken words correspond to which written words. Nor is the human brain good at paying attention to two things at the same time. Just reading subtitles without listening to and watching a movie is often a challenge because of the size and speed.
And I agree with you but people in Europe are not native English speakers so most conversations will be in their language, television and of course advertisements/road signs etc. So it is quite different to here and America.
Well, that makes me wonder why people go to a foreign country in the first place. Either they only visit briefly like for business or as tourists. In both cases the people they will have to do with will speak enough English to get by. And when people go to a country in order to live there for a longer period of time, one can expect that person to learn the local language. Americans also complain when immigrants don't learn English, so why would it be any different in Spain or France?
Indeed, bilingual, some are even fluent in 3 or 4 languages. Since you are from Ireland, what happened in Ireland won't happen in Europe, i.e. English replacing native languages.
Hopefully! And definitely it won't happen in our lifetime.
But who knows what more distant future will bring, when new generations come. If everyone in Europe really speaks English, if there's more mobility across the continent, more international marriages and so on, if Europe ends up as a single superstate, then English may gradually "invade" not only vocabularies, but also the whole countries.
However, I truly hope it's not gonna happen. And I'm sure it won't happen anytime soon.
What I don't like about the spread of English, is that there's (or there will be) less need to learn other European languages, be it German, Dutch or French... In every international context, it's just English. Practical, but boring.
To me American English sounds more fluent, British English harsher, the difference is like between Spanish from Montevideo and from Madrid.
I don't hate Britain, despite the rock-throwing and drunk morons. Indeed, as I said, music is an international scene, most Brit singers use American or at least neutral pronunciation anyway. Often one only notices a singer is British when there is an interview. Many for instance used to think Sade was AA, and they were surprised when they heard her talk in an interview or on stage for the first time.
Sometimes however the music as such already gives Brits away, on average it has a different vibe and sound than American music. I seldom listen to British music, there are only about half a dozen artists/bands from Britain that I ever liked: Sade, Talk Talk, Loose Ends, Bent, Nightmares on Wax, and a few songs by the Eurythmics and 52nd Street. But most modern music sucks, both from the US and Britain
I think it is mutual, Britain is of little interest and importance to Europeans, and vice versa.
How can 'American English' be more fluent, what Americans and English people speak is practically identical!!!! In fact I would go as far as to say there actually isn't such a thing as American English! Just English - if you like we can count the words in your post which are 'English' then count the ones in your post that are 'American' jeeeez, that's right theyre just all English!!! Unless you used the term 'dude' in your post of course! lol.
How can 'American English' be more fluent, what Americans and English people speak is practically identical!!!! In fact I would go as far as to say there actually isn't such a thing as American English! Just English - if you like we can count the words in your post which are 'English' then count the ones in your post that are 'American' jeeeez, that's right theyre just all English!!! Unless you used the term 'dude' in your post of course! lol.
I was referring to pronunciation, of course.
While some words are more frequent in the US and others in Britain, I tend to agree that there is not much difference in terms of content. Black US English is a different story I suppose...
Personally, I doubt subtitles contribute much to learning a language.
I think you're wrong here, and they do contribute.
Don't you feel the difference in terms of English proficiency between Germany and the Netherlands/Scandinavia?
Or between Spain and Portugal? These are all countries you should be well familiar with...
When you regularly get to hear spoken English, it's just a great bonus to English classes at school. (However, that probably wouldn't help me as I rarely watch movies at all -- just not my cup of tea. But many people like it).
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