Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I don't think so. The US is based on the theft of land through war and genocide. Don't think that the world will ever forget that...
So is every country in North America, South America, and Australia/NZ. In the Old World too, this is the case, but the war and genocide took place so long ago that is it largely forgotten by those uninterested in history, anthropology, or some other related field. The original Indo-European inhabitants of central Europe were pushed out by Celtic peoples, who were in turn pushed out by Germanic and then Slavic peoples, and so on and so forth. Back in those days genocide was the norm, and conquered tribes and villages were wholly enslaved or exterminated. A somewhat more peaceful and recent version of this took place with the Ostsiedlung, which saw the transformation of formerly Slavic territories of what is now half of Germany into a Germanic region in both culture and language.
So is every country in North America, South America, and Australia/NZ. In the Old World too, this is the case, but the war and genocide took place so long ago that is it largely forgotten by those uninterested in history, anthropology, or some other related field. The original Indo-European inhabitants of central Europe were pushed out by Celtic peoples, who were in turn pushed out by Germanic and then Slavic peoples, and so on and so forth. Back in those days genocide was the norm, and conquered tribes and villages were wholly enslaved or exterminated. A somewhat more peaceful and recent version of this took place with the Ostsiedlung, which saw the transformation of formerly Slavic territories of what is now half of Germany into a Germanic region in both culture and language.
Unlike the other guy I don't defend or support it anywhere. In Europe the settlement occurred indeed much longer ago. Whether or not there was genocide 5k or 10k years ago, who knows. If there was, I will certainly not defend and excuse it. Would not be the first time I am ashamed to be human...
By the way, Central Europe was not inhabited by Indo-Europeans originally and is still only partly today, although most of us speak IE languages, of course. The non-IE genes including Neanderthal genes are still present in Europeans, in some regions more, in some less. So mixing and absorbing seems more likely than genocide. And the Celts were themselves Indo-Europeans, just like Germanic and Slavic tribes.
Unlike the other guy I don't defend or support it anywhere. In Europe the settlement occurred indeed much longer ago. Whether or not there was genocide 5k or 10k years ago, who knows. If there was, I will certainly not defend and excuse it. Would not be the first time I am ashamed to be human...
(By the way, Central Europe was not inhabited by Indo-Europeans originally and is still only partly today, although most of us speak IE languages, of course. The non-IE genes including Neanderthal genes are still present in Europeans, in some regions more, in some less. And the Celts were themselves Indo-Europeans, just like Germanic and Slavic tribes.)
To get back to topic, I think English has way less weight in Europe today than other foreign languages in the past. For instance during the Middle Ages many educated people in what is now Germany used to speak Latin. I think that applies to other European countries as well. But back then there was no standardized German language as such yet, now it is much more difficult for foreign words to enter the language. Some words pop up like a fashion, but will be gone just as fast when the object is gone. The reason is that everything Germans might want to say apart from fashion-like stuff (by that I mean IT, marketing) is already covered by German words (including all the loan words from Greek and Latin). So as soon as servers are no longer used, the word server will be gone from the German language as fast as it appeared. Unlike with Latin and Greek, English is not associated with any philosophy, religion, etc., it is just a fashionable dress people put on and take off.
To get back to topic, I think English has way less weight in Europe today than other foreign languages in the past. For instance during the Middle Ages many educated people in what is now Germany used to speak Latin. I think that applies to other European countries as well. But back then there was no standardized German language as such yet, now it is much more difficult for foreign words to enter the language. Some words pop up like a fashion, but will be gone just as fast when the object is gone. The reason is that everything Germans might want to say apart from fashion-like stuff (by that I mean IT, marketing) is already covered by German words (including all the loan words from Greek and Latin). So as soon as servers are no longer used, the word server will be gone from the German language as fast as it appeared. Unlike with Latin and Greek, English is not associated with any philosophy, religion, etc., it is just a fashionable dress people put on and take off.
Less people were literate in the past, and few had any education. There was never any country where 80% or more of the population spoke a language that was foreign to the state. This is the case in the Netherlands and much of Scandinavia, where almost everyone speaks English, yet these countries are not controlled by an English-speaking state and don't have a native speaking English minority.
As quickly developing East Asian countries have found, English is integral to having access to the latest in science, technology, and research, and knowledge of English is essential to the development of a country. The governments of the Netherlands and Sweden aren't spending money to have their children learn proficient English because it's fashionable. They know that to be proficient in English gives one an unmatched edge over the competition. This is not a fashion, but an economic reality, and this is why so many English words entering many foreign languages relate to technological advances.
Less people were literate in the past, and few had any education. There was never any country where 80% or more of the population spoke a language that was foreign to the state. This is the case in the Netherlands and much of Scandinavia, where almost everyone speaks English, yet these countries are not controlled by an English-speaking state and don't have a native speaking English minority.
As quickly developing East Asian countries have found, English is integral to having access to the latest in science, technology, and research, and knowledge of English is essential to the development of a country. The governments of the Netherlands and Sweden aren't spending money to have their children learn proficient English because it's fashionable. They know that to be proficient in English gives one an unmatched edge over the competition. This is not a fashion, but an economic reality, and this is why so many English words entering many foreign languages relate to technological advances.
Here most terms are translated, which is simple because the language is based on Latin and most English tech terms are also based on Latin. So server becomes servidor, all English nouns ending in -ation (quite a lot in science) are also of Latin origin and simply receive the -ação ending instead, etc.
Plus, as I said, English is just a tool, both in Europe and elsewhere. English words come and go again because there is no religion or philosophy associated with it, nothing that really matters to all people. Most Europeans have little to do with English, and that little is mostly limited to the job. In everyday life English plays no role in Europe except Britain and Ireland.
+1000000. And that's why only Europe is taught "British English", because of geographical reasons (yes, though they don't know they are in Europe lol) while the rest of the world generally learns "American English". The same issue for Spanish (although not being a Lingua Franca and less commonly learnt). If a European joins Spanish lessoms, most likely s/he will be taught "Spain Spanish", if a North American/Asian/Australian does, it will most likely be "Latin American Spanish". French is an exception as Parisian French is taught universally to those learning French. As well as the Hochsprache for German.
Getting to the point, if it was the British Empire who made English as a Lingua Franca, it might have been that way since 18th Century. And it only started being so at the mid-20th century. In some countries, like mine, English wasn't considered the dominant language up until the 1990's. And we have, arguably, the lowest English proficiency of all Europe (Eastern Europe included) yet.
Not true. American English is generally taught in Latin America and in East Asia (except for Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore) since they mostly deal with Americans and not Brits. The rest of the world generally learns British English.
Once my friend here in Belarus asked an American (or Canadian? I forgot) professor who was working here: what kind of English should we focus on, British or American?
And the professor answered: it doesn't really matter. Anyway you will speak Belarusian English.
I think he was basically right -- we non-native speakers tend to speak neither American nor British English, but rather an international kind of it, with our own flavor.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
