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Well we use 'soccer' in Australia too (since we have our own football too) and the Brits still use a lot of imperial measurements like miles, yards, pounds, stone (Seriously wtf is a 'stone' haha)...in Australia we're totally metric now.
I don't know why you are saying "wtf is a stone?" When you don't even use pounds...
Ha ha i love that one! Translating Dutch sayings in English makes such funny lines.
Now the monkey comes out of the sleeve (now is true nature is revealed). I heard a lot of Dutchman do that without even realizing it sounds completly rediculous in Englisch
No we use kilograms here, so why would we know? maybe some really old ppl/those from the uk.
Or the people working in construction....
In industrial construction the imperial system is stil used worldwide, and allways will, i think. Especially in steel-construction, piping and underground pipelines all of the meassuring is in inches and pounds. For industrial piping the ANSI standard wich is Imperial, and for regular civil pipelines we have DIN wich is metric.
I'm in construction and when i calculate pipelines i allways have to be aware of that, can be pretty confusing sometimes....
Or the people working in construction....
In industrial construction the imperial system is stil used worldwide, and allways will, i think. Especially in steel-construction, piping and underground pipelines all of the meassuring is in inches and pounds. For industrial piping the ANSI standard wich is Imperial, and for regular civil pipelines we have DIN wich is metric.
I'm in construction and when i calculate pipelines i allways have to be aware of that, can be pretty confusing sometimes....
Really, must be because a lot of the products are manufactured in America.
I am not European so will not comment on whether they are bitter or not.
But one thing I notice about the ubiquity of English for English native speakers is that it puts them at a practical advantage (a huge one at that), but usually at a cultural disadvantage.
Now that English is the unofficial common language among Europeans who speak different languages (say if a Spaniard and a Pole want to speak, they usually go to English), I'm wondering how many Europeans feel about it? Particularly say the French and the Germans? French in particular was the unofficial language of diplomacy in Europe (when did English overtake it) and if history had gone differently French might have been the unofficial global lingua franca. The British Empire and the US combined seem to have successful entrenched English as the language of trade, politics, science, media for a long time now.
Is there some jealousy/resentment? Or do most not really care too much? I heard in some countries young people are even speaking English among themselves, is there a lot of fear that some might even start speaking English instead of say Dutch or German or Swedish? Do some young people sort of admire English or see it as superior/cool? I heard in Norway there was anger at advertisements in English.
It seems Southern Europeans are less open to English though, especially in Italy and Spain.
About the last sentence: as for Italian, actually it's one of the openest language towards English since we adopted several terms without Italianyzing (maybe the pronounce varies sometimes), unlike French or Finnish which introduce their own terms (like Ordinateur for "Computer").
Back to the topic: no I don't feel any resentment or hostility towards Anglophones (unless when they are tourists and they assume you MUST speak their own language), English is useful and it won't ever replace our language because we would never renounce to it.
Italian is my native language and nothing will ever change that, English is a very handy tool when dealing with foreigners: its grammar is simplest, its phonology, though complex and without rules, is quite understandable given the enormous exposition we are subject to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac15
Well it depends on who you are. Most English speakers would stick to their own countries.
Like you would see more British people visiting America than say Asia.
I think he meant that most Anglophones seem unable to learn foreign languages.
Yep, the mass media is merely a vehicle for the spread of language...while it seems that English will last forever (maybe till the end of this cycle of civilisation) i think the sun will one day set on it like it did the British Empire (well you could argue the British Empire still exists just not in name).
Interesting. maybe it'll wind up like this?....language does morph over centuries...
...u now mb ur rht....i duszee itt......
No idea on punctuation since that is another variable...perhaps semi-colons could get extinct?
And..
Quote:
I think he meant that most Anglophones seem unable to learn foreign languages.
Sometimes being here between the Atlantic and Pacific isn't so good if you think about it when it comes to picking up languages. Doesn't make us so proficient when it comes exposure and learning. Soemtimes i think the government should give us all 3 months in a country (expenses paid!!!) of our choosing...;-).... I guess I'm luc.y in knowing Magyar but
you can cringe when somebody around here tries to get hold of it. But I admire'em for trying.
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i love that one! Translating Dutch sayings in English makes such funny lines.
