just john Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 Joachim Gauck braved the wrath of the French to appeal for English as a common EU languagehttp://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/leaders/article3696970.ece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I was under the impression that English has been for several years now the official second language of the EU. This was after 65% of the EU parliament voted in favour and only some 12 to 14% voted for French which for some reason p*ssed off the French speaking Belgians, why they were getting so stroppy about it I have no idea. Nearly all (the exception perhaps is Belgium) EU countries now make children study English as a compulsory language.What Joachim Gauck says is of course true, the EU does need an official language, centralised taxation system and an elected president although I did rather think the issue of language was dealt with years ago and we would all be speaking English. Still at least the EU has a national anthem (yes I know its "Ode an die Freude" and its German but then what would one expect?), is a start in the right direction towards EU federalism. Mind you I did at one time think we would all be jabbering away in Esperanto by now. [;-)] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 You depict a nightmare Quillan, the United States of Europe, I hope the notion of it withers before it goes any further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 [quote user="idun"]You depict a nightmare Quillan, the United States of Europe, I hope the notion of it withers before it goes any further.[/quote]Go further it will. Will we be alive to see it, well possibly but only just if we are. It is the only logical way to go even if your heart says not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I would like to see it go even further, and be a US of logical regions such as the Basques, the Catalans, the Scots, the Flemish etc, doing away with the artificial 'Nations' that exist at the moment.It won't happen, but it would make one sort of sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quillan Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 I agree Norman. Rather than break up existing countries we should all come together as I fear that if we don't the world is surely doomed as we know it. One only has to look around the world, it's like school children in the playground, pathetic really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YCCMB Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 There's still (for me) a certain irony in wishing for all this "coming together" when all the countries in the rest of Europe which had come together have spent the last umpty-teen years doing their best to become individual and separate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted February 23, 2013 Share Posted February 23, 2013 For many years big business in Germany (Siemens etc.) have operated in English and it has been a compulsory subject in state schools. Since Germany is about the only economy in the EU not on it's knees or teetering on bankruptcy go figure !Like it or not English IS the language of Europe - if not the world, accept it. Maybe the French would feel less aggrieved if it were anything BUT.It always amazed me that the French gave up the Franc for the Euro, I don't think they were against a common currency in principal but I fully expected them to dig in and say 'non' unless it was the French franc ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Certainly not everyone wants to learn the French regional languages as quite rightly they tie one to the region if they are the only language spoken and what Europe needs is greater flexibility of movement for young people. So, definitely English.This does not mean that one has a single European state, as in the US where there is huge variety or customs and laws between the different parts. But they do speak some sort of English, even if one would like to teach them how it is spoken proper.http://www.lexpress.fr/region/langues-regionales-l-avenir-ne-mes-enfants-ne-passera-pas-par-le-berrichon_1223933.html(English translation: http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lexpress.fr%2Fregion%2Flangues-regionales-l-avenir-ne-mes-enfants-ne-passera-pas-par-le-berrichon_1223933.html ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Anyone for Esperanto [geek] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted February 24, 2013 Share Posted February 24, 2013 Madeup languages do not work unless there is concensus, as in modern Hebrew. And it would be just plain barmy to give up English for Esperanto just because the French hate the Anglosaxons so much. Anyway,, France is embracing English in a big way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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