ENGLISH is the lingua franca

[philsussex]

No arrogance here, but let's be honest, English is the only worldwide language.

It's great that minority languages like Welsh and French survive within their own boundaries but they're nothing more than a curiosity to the rest of the world.

It's time to drop multi lingual announcements in global events like the Olympics and the Eurovision. It's nothing nothing more than a sop.

Let's just stick to English.

 

[beorhthelm]

apparently French is the official language of the olympics. probabbly because they "reinvented" the concept. which is a shame for them as it tends to show how they are a bit unimportant these days.

 

[withdeanwombat]

Sarcasm.

The language everyone speaks.

Except on NSC,of course.

 

[TheJasperCo]

To be fair, one in five of the world's population speaks Mandarin Chinese or a variant of Chinese. Spanish is also spoken by slightly more people than English.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

To be fair, one in five of the world's population speaks Mandarin Chinese or a variant of Chinese. Spanish is also spoken by slightly more people than English.

maybe not spoken by but understood by is two different things

 

[philsussex]

To be fair, one in five of the world's population speaks Mandarin Chinese or a variant of Chinese. Spanish is also spoken by slightly more people than English.

The relevance of these languages cannot match English. There are more English speakers in the world (whether first or second language) than any other language by some considerable distance. Even more when you consider the economic importance of these speakers.

 

[Vatican Citys No.2 Keeper]

apparently French is the official language of the olympics. probabbly because they "reinvented" the concept. which is a shame for them as it tends to show how they are a bit unimportant these days.

This, as with many sports organisations (fifa and uefa are two) IOC was founded in France, hence why French is official language of Olympics. At least that's how I understand it

 

[philsussex]

I'm also not keen on having French words on my passport

 

[mistahclarke]

No arrogance here, but let's be honest, English is the only worldwide language.

It's great that minority languages like Welsh and French survive within their own boundaries but they're nothing more than a curiosity to the rest of the world.

It's time to drop multi lingual announcements in global events like the Olympics and the Eurovision. It's nothing nothing more than a sop.

Let's just stick to English.

Are you seriously comparing Welsh with French? Wales didn't colonise anyone, but the French have. French Canada, Parts of Africa, Islands in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, etc

Never heard of Welsh Polynesia!

 

[TheJasperCo]

maybe not spoken by but understood by is two different things

It's late, so forgive me for not following. Surely the two go hand-in-hand? People aren't likely to speak a language they can't understand, and vice versa: if you understand the language, it's likely you can speak it (maybe not fluently, but still...)

The relevance of these languages cannot match English. There are more English speakers in the world (whether first or second language) than any other language by some considerable distance. Even more when you consider the economic importance of these speakers.

China's a super-power, and I think it boils down to people in Britain being unwilling to try and learn another language. Granted, there are more countries that have mainly English speakers, but simply in terms of numbers, it's a bit short-sighted to seriously think English should be the only, unifying language spoken around the world.

 

[philsussex]

It's late, so forgive me for not following. Surely the two go hand-in-hand? People aren't likely to speak a language they can't understand, and vice versa: if you understand the language, it's likely you can speak it (maybe not fluently, but still...)



China's a super-power, and I think it boils down to people in Britain being unwilling to try and learn another language. Granted, there are more countries that have mainly English speakers, but simply in terms of numbers, it's a bit short-sighted to seriously think English should be the only, unifying language spoken around the world.

Chinese is an insular language and does not convert comfortably to electronic media. The Chinese are not keen on adopting pin yin so it will never be a lingua franca.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

English and French are the only 2 recognised official languages on a global basis for telecoms providers.

 

[philsussex]

Are you seriously comparing Welsh with French? Wales didn't colonise anyone, but the French have. French Canada, Parts of Africa, Islands in the Caribbean and Indian Ocean, etc

Never heard of Welsh Polynesia!

Hardly nations of any importance on the global scale. And which language do you think they'd choose as their second language?

 

[philsussex]

English and French are the only 2 recognised official languages on a global basis for telecoms providers.

Can't understand why French would be selected. I could understand Spanish. But French? I'm sure it's just a sop to the stroppy French who still have a ministry designed to prevent the language dying its inevitable death.

 

[mistahclarke]

Hardly nations of any importance on the global scale. And which language do you think they'd choose as their second language?

Not the point. For volume of speakers in the world, it's not comparable to welsh. Even the welsh don't speak welsh!

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

Can't understand why French would be selected. I could understand Spanish. But French? I'm sure it's just a sop to the stroppy French who still have a ministry designed to prevent the language dying its inevitable death.

It goes back to the days when International phone calls had to be connected via an operator and technicians/engineers had to liaise with their counterparts to restore service. London and Paris were the hubs to connect one country/continent to another. Although I could only speak half a dozen words in Russian I could still get a call connected to anywhere in the USSR by speaking in French to the operator in Moscow.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I'm also not keen on having French words on my passport

I think you'll find that a new passport has more Gaelic words than French.

And don't forget all those countries in Africa that have French as an official or widely used language, rather than English:-

Algeria
Benin (official language)
Burkina Faso (official language)
Burundi (official language, with Kirundi)
Cameroon (official language, with English)
Cape Verde (Portuguese as main language)
Central African Republic (official language, with Sango)
Chad (official language, with Arabic)
Comoros (official language, with Shikomor and Arabic)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (official language)
Republic of the Congo (official language)
Côte d'Ivoire (official language)
Djibouti (official language, with Arabic)
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea (official language, with Spanish and Portuguese)
France (official language)
- Mayotte (official language)
- Réunion (official language)
Gabon (official language)
Guinea (official language)
Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese as main language)
Madagascar (official language)
Mali (official language)
Mauritania (French is commonly used)
Mauritius (French is widely used)
Morocco (French is commonly used)
Niger (official language)
Rwanda (Although Rwanda has changed its second official language from French to English, French is spoken by the older generation)
São Tomé and Príncipe (Portuguese as main language)
Senegal (official language)
Seychelles (official language, with English and Creole)
Togo (official language)
Tunisia (French is commonly used)

 

[T soprano]

Got nothing to say on the subject just wanna stay up later than
Lord Bracknell

 

[philsussex]

I think you'll find that a new passport has more Gaelic words than French.

And don't forget all those countries in Africa that have French as an official or widely used language, rather than English:-

Algeria
Benin (official language)
Burkina Faso (official language)
Burundi (official language, with Kirundi)
Cameroon (official language, with English)
Cape Verde (Portuguese as main language)
Central African Republic (official language, with Sango)
Chad (official language, with Arabic)
Comoros (official language, with Shikomor and Arabic)
Democratic Republic of the Congo (official language)
Republic of the Congo (official language)
Côte d'Ivoire (official language)
Djibouti (official language, with Arabic)
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea (official language, with Spanish and Portuguese)
France (official language)
- Mayotte (official language)
- Réunion (official language)
Gabon (official language)
Guinea (official language)
Guinea-Bissau (Portuguese as main language)
Madagascar (official language)
Mali (official language)
Mauritania (French is commonly used)
Mauritius (French is widely used)
Morocco (French is commonly used)
Niger (official language)
Rwanda (Although Rwanda has changed its second official language from French to English, French is spoken by the older generation)
São Tomé and Príncipe (Portuguese as main language)
Senegal (official language)
Seychelles (official language, with English and Creole)
Togo (official language)
Tunisia (French is commonly used)

Wow! There's a list of economic powerhouses!

 

[JetsetJimbo]

Anyone who sneers at other languages without being able to speak at least two fluently is, frankly, a complete imbecile. I presume everyone in this thread is fluent in English + 1, yes? Guys? Er...