Speaking English in Europe

Vicky, right and wrong:hehe: Mandarin Chinese, then Spanish, then English:wink: So we're both wrong (according to Wikipedia anyway!)

 

Ho, hum, Aaron ... do we read different Wikipedias ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

Wikipedia is based on speculation not fact anyway as I understand. Apparently t'other half has made corrections/additions ... I have thought about doing so myself but have not got up the courage yet .... and probably never will ... :hehe:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language#Countries_in_order_of_total_speakers

Hmmm. Bit of a contradiction going on on Wiki

I've corrected on Wiki once. Can't remember what info and never went back to check if it was "corrected back":hehe:

Mind you, that article also states English might well be the most widely spoken. Oh dear, I'm splitting hairs now, sorry:o

 

Oh alright perhaps I should go and correct it.

Its obviously got it all mixed up and needs sorting out.:D

 

I dont think India's first language is English, if it is, why cant I understand my insurance company call centre operator, when they ring me up with another very lucrative offer.:D

And Canada and Austrailia are so sparsely populated they hardly make a dent.

 

Go for it, Pete ... do the dastardly deed for us ... :lollol:.... put any language in any order ... nobody will probably notice the difference .... :rotfl: Personally I opt for Portuguese second ... but then I'm biased .... :hehe:

 

Another interesting thread. At junior school I was taught French language by a very good teacher although I didn't do well - couldn't understand the he/she stuff either:hehe: plus my accent was/is (in any language!) atrocious!

At seniors we had German & French & I actually took my German O Level. Don't ask me why, I wasn't in the group for that:cnfs: Nor was I for English language but I took that too:hehe: I wasn't really interested in many things at school and never thought to question why they were the languages offered, so this thread has many interesting thoughts from you.

I would never have wanted to learn Latin or Greek - ok, being honest I probably couldn't have learned them, lol - but so many words stem from these original languages it does help with knowing (or guessing) what certain unknown words may mean. Especially in the gardening world. Blimey, I can't remember 'common' names let alone the Latin ones!

So, having been through the education system (albeit many years ago ('70's) ) I do think we should feel ashamed that we don't have foreign languages in our schools as a matter of course.

cheers

 

I work with Polish lads and feel quite inferior that they can speak not only English but most european languages too.....I take the trouble to learn a few phrases to show them I'm not stupid or a bigot!:wink:

 

I'm sure no one ever would think either of you Pal:thumb:

But interesting thought. By right, your Polish workmates should learn English, at least to a level where they can be understood and for them to contribute to society, if they are living and working here. As Victoria said earlier, "when in Rome". Unfortunately, some British ex-pats don't follow this principle when they live abroad. I hope if I ever lived in a non-english speaking country, I would try to integrate. But it's only natural to drift towards your fellow countrypeople when you are in a foriegn country.

However when councils here are bending over backwards to translate it's rules and laws into several different languages that it gets a bit silly. Back to "when in Rome"?

I'm off to the garden centre now for some retail therapy. Plants are easy - they don't talk at all!:hehe:

 

You still have to understand them though :D