Re: What if.....?

Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> martinphipps2@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> >
> > Neil Greenough wrote:
> > > OK, here's a fictional scenario, but I think it would be interesting to see
> > > your opinions and this may cause a good debate here.
> > >
> > > "The European Union has ammended the new proposed constitution. This new
> > > proposal outlines that, from 2008, all member states will teach a new
> > > language, called "Europish" in schools. This language will become a new
> > > official language of Europe and by 2050, it is hoped that this language will
> > > be spoken just as much as the second language of the country, such as French
> > > in France. All member states will sign up to this as it is compulsory.."
> > >
> > > Opinions please......
> >
> > First a request for clarification: does this scenario assume that a new
> > language called "Europish" will be developed by 2008 or is this a
> > science fiction world in which a language known as Europish already
> > exists? We can treat these two scenarios separately.
> >
> > 1) The idea of creating a language for the sake of national identity
> > has already been tried in the Philippines but for most non-Tagalog
> > speakers "Filipino" is no different than Tagalog. Most non-Tagalog
> > speakers understand Tagalog anyway because that is what they hear on TV
> > and in movies. Similarly, most Europeans might suspect that "Europish"
> > was no different than English but with a few words taken from languages
> > all over Europe. Europeans wanting to establish a European identity
> > might be satisfied with learning British English, a language which is
> > still understood by Americans.
>
> He didn't say one word about the nature of "Europish." Why do you assume
> it would be English-like?
> --
> Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx

Are there any other plausible candidates? (This is a serious not a
sarcastic question.)

I don't expect to see Europish of any sort in the near future (e.g.
before I die). But if I am wrong then I can only see one candidate.
English is already widely used throughout the EU and much of the rest
of Europe. It is already the usual language for most multi-national
meetings except political EU ones. The former communist countries have
adopted it rapidly. On recent trips to Estonia and the Czech Republic,
I found it very widely used. Even in France, it is used much more than
a few years ago. My wife cannot be bothered learning another European
language yet has little trouble travelling in France. Not looking
English may help since they may assume that English is a foreign
language to her as well. Most surprising of all, in Venice recently I
heard a French couple speaking English to an Italian waiter.

I can see the Filipino analogy. If there were an attempt to create
Europish, I would, like Martin, expect it to be mostly English with
some token changes to make it seem more neutral. This is like the
relationship between Filipino and Tagalog. In theory they are not the
same language but in practise few people distinguish them.

--
Seán O'Leathlóbhair

.

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