Re: What if.....?

>>>>> "Seán" == Seán O'Leathlóbhair <jwlawler@xxxxxxxxx> writes:

Seán> I don't expect to see Europish of any sort in the near
Seán> future (e.g. before I die). But if I am wrong then I can
Seán> only see one candidate. English is already widely used
Seán> throughout the EU and much of the rest of Europe. It is
Seán> already the usual language for most multi-national meetings
Seán> except political EU ones. The former communist countries
Seán> have adopted it rapidly.

Yeah. The youngsters there have all learnt English at school and can
speak quite fluently. More importantly, they're *willing* to speak
and improve their English (unlike the French). Maybe, money is the
ultimate driving force.


Seán> On recent trips to Estonia and the Czech Republic, I found
Seán> it very widely used.

Yeah. I've been to Tallinn and Prague, too. It's easy to get around
(esp. the tourist regions) in English only, although it isn't
difficult to find French- and German-speaking people in Prague, too.


Seán> Even in France, it is used much more than a few years ago.

I've met a young girl -- age around 16 -- who is reluctant to speak
English. She could understand it, but tends to shut her ears when she
hear any English sounds.


Seán> My wife cannot be bothered learning another European
Seán> language yet has little trouble travelling in France. Not
Seán> looking English may help since they may assume that English
Seán> is a foreign language to her as well.

The key here is: don't speak in a "native speaker way". That means,
don't speak TOO FAST. Most native speakers speak very very fast, and
make themselves incomprehensible to non-native speakers. When asked
"Pardon?", they still don't understand why the other person can't
understand. They'd repeat the same sentence AT THE SAME SPEED and
perhaps louder. But that never helps. What can really help is to
speak again SLOWLY, word after word (avoid liaisons). Then, you'll
have a much better chance of getting understood.

How about Malay-Indonesian?



--
Lee Sau Dan

E-mail: danlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Home page: http://www.informatik.uni-freiburg.de/~danlee
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: PM granted interview to CNN on Rohingya issue.
    ... unwillingness to attempt to speak the language of the country they are ... deductions about tourists' ability to speak the language of the country ... in *English* English at least, ...
    (soc.culture.thai)
  • LNH: LNH Comics Presents #55: Infinite Leadership Crisis Episode 20
    ... But all she can do is speak ... Linguist Lass smiled. ... Now, New Look Lass, what language would you ... thinking in English and it comes out in any language I ...
    (rec.arts.comics.creative)
  • Re: Related languages (Re: A China-Sumer connection)
    ... >> between pidgin and creole must be based on grammar. ... > grammar based on a language from group A and they would place the ... > being based on the grammar of the languagethey already speak, ... > how the different varieties of English come about: ...
    (sci.anthropology)
  • Re: Related languages (Re: A China-Sumer connection)
    ... >> between pidgin and creole must be based on grammar. ... > grammar based on a language from group A and they would place the ... > being based on the grammar of the languagethey already speak, ... > how the different varieties of English come about: ...
    (sci.lang)
  • Re: Come scritto
    ... >>> If being a native speaker of a language were the only qualification ... >> English is an exception in my experience. ... It has to do with the way schools teach the language. ... > Isn't there some Italian football star who's famous for his bad ...
    (rec.music.classical.recordings)