What's on your mind?
- Swagnarok
Posts: 427
Re: What's on your mind?
There seems to be a ton of Europeans here, so it seems like somebody should be knowledgeable enough to answer:
1. In the European Union as it exists presently, is English the main Lingua Franca? Like, I understand that bilingualism (or even trilingualism) is more common over there, but in a situation where two Europeans from different countries simply do not understand each other's native language, would they most likely just resort to English to communicate? Like, say, in the near future imagine an integrated European army, with Poles, Bulgarians, Portuguese, Norweigans, etc, all in one unit. Would they probably just issue, relay and receive orders in English, for the sake of ease? If the answer to this is yes, then will it likely still be the case in 20-30 years?
2. Is Axel Springer SE a household name in the EU presently?
3. Are you concerned about Zapad-2017? Are most of the people you know?
1. In the European Union as it exists presently, is English the main Lingua Franca? Like, I understand that bilingualism (or even trilingualism) is more common over there, but in a situation where two Europeans from different countries simply do not understand each other's native language, would they most likely just resort to English to communicate? Like, say, in the near future imagine an integrated European army, with Poles, Bulgarians, Portuguese, Norweigans, etc, all in one unit. Would they probably just issue, relay and receive orders in English, for the sake of ease? If the answer to this is yes, then will it likely still be the case in 20-30 years?
2. Is Axel Springer SE a household name in the EU presently?
3. Are you concerned about Zapad-2017? Are most of the people you know?
- Oxynou
Posts: 341
Re: What's on your mind?
I'm from franceSwagnarok wrote:There seems to be a ton of Europeans here, so it seems like somebody should be knowledgeable enough to answer:
1. In the European Union as it exists presently, is English the main Lingua Franca? Like, I understand that bilingualism (or even trilingualism) is more common over there, but in a situation where two Europeans from different countries simply do not understand each other's native language, would they most likely just resort to English to communicate? Like, say, in the near future imagine an integrated European army, with Poles, Bulgarians, Portuguese, Norweigans, etc, all in one unit. Would they probably just issue, relay and receive orders in English, for the sake of ease? If the answer to this is yes, then will it likely still be the case in 20-30 years?
2. Is Axel Springer SE a household name in the EU presently?
3. Are you concerned about Zapad-2017? Are most of the people you know?
1)Yes ,beside the French language, English is the most spoken language in my country , everyone must learn it in school. Usually tourists from any countries talk to us in English when they want to know something ,it's natural. I once went to Spain and it was the same. But it's not always the case ,most of the older people don't speak english at all. To answer to the army part ,I guess using English is the easiest (only?) solution ,and yes it will still likely be the case for a long time ,I don't see any other languages near to English in term "popularity" in Europe.
2) Not in France ,it is unknown.
3)I heard about it on TV news but to be honest, it's not really a big deal in France , not most of the people know about it and it doesn't worry us.
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- SPARKLES
Posts: 2525
Re: What's on your mind?
No, and as I know a lot of people would get upset at that thought I'd advise you to stay away from suggesting it to be so.Swagnarok wrote:There seems to be a ton of Europeans here, so it seems like somebody should be knowledgeable enough to answer:
1. In the European Union as it exists presently, is English the main Lingua Franca?
While the majority of the European continent knows at least some degree of English and it has been made an obligatory subject in most of the EU countries (if not all of them), mastery of the language is still limited in some countries. Just looking at Germany, France or Italy you'll find that the older and adult part of society still largely lacks a fundamental understanding of the language. Even in my country, which has been named as being one of the best at mastering English aside from our native language I still know several people whose English is lacking if not barely existent.
Yes. While both parties might not have a 100% understanding of the English language, the chance they would understand each other using English would be much higher. Especially the younger generations that where raised with English being obligatory, as their level of understanding is usually better.Like, I understand that bilingualism (or even trilingualism) is more common over there, but in a situation where two Europeans from different countries simply do not understand each other's native language, would they most likely just resort to English to communicate?
Having worked in a bakery in Amsterdam, however, I've seen plenty of situations where non English speaking Europeans can get agressive while trying to speak in their own language. Especially Germans are good at this; I've been in situations where I got shouted at by them because I couldn't help them in German, sometimes to the point my manager had to step in.
Luckily, though, most people have at least some knowledge of the English language.
If I remember correctly most European armies require the ability to speak the English language (this is the case for my country, at least). Therefore they would and could work solely in English. Naturally this would continue to happen in the future, especially since the amount of English speaking Europeans only grows through every generation.Like, say, in the near future imagine an integrated European army, with Poles, Bulgarians, Portuguese, Norwegians, etc, all in one unit. Would they probably just issue, relay and receive orders in English, for the sake of ease? If the answer to this is yes, then will it likely still be the case in 20-30 years?
Never heard the name before, so I had to look it up. I think they're mainly active in Germany, so I wouldn't really know.2. Is Axel Springer SE a household name in the EU presently?
Another thing I had to look up. It's slightly worrying considering the actions Russia has taken in the past decade or so... But considering this is a reoccurring thing I'd say it's not as big as the press makes it sound. It might still be worth keeping an eye on, however.3. Are you concerned about Zapad-2017? Are most of the people you know?
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- dumytru
Posts: 967
Re: What's on your mind?
Yep, I agree with Yuri. I also had too use Google for 2. and 3.
I'm not entirely sure what Lingua Franca really means, but here (sometimes *bad*) English is usually used when there's no other common language and maybe some improvised sign language.
But it depends on the context. For example I know when a German engineer came to work with my mother for a couple of days, neither knew English at a good level, but they could understand each other.
(in the meantime mom's English got better and she can watch movies subbed in English )
But I can totally see people refusing to speak in English and use their own language,
As an extra note, I have studied English since kindergarten basically (obviously basic stuff).
Older people never studied English in school, and I think that might be the case for a lot of EU countries.
I'm not entirely sure what Lingua Franca really means, but here (sometimes *bad*) English is usually used when there's no other common language and maybe some improvised sign language.
But it depends on the context. For example I know when a German engineer came to work with my mother for a couple of days, neither knew English at a good level, but they could understand each other.
(in the meantime mom's English got better and she can watch movies subbed in English )
But I can totally see people refusing to speak in English and use their own language,
As an extra note, I have studied English since kindergarten basically (obviously basic stuff).
Older people never studied English in school, and I think that might be the case for a lot of EU countries.
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Posts: 1156
Re: What's on your mind?
I also agree with Yuri regarding 1. and 2. Currently English is the most common language, and therefore a lingua franca, and nothing suggests that this might change anytime soon unless another war will start, but even then the chances of changing English to another worldwide language are small.
But yeah, older people might not know English or perhaps any foreign language at all. My brother who is just a few years older than me doesn't know a single word in English. He might remember Russian since he was taught it in school, but I doubt he still remembers it. From the other hand, I and my association pretty often visit Belarus and my association's members (whom are in their 60s and older) speak Russian pretty well that they have no issues in cummunitating at all. I would say that they perhaps are better in Russian than in Polish...
About Zapad 2017, I'm not really concerned even though I'm a neighbour to both Russia and Belarus. The only risk is that Russia might leave some part of their army there in Belarus, but frankly it wouldn't be really surprising. It is not that Russia didn't do such a things in the past. What Russia is doing pretty well is provoking others. They attack countries they know the rest of the world doesn't care about, but I doubt anytime soon they might start a war or something. Putin is not that stupid. He might leave some of his army in Belarus to keep a status quo and checking the rest of the world, but that's all. This is only to show others that Russia may not be ignored by others, and still is a major player.
What I know pretty well, though, and I'm sure Putin knows that pretty well too is that all of the alliances are worth nothing. The war will start, will end, and the talking heads will still be discussing among themselves whether to do something, or wait, or maybe send a warning. When the war will start, all countries will be concerned only about their own safety, and will do nothing until they're personally attacked.
But yeah, older people might not know English or perhaps any foreign language at all. My brother who is just a few years older than me doesn't know a single word in English. He might remember Russian since he was taught it in school, but I doubt he still remembers it. From the other hand, I and my association pretty often visit Belarus and my association's members (whom are in their 60s and older) speak Russian pretty well that they have no issues in cummunitating at all. I would say that they perhaps are better in Russian than in Polish...
About Zapad 2017, I'm not really concerned even though I'm a neighbour to both Russia and Belarus. The only risk is that Russia might leave some part of their army there in Belarus, but frankly it wouldn't be really surprising. It is not that Russia didn't do such a things in the past. What Russia is doing pretty well is provoking others. They attack countries they know the rest of the world doesn't care about, but I doubt anytime soon they might start a war or something. Putin is not that stupid. He might leave some of his army in Belarus to keep a status quo and checking the rest of the world, but that's all. This is only to show others that Russia may not be ignored by others, and still is a major player.
What I know pretty well, though, and I'm sure Putin knows that pretty well too is that all of the alliances are worth nothing. The war will start, will end, and the talking heads will still be discussing among themselves whether to do something, or wait, or maybe send a warning. When the war will start, all countries will be concerned only about their own safety, and will do nothing until they're personally attacked.
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I’ll teach you this old song so you can sing along
When I am dead and gone the day won’t be so long.
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- SPARKLES
Posts: 2525
Re: What's on your mind?
Just to make clear, I'm mainly refraining from calling it a Lingua Franca (and mostly an official one) because I know some people get upset by the thought of a language other than their own being used for communicative purposes... Perhaps they are a bit oversensitive about it, but some feel that if we let one language gain too much importance their language would fall behind and be forgotten in time, thus losing part of their culture.
I agree, though, that it is the language used most commonly for both business and personal occasions that occur between other countries in case both can't speak the other language.
I agree, though, that it is the language used most commonly for both business and personal occasions that occur between other countries in case both can't speak the other language.
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Posts: 424
Re: What's on your mind?
There's a difference between damaging your native language and occasionally using a foreign language to facilitate communication that would otherwise be impossible. I can understand everyone who for instance says that there are too many English words or phrases imported into their language, and it doesn't need to be that way because there already are perfectly good words for that. However, being upset because sometimes people use a foreign language in the context their job, for example because you have to talk to a branch in another country, or when they're on holiday in another country... that's just silly.
"Vad ska jag annars vara?" - "Det vet jag inte. Det måste du svara på. Men om du släpper allt du tror att du måste, och frågar dig vad du vill... Vad vill du då?"
描いた夢は叶わないことの方が多い
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浅い眠りに押し潰されそう夜もある
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惰性で観てたテレビ消すみたいに生きることを時々辞めたくなる
人生は苦痛ですか 成功が全てですか
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秀れた人を羨んでは自分が嫌になる
浅い眠りに押し潰されそう夜もある
優しい隣人が陰で牙を向いていたり
惰性で観てたテレビ消すみたいに生きることを時々辞めたくなる
人生は苦痛ですか 成功が全てですか
僕はあなたにあなたに ただ逢いたいだけ
信じたい嘘 効かない薬 帰れないサヨナラ
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- SPARKLES
Posts: 2525
Re: What's on your mind?
It's more that they're afraid the overall use of it will slowly replace their own, and it is a silly thought, but I've actually had a colleague of mine insult another colleague because she couldn't speak our language before. People can do weird and illogical stuff when they're scared :V.bash7353 wrote:There's a difference between damaging your native language and occasionally using a foreign language to facilitate communication that would otherwise be impossible. I can understand everyone who for instance says that there are too many English words or phrases imported into their language, and it doesn't need to be that way because there already are perfectly good words for that. However, being upset because sometimes people use a foreign language in the context their job, for example because you have to talk to a branch in another country, or when they're on holiday in another country... that's just silly.
(and no, he didn't just insult her for being foreign, he told her to go home if she hadn't taken the effort to learn Dutch (which she wanted, but didn't have time for)).
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- Giogio
- Why not?
Posts: 152
Re: What's on your mind?
That's a weird thing to be scared about - I mean, people are lazy, wouldn't they always default to their mother tongue when both speak it? Then again, maybe its a more prevalent thought in a smaller country...Iwamoto Yuri wrote: It's more that they're afraid the overall use of it will slowly replace their own, and it is a silly thought, but I've actually had a colleague of mine insult another colleague because she couldn't speak our language before. People can do weird and illogical stuff when they're scared :V.
(and no, he didn't just insult her for being foreign, he told her to go home if she hadn't taken the effort to learn Dutch (which she wanted, but didn't have time for)).
Also, sorry about agressive german tourists -.-
I'm really glad that the Taiwanese are very understanding about Chinese being very damn hard and never give me a hard time because I'm bad at it :V
About the original question: I would default to English when talking to anyone whose language I don't speak - not only Europeans. I know Springer as a big publishing company in Germany, it's a recurring name. (they give out free e-textbooks to students, I like them). No clue about that last part.
Now I wonder, how are these three questions connected? ^^
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- Swagnarok
Posts: 427
Re: What's on your mind?
They aren't really connected. Just three questions I had about Europeans.Giogio wrote:That's a weird thing to be scared about - I mean, people are lazy, wouldn't they always default to their mother tongue when both speak it? Then again, maybe its a more prevalent thought in a smaller country...Iwamoto Yuri wrote: It's more that they're afraid the overall use of it will slowly replace their own, and it is a silly thought, but I've actually had a colleague of mine insult another colleague because she couldn't speak our language before. People can do weird and illogical stuff when they're scared :V.
(and no, he didn't just insult her for being foreign, he told her to go home if she hadn't taken the effort to learn Dutch (which she wanted, but didn't have time for)).
Also, sorry about agressive german tourists -.-
I'm really glad that the Taiwanese are very understanding about Chinese being very damn hard and never give me a hard time because I'm bad at it :V
About the original question: I would default to English when talking to anyone whose language I don't speak - not only Europeans. I know Springer as a big publishing company in Germany, it's a recurring name. (they give out free e-textbooks to students, I like them). No clue about that last part.
Now I wonder, how are these three questions connected? ^^
- Swagnarok
Posts: 427
Re: What's on your mind?
A lot of people spoke up. I appreciate it.
The term "Lingua Franca" refers to the language that people in a given area resort to when they wouldn't otherwise understand each other. In Europe it used to be French, hence the name.
The term "Lingua Franca" refers to the language that people in a given area resort to when they wouldn't otherwise understand each other. In Europe it used to be French, hence the name.
- Henry Gordan
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Re: What's on your mind?
Nowadays it's English, French isn't largely spread enough for that
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- dumytru
Posts: 967
Re: What's on your mind?
Some people are like that. But I do understand where that came from. If you want to live/study in another country you should learn their language.Iwamoto Yuri wrote:It's more that they're afraid the overall use of it will slowly replace their own, and it is a silly thought, but I've actually had a colleague of mine insult another colleague because she couldn't speak our language before. People can do weird and illogical stuff when they're scared :V.bash7353 wrote:There's a difference between damaging your native language and occasionally using a foreign language to facilitate communication that would otherwise be impossible. I can understand everyone who for instance says that there are too many English words or phrases imported into their language, and it doesn't need to be that way because there already are perfectly good words for that. However, being upset because sometimes people use a foreign language in the context their job, for example because you have to talk to a branch in another country, or when they're on holiday in another country... that's just silly.
(and no, he didn't just insult her for being foreign, he told her to go home if she hadn't taken the effort to learn Dutch (which she wanted, but didn't have time for)).
I have a friend who applied for ERASMUS and got in, but for a German/French college (don't actually remember which one). She refused to go because she didn't know the language (she wanted to go in Spain).
My point is people do expect to be able to speak the language if you're going to stay for a longer periods of time, and some will get aggressive.
On the other hand, I know an american girl who came in Bucharest without knowing Romanian at all. She's an artist and mostly works from home now; she's married to a Romanian guy and last time we talked, her Romanian wasn't good enough to hold a conversation. Other than working on a small project together, I haven't really known her, but she seemed to be doing okay (once, a small girl thought she was Chinese for some reason ). I do think she it's possible might've encountered people who might've said something to her about her Romanian.
So I think it's different when you want to live in a country rather than staying for a short time.
But yep, there all kinds of people. And some don't like when foreigners want to live in their country without knowing the language.
(PS: Not sure if I tried to make a point or just randomly said things on the topic)
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- SPARKLES
Posts: 2525
Re: What's on your mind?
I'm sure I kinda changed the subject myself by mentioning that XD.
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- MoonRaven
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Re: What's on your mind?
The Turku stabbing case was so awful.
But he worst thing about it is that there has been so many terrorist attacks all around Europe, that I've started to become numb for it all. I barely had interest to watch news when the Barcelona attacks happened and when Turku happened... *sigh* I got only marginally more interest since it happened in Finland but in general...
I really don't know how to put this into words.
But he worst thing about it is that there has been so many terrorist attacks all around Europe, that I've started to become numb for it all. I barely had interest to watch news when the Barcelona attacks happened and when Turku happened... *sigh* I got only marginally more interest since it happened in Finland but in general...
I really don't know how to put this into words.
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Chapter 33 of Leap to Relatively Unknown updated 12.9.20
Chapter 8 of the sequel, Leaping into the Dream updated 6.10.19
Chapter 2 of The Crow's Song updated 19.7.18