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  3. Should English stay the lingua franca of Europe?

Should English stay the lingua franca of Europe?

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  • richierich@lemmy.worldR [email protected]

    šŸ¤” when I see this: do you mean "Ubi est"?

    My first sentence was: "Marcus silvam currit." šŸ˜‚

    C This user is from outside of this forum
    C This user is from outside of this forum
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    wrote on last edited by
    #122

    "Cogito, ergo dum."

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    • lime@feddit.nuL [email protected]

      there's also a story about how he just decided to fire off nonsense phonemes at some visiting professor from some asian country because he thought it was funny and people were apparently impressed at his diction. i don't think his perceived audience reactions should be taken at face value.

      C This user is from outside of this forum
      C This user is from outside of this forum
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      wrote on last edited by
      #123

      I've heard a bit recently about how a lot of what Feynman told his fanboy writer were simply lies.

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      • A [email protected]

        There were many lingua francas of which French was supposedly the first global lingua franca. That changed and it became English (from what I understand). We will probably see another language become the lingua franca, so my question is: should it be English? Are there better candidates out there? Why / why not?

        icastfist@programming.devI This user is from outside of this forum
        icastfist@programming.devI This user is from outside of this forum
        [email protected]
        wrote on last edited by
        #124

        Anything but english or french. Yes, I'm willing to put up even with brainfuck as a spoken language

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        • F [email protected]

          As someone who learnt both German and English as a second language, German was easier.

          Consistent spelling and pronounciation make a massive difference.

          ? Offline
          ? Offline
          Guest
          wrote on last edited by
          #125

          I’m learning German now and it’s insanely logical. I’m angry people dissuaded me as a kid from learning German. I truly love the language and Germans are also very kind.

          Side note: are there any German communities on Lemmy you know of? I’d like to join. I’m a fan of Staiy and Spacefrogs.

          richierich@lemmy.worldR 1 Reply Last reply
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          • S [email protected]

            It made us Brits lazy. There's little reason for people to learn other languages due to English being so popular as a second language.

            Don't get me wrong, there are people. But I don't know many people that can speak other languages.

            hadek@lemmings.worldH This user is from outside of this forum
            hadek@lemmings.worldH This user is from outside of this forum
            [email protected]
            wrote on last edited by
            #126

            As a tri-lingual belgian I feel that so much. (more of a poly-lingual because I speak 5 languages)

            I'm super fluent in belgian dutch and belgian french, so whenever I swap (which I do without thinking, I will always answer in whatever language is spoken to me) people

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            • I [email protected]

              FYI Euskadi is a region of Spain that doesn't include all Basque-speaking territories. The language is Euskera.

              Also, there is a Basque lemmy instance! lemmy.eus

              ? Offline
              ? Offline
              Guest
              wrote on last edited by
              #127

              Born in French Basque Country, had to learn Basque, it was horrible. Please don't.

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              • A [email protected]

                There were many lingua francas of which French was supposedly the first global lingua franca. That changed and it became English (from what I understand). We will probably see another language become the lingua franca, so my question is: should it be English? Are there better candidates out there? Why / why not?

                K This user is from outside of this forum
                K This user is from outside of this forum
                [email protected]
                wrote on last edited by
                #128

                English if we want ease of communication (and is the most likely path forward)

                Esperanto if the goal is to teach it to a whole generation: it is designed to be easy to understand when you already know one European language (especially a latin one I think?)

                Chinese if the goal is to speak the language of the dominant non European power in the next century

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                • C [email protected]

                  It's a fun text, but let's be real; There is absolutely no possiblity of German being the official language of the European Union. Those of us in Europe who communicate across borders do so in English, not German.

                  C This user is from outside of this forum
                  C This user is from outside of this forum
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                  wrote on last edited by
                  #129

                  People in Germany tend to prefer English if they figure out you're better at it, even.

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                  • captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.worksC [email protected]

                    Spoken English and written English are two different languages that have different features and different design flaws.

                    C This user is from outside of this forum
                    C This user is from outside of this forum
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                    wrote on last edited by
                    #130

                    And one of the flaws of written English is that is has no spoken equivalent, haha!

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                    • A [email protected]

                      There were many lingua francas of which French was supposedly the first global lingua franca. That changed and it became English (from what I understand). We will probably see another language become the lingua franca, so my question is: should it be English? Are there better candidates out there? Why / why not?

                      H This user is from outside of this forum
                      H This user is from outside of this forum
                      [email protected]
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #131

                      The Lingua Franca didn't change because someone decided to change it, it slowly happened. You could argue it would be nice for EU if the (local) Lingua Franca would be the language of a large member state, but I don't see it happening by force. Probably better to just leave it to be English, even if the Irish are the only native speakers in the EU.

                      Y ? 2 Replies Last reply
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                      • A [email protected]

                        There were many lingua francas of which French was supposedly the first global lingua franca. That changed and it became English (from what I understand). We will probably see another language become the lingua franca, so my question is: should it be English? Are there better candidates out there? Why / why not?

                        dumblederp@aussie.zoneD This user is from outside of this forum
                        dumblederp@aussie.zoneD This user is from outside of this forum
                        [email protected]
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #132

                        G'day from Australia, please don't cut our borderless monolingual Island off. Kiwi's probably feel similar too.

                        A 1 Reply Last reply
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                        • dumblederp@aussie.zoneD [email protected]

                          G'day from Australia, please don't cut our borderless monolingual Island off. Kiwi's probably feel similar too.

                          A This user is from outside of this forum
                          A This user is from outside of this forum
                          [email protected]
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #133

                          Don't kid yourself, if you would speak English over there, how come I barely understood this Australian who told me he's been "leggin' it barefoot since he stacked it near the servo and now he's flat out like a lizard drinkin' and tryin' to find a dunny before he cops a fair dinkum blue".

                          Y ? 2 Replies Last reply
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                          • S [email protected]

                            It made us Brits lazy. There's little reason for people to learn other languages due to English being so popular as a second language.

                            Don't get me wrong, there are people. But I don't know many people that can speak other languages.

                            M This user is from outside of this forum
                            M This user is from outside of this forum
                            [email protected]
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #134

                            I'm now over 10 years out of school where i learned english and started to learn another language. Now with an adult brain it is quite facinating to self observe how the brain is slowly rewired to adopt to the new language and how the longer you stay on track the faster the learning becomes.

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                            • A [email protected]

                              There were many lingua francas of which French was supposedly the first global lingua franca. That changed and it became English (from what I understand). We will probably see another language become the lingua franca, so my question is: should it be English? Are there better candidates out there? Why / why not?

                              x00z@lemmy.worldX This user is from outside of this forum
                              x00z@lemmy.worldX This user is from outside of this forum
                              [email protected]
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #135

                              We should start using Toki Pona.

                              O 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • ? Guest

                                I’m learning German now and it’s insanely logical. I’m angry people dissuaded me as a kid from learning German. I truly love the language and Germans are also very kind.

                                Side note: are there any German communities on Lemmy you know of? I’d like to join. I’m a fan of Staiy and Spacefrogs.

                                richierich@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                richierich@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                [email protected]
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #136

                                Try the server: Feddit.org, there are some groups in German.

                                ? 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • L [email protected]

                                  It's horrible how many German nouns have a female or male gender. Like a lamp is female for some reason, but not if it's a spot or a chandelier or whatever. This is so stupid and has to be memorized. Why is a bottle female, but not if it's a flat flask.

                                  ... and French is even more silly.

                                  richierich@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                  richierich@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                  [email protected]
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #137

                                  The wrong use of "der/die/das" in German does not really bother. Everyone will understand the sentence if it's done wrong. Since there is no rule to be derived as to how to use the article correctly, you simply have to learn it with the word itself like in other languages, too. (Why is a car a "female" in French? "La voiture" - I won't ever understand, also in Swedish: "en" or "ett" words eg. "vatten" .) There are some rules in German, like ending on "-er" is often a "male" word, but not consistent... It's only a clue. But sometimes it doesn't matter at all: "der Joghurt", "die Joghurt", "das Joghurt" - all genders are correct, so just try. šŸ˜‚

                                  richierich@lemmy.worldR L 2 Replies Last reply
                                  0
                                  • richierich@lemmy.worldR [email protected]

                                    The wrong use of "der/die/das" in German does not really bother. Everyone will understand the sentence if it's done wrong. Since there is no rule to be derived as to how to use the article correctly, you simply have to learn it with the word itself like in other languages, too. (Why is a car a "female" in French? "La voiture" - I won't ever understand, also in Swedish: "en" or "ett" words eg. "vatten" .) There are some rules in German, like ending on "-er" is often a "male" word, but not consistent... It's only a clue. But sometimes it doesn't matter at all: "der Joghurt", "die Joghurt", "das Joghurt" - all genders are correct, so just try. šŸ˜‚

                                    richierich@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                    richierich@lemmy.worldR This user is from outside of this forum
                                    [email protected]
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #138

                                    But it could be worse: "Czech,Ā Slovak andĀ Rusyn:Ā Masculine animate,Ā Masculine inanimate,Ā Feminine,Ā NeuterĀ (traditionally, only masculine, feminine and neuter genders are recognized, withĀ animacyĀ as a separate category for the masculine)."

                                    😳

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                                    • A [email protected]

                                      There were many lingua francas of which French was supposedly the first global lingua franca. That changed and it became English (from what I understand). We will probably see another language become the lingua franca, so my question is: should it be English? Are there better candidates out there? Why / why not?

                                      ? Offline
                                      ? Offline
                                      Guest
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #139

                                      A common language serves common communication. As a happenstance of history that turned out to be English. Changing it would be enormously costly and hinder cooperation. Aside from that, learning English is useful as it's more or less commonly understood in almost every country in the world.

                                      D 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • richierich@lemmy.worldR [email protected]

                                        The wrong use of "der/die/das" in German does not really bother. Everyone will understand the sentence if it's done wrong. Since there is no rule to be derived as to how to use the article correctly, you simply have to learn it with the word itself like in other languages, too. (Why is a car a "female" in French? "La voiture" - I won't ever understand, also in Swedish: "en" or "ett" words eg. "vatten" .) There are some rules in German, like ending on "-er" is often a "male" word, but not consistent... It's only a clue. But sometimes it doesn't matter at all: "der Joghurt", "die Joghurt", "das Joghurt" - all genders are correct, so just try. šŸ˜‚

                                        L This user is from outside of this forum
                                        L This user is from outside of this forum
                                        [email protected]
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #140

                                        It's definitely "der Joghurt" tho.

                                        fite me

                                        richierich@lemmy.worldR 1 Reply Last reply
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                                        • x00z@lemmy.worldX [email protected]

                                          We should start using Toki Pona.

                                          O This user is from outside of this forum
                                          O This user is from outside of this forum
                                          [email protected]
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #141

                                          I want to learn this. So cool

                                          x00z@lemmy.worldX 1 Reply Last reply
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