Should there just be one language in the world?

[The Larch]

Mono is just being himself.  There are plenty of advantages available to a foreigner who speaks Mandarin.

I was talking about this with a friend of mine recently. He told me that in his field (engineering) lots of companies with projects in China are demanding candidates to be able to speak Chinese because they've had bad experiences with local contractors and partners and don't want to be at their mercy.

[Ideologue]

Mono is just being himself.  There are plenty of advantages available to a foreigner who speaks Mandarin.

I was talking about this with a friend of mine recently. He told me that in his field (engineering) lots of companies with projects in China are demanding candidates to be able to speak Chinese because they've had bad experiences with local contractors and partners and don't want to be at their mercy.

Easier solution is not to do business with kleptocrats.

[The Larch]

Mono is just being himself.  There are plenty of advantages available to a foreigner who speaks Mandarin.

I was talking about this with a friend of mine recently. He told me that in his field (engineering) lots of companies with projects in China are demanding candidates to be able to speak Chinese because they've had bad experiences with local contractors and partners and don't want to be at their mercy.

Easier solution is not to do business with kleptocrats.

Easier said than done, I guess.

[BVN]

Occitan (Langue d'Oc) is actually closer to Latin than Parisian/Langue d'Oïl/Francien i.e all forebears of current Standard French.

Duly noted, sir!

As for speaking French in Flanders as a Frenchman, it's possible as long as you're a French tourist wanting to buy a waffle or something. 

Ah ok, it's only for Belgians
I remember a newspiece where the reporter had to stress they were Canadians to get the people to speak French.  Otherwise, they spoke only Dutch.  And if a Belgian TV crew approached them, they were switching to Dutch.

I call BS. Most Flemings will be happy to talk to you in another language, be it English, French, German or any other language they happen to know. There are of course people in Flanders who don't know how to speak French and there is perhaps a minority who refuse to speak French, but in general Flemings are helpful even to French-speaking people.

[Capetan Mihali]

http://www.realclearworld.com/2011/08/26/decline_and_fall_of_the_french_language_127031.html

The Decline and Fall of the French Language?
by Gary Girod 08/25/2011

Not at all surprising that aspiring states would try to speak the language of global capital or that aspiring Eurovision singers would want to sing the language of global capital.

But the French language has already carved out a legacy that will never be forgotten.  The language of the neoliberal values that the Anglosphere impresses upon the world is derived straight from the 18th century French, and one might venture say that the global language is English with a distinctly French accent...

[viper37]

probably a walloon/Bruxellois? they lie when it comes to Flanders. Or rather: they project their own pathologies on the flemish as if we'd just be like them. We're better though as we haven't taken away a single right of the francophones. Unlike what they did (and do still). Just search for the term "Nolsloketten" (Nols being an FDF-mayor in Brussels a few decades ago -but the mentaily is still very much alive- and "loketten" being counters like in the post-office or so)

I'm not goint to discuss Belgian politics, it tends to end badly with both sides hating me

[viper37]

Occitan (Langue d'Oc) is actually closer to Latin than Parisian/Langue d'Oïl/Francien i.e all forebears of current Standard French.

Duly noted, sir!

As for speaking French in Flanders as a Frenchman, it's possible as long as you're a French tourist wanting to buy a waffle or something. 

Ah ok, it's only for Belgians
I remember a newspiece where the reporter had to stress they were Canadians to get the people to speak French.  Otherwise, they spoke only Dutch.  And if a Belgian TV crew approached them, they were switching to Dutch.

I call BS. Most Flemings will be happy to talk to you in another language, be it English, French, German or any other language they happen to know. There are of course people in Flanders who don't know how to speak French and there is perhaps a minority who refuse to speak French, but in general Flemings are helpful even to French-speaking people.

can't say I had problems myself, but that was in 1990.  And we didn't go that deep in Flanders (Ghent was the fartherst North, IIRC).  I just heard Flemings were a tad annoyed at French speakers with the recent political events.

[viper37]

http://www.realclearworld.com/2011/08/26/decline_and_fall_of_the_french_language_127031.html

There's a huge, renewed interest for French in Vermont.  It helps them to cope with the bad US economy by being nice to Quebec's tourists.
Prediction from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, talksof going from 200 millions speakers to 500 millions by 2050.
Certainly, French is not as popular as it was.  English is the dominant language for now, no doubt about it.  But it's still far from a dying language.

[Zoupa]

http://www.realclearworld.com/2011/08/26/decline_and_fall_of_the_french_language_127031.html

There's a huge, renewed interest for French in Vermont.  It helps them to cope with the bad US economy by being nice to Quebec's tourists.
Prediction from the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, talksof going from 200 millions speakers to 500 millions by 2050.
Certainly, French is not as popular as it was.  English is the dominant language for now, no doubt about it.  But it's still far from a dying language.

The number of francophones worldwide has doubled in the last 20 years. I'm not sure how that qualifies french as "declining and falling". I guess journalists need to write copy and make pay *shrugs*

[The Brain]

Talking to non-native English speakers is so fucking boring. You have to shelve your jokes and clever references.

[Eddie Teach]

The number of francophones worldwide has doubled in the last 20 years. I'm not sure how that qualifies french as "declining and falling". I guess journalists need to write copy and make pay *shrugs*

So French is successful because West Africans have lots of babies? 

[CountDeMoney]

If there was only one language in the world, Timmay would still be there, fucking it all up.

[Neil]

The number of francophones worldwide has doubled in the last 20 years. I'm not sure how that qualifies french as "declining and falling". I guess journalists need to write copy and make pay *shrugs*

So French is successful because West Africans have lots of babies? 

No, French is successful because it is spoken in France, which is one of the major industrialized economies.  I couldn't care less how many mudpeople in Africa speak the language, or even about an isolated, semi-assimilated pocket of francophones in North America.  France alone is enough, just as Germany and Austria alone is enough for German.

[Ed Anger]

If there was only one language in the world, Timmay would still be there, fucking it all up.

SACKRE BLUE!!!!!!!!!!

[Ideologue]

If there was only one language in the world, Timmay would still be there, fucking it all up.

SACKRE BLUE!!!!!!!!!!

JACK CUSE!  ABSOLUMENT EPOUVANTABLE!!!!!1111uneune