Almost all the declarations made by politics now in the european institutions are in english. A lot of europeans, in order to communicate with their neighbours, speak in english. Just go on holiday to make camping, in the south of France for ex., and you will see that young french with italians, young dutch with spaniards, etc... all the youth communicate in english. I think soon it will be our second natural language, don't you think so?
I don't assert it's a good situation or not, it is just a constatation
<<I think soon it will be our second natural language, don't you think so?>>
If by "natural language" you mean "native language," I think very unlikely. Other European languages are in no danger just because they all have a common lingua franca or trade language. Those young French, Italians, Dutch, Spaniards, etc. will continue communicating amongst each other in whatever is most convenient but their offspring will still speak the respective native languages of their parents.
The trend scares me too. I live on an international student housing estate (here in Norway) and see the problem daily: Although we are five persons who understand German in the room, as soon as a person who does not speak German steps in, we have to switch to English.
How to turn the trend: Learn your neighbour languages. You don´t have to speak it, just understand it. Understanding is easier than speaking it yourself.
Why are you all so apparently "scared" of English? Do you non-natives really and truly perceive it as so much of a threat? If so, then maybe the idea of Esperanto or the mythical Europish (discussed in here in lighthearted terms) could be substituted instead. Nobody FORCES anyone to learn or speak English surely. You all seem to be falling over each other in your deire to learn our Language. If as you suggest English really is seen as some sort of linguistic "disease" then the remedy lies in YOUR hands! So off you go...let's see what you can come up with. As I say, it's YOU guys who've CHOSEN to speak English and CHOSEN to come into Forums such as this....the crux of which is to "Learn English Effectively". Just buzz off if you feel it's been forced upon you!
deire = desire
Actually the non exitant word "deire" looks quite cool...it has a hint of Irish about it! :-) If so it would be pronounced "dare-uh" as in the name Eire. That's why it looks Irish...just realised! Back to work..........
True, Damian: We are hypocrits! Like a politician talking about how good state schools are and then sending off his own kids to private schools!
exitant = existent! omg....too much speed...
Damian,
the reality forces us to learn your language, the economy forces us, politics force us...
to Damian:
"Nobody FORCES anyone to learn or speak English surely. You all seem to be falling over each other in your deire to learn our Language"
I don't agree with you. In almost all school, the only foreign language we can learn English. We cannot choose any other language. Moreover, we are obliged to learn it if we wanna aspire to working in many blue collar jobs.
To me is not a problem, but I think that we should have more options other than English so that we can communicate with others.
For example, when I was to Greece last year, I carried a book with Greek simple sentences and I began to speak in Greek in some basic situations.
In short, although English is the language of communication in business, trade, science and so on, I think we should be less dependent with English and trying to use other language, at least in a basic way.
Take care
is not a problem = it is not a problem
Sorry for the mistake
Well in all fairness Damian, when people worry about dominance by English, it doesn't mean they are anti-English. This is a huge issue in South Africa at the moment. I personally am also concerned about the way English is being pushed, especially because it effectively excludes South Africans who cannot speak English (almost 60% of all South Africans), from the work market. There is a myth in SA that EVERYONE can speak English, which is simply not true. I don't think the people who wrote up there have anything against English as such, but rather against the idea that one language should dominate, regardless of whether it's English, German, Danish or whatever. :)
=>is English already the unofficial language of EU?<=
Nope.
Javier,
Are you sure you meant 'blue collar jobs'?
I meant white collar jobs
English already is an OFFICIAL language of the EU. Just as French and German, and so on... are official EU languagues.
However most documents, speeches ... are drafted using English and most of the translations are from English to language x or from language x to English. English and French are, de facto, the languages used in the EU for internal communication. But French is losing out fast to English, that's also a fact.
By the way have a look at: europa.eu.int, an amazing multilingual website - it's HUGE and everything translated in all the languages!