I see you haven't answered my question about a former lingua franca, French, Aldo. How do you justify that one?
Which language is more important, French or Spanish?
« Words used : the, small
the small boy
the small girl
the small boys
the small girls.
Article and adjetive with no gender, no plural. That really simplifies things. »
FAUX : pas de genre ***MARQUÉ*** et pas de pluriel ***MARQUÉ***, mais genre et pluriel ***INDÉTERMINÉS*** et ***NON-MARQUÉS***.
the small boy
the small girl
the small boys
the small girls.
Article and adjetive with no gender, no plural. That really simplifies things. »
FAUX : pas de genre ***MARQUÉ*** et pas de pluriel ***MARQUÉ***, mais genre et pluriel ***INDÉTERMINÉS*** et ***NON-MARQUÉS***.
> Ok, so French used to be the "lingua franca" because.... it was easy? Is that the reasoning I should apply?
Sorry Tiffany but I don't understand your point. When and where French used to be a "lingua franca" ?
Sorry Tiffany but I don't understand your point. When and where French used to be a "lingua franca" ?
Alright, I give up. If you would like to have answer to your question, I suggest you pick up a history book.
> Alright, I give up. If you would like to have answer to your question, I suggest you pick up a history book
History book ??? You have already answered my question !!
History book ??? You have already answered my question !!
Did I? You asked me when and where was French a lingua franca. I old you to pick up a history if you wanted answers to when and where. I fail to see how I answered your question as I did not give time or place.
Aldo, le français a servi de lingua franca à deux reprises : au moyen-âge d'abord, puis du XVIIe au XXe siècle. Mais il reste aujourd'hui encore une langue internationale.
Thanks Greg for the enlightenment.
But Tiffany I still can't find the relation between the "POWER" of a country and the expanding of its language TODAY. I think some of you are mixing "POWER" with "INFLUENCE". U.S. has a great influence over the world through its music, movies etc...(and other negative things that I won't mention). Everybody knows and sees that but that's not really power in the way that some nationalists want to show it. Italy, France, Mexico...etc have a huge influence through for example their food, music, sports...etc too. A country is not an island and influences run from here to there. Even U.S. takes lots of influences from other countries. I'm almost sure that many United Statians think that coffee, pizza, nachos, and La Macarena were invented in the U.S....just kidding! :)
But Tiffany I still can't find the relation between the "POWER" of a country and the expanding of its language TODAY. I think some of you are mixing "POWER" with "INFLUENCE". U.S. has a great influence over the world through its music, movies etc...(and other negative things that I won't mention). Everybody knows and sees that but that's not really power in the way that some nationalists want to show it. Italy, France, Mexico...etc have a huge influence through for example their food, music, sports...etc too. A country is not an island and influences run from here to there. Even U.S. takes lots of influences from other countries. I'm almost sure that many United Statians think that coffee, pizza, nachos, and La Macarena were invented in the U.S....just kidding! :)
Forget French! Latin was much harder than French, and it was the #1 language in Europe for centuries. As for American power, who was it who laid the foundation of the Internet? Who dominated aviation after WW2? And we had a head start. English was already spoken around the world, thanks to the British Empire.
I do not want to argue semantics with you, Aldo. Influence power, whatever you'd like to call it. My point is that your point that English is a lingua franca because it is "simple" is utter nonsense.
Sander : pourquoi tant d'agressivité ? Nous connaissons tous ta position. Tu crois qu'en insultant un nouveau venu tu feras progresser tes idées ?
=>pourquoi tant d'agressivité ? Nous connaissons tous ta position. Tu crois qu'en insultant un nouveau venu tu feras progresser tes idées ? <=
Pourquoi, pourquoi, pourquoi , why, why, why...
But never a 'because' .
Pourquoi, pourquoi, pourquoi , why, why, why...
But never a 'because' .
I would say Spanish is more "important" because it's the second most widely spoken language in the United States. It's also spoken in virtually all of Latin America and Spain.
They're both beautiful languages, though -- English doesn't even come close.
They're both beautiful languages, though -- English doesn't even come close.
<<They're both beautiful languages, though -- English doesn't even come close.>>
Purely subjective opinion. I myself do not find Spanish 'beautiful' in the least.
Purely subjective opinion. I myself do not find Spanish 'beautiful' in the least.