Why German is not popular here?

Wrong!   Fri May 15, 2009 8:29 am GMT
<<I would never claim that German is an important world language, but it remains by far the biggest language in Europe in terms of native speakers. So it's certainly a major language within its own continent,>>


Wrong. It's well behind Russian.
European Russia: 112 millions.
Belarus: 10 millions.
Ukraine: 15 millions (native), probably another 20 millions fluent second language speakers.
Baltics: 1 million.
Total: 138 millions native

German: 105 millions.
fraz   Fri May 15, 2009 9:16 am GMT
I stand corrected, although you could argue that Russia isn't part of the EU and in any case stretches all the way to Korea and Japan.

The outcome of WWII was a hammer blow for the spread of the German language. The Reich lost a lot of territory and the significant German-speaking populations of the states which fell behind the Iron Curtian were expelled. German had long been a lingua franca in that part of Europe but people were force-fed Russian instead.

Curiously, German still had a firm footing in these neighbouring states when communism disappeared in the early 90s but the influx of trade and visitors has seen a remarkable swing towards English over the last 15 years and it now the foreign language of choice for young people.
Wrong Again   Fri May 15, 2009 10:51 am GMT
"The outcome of WWII was a hammer blow for the spread of the German language."

WTF? THE OUTCAME was a blow for the spread? And not the BEGINNING of the war? Not the racial laws? Not the Holocaust?
No, in the begining of WWII everything went well for the Germans and their language. It was the misfortunate outcome that is to blame.

Brennus!
blanc   Fri May 15, 2009 11:05 am GMT
<<WTF? THE OUTCAME was a blow for the spread? And not the BEGINNING of the war? Not the racial laws? Not the Holocaust?
No, in the begining of WWII everything went well for the Germans and their language. It was the misfortunate outcome that is to blame. >>


Well, technically, if Hitler had conquered the entire world then German would be the most spoken language so yes, the outcome did end Germans SPREAD. If he hadn't started a war, German would have stayed constant, maybe spread a little, but nothing like if they'd won. The racial laws had little to do with it. No one cared about that at the time, only afterwards. If Hitler executed only Jews inside Germany and not invaded, no one would have done anything.
fraz   Fri May 15, 2009 11:22 am GMT
Okay, perhaps "spread" wasn't the best word to use. What I meant to convey was that prior to 1939, German had a strong standing in mainland Europe and was a lingua franca for a whole block of nations.

After the ultimately disastrous war campaign (although yes, the early years were successful), the German language's sphere of influence was severely eroded. I meant spread as in current distribution rather than conquering new territories to actively force the language further afield.
tarantula   Fri May 15, 2009 11:39 am GMT
Europe's biggest country is Russia, and if you have some problems with that, than it's France and Spain. Germany isn't the biggest. But it's the most powerful, that's sicher!
Guest   Fri May 15, 2009 11:41 am GMT
Russia is the biggest Asian country.
fraz   Fri May 15, 2009 11:43 am GMT
<<Europe's biggest country is Russia, and if you have some problems with that, than it's France and Spain>>

France and Spain might be bigger in terms of land mass. But Germany's population dwarfs these countries and that's a more important factor in language distribution. And of course the economic might is a major player as well.
Tixo Rayu   Fri May 15, 2009 12:21 pm GMT
Frau Colette said:
I can only see threads about French, Italian, Spanish and even Portuguese and other inferior languages.

'Inferior' languages?? I beg your pardon?
Guest   Fri May 15, 2009 12:47 pm GMT
Ukrania is the biggest European county.
Guest   Fri May 15, 2009 1:47 pm GMT
Alemania tiene más habitantes, pero el territorio es tan escaso que semejante densidad de población produce demasiado estres en los recursos naturales. De hecho la población de Alemania por limitaciones físicas no va a crecer más. En el 2050 se espera que el país más poblado de Europa sea Francia. La unica forma de que Alemania pueda seguir creciendo es anexionando algún país vecino .
Lydia   Fri May 15, 2009 3:11 pm GMT
La unica forma de que Alemania pueda seguir creciendo es anexionando algún país vecino .


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l'Autriche? la Pologne?
smiley   Fri May 15, 2009 4:57 pm GMT
Why German is not popular here?


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Maybe german people don't like their language, and in forum like this they prefer only write in english.
Or maybe no germans here. Where are you germans speakers ?
Deutsche   Fri May 15, 2009 6:07 pm GMT
Hier bin ich.
Zweiter Deutsch   Fri May 15, 2009 8:36 pm GMT
Ich auch