The joys of living in England

[bigbadwolf]

And everyone speaks English in Amsterdam!

It's useful to know at least one other European language -- probably German or something close (like Dutch). France now seems to be joining Club Med so the romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian) are for losers. Pax Germanica is here to stay so may as well learn the language of the conquerors.

 

[bigbadwolf]

if in the UK the wages are kissing the ground, in France it's already deeply under the ground, that's why

Well, dunno about that; I can believe it for Poland, though. If you said that unemployment is higher in France or that there's more labor demand in certain categories in London, it might also make sense.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

It's useful to know at least one other European language -- probably German or something close (like Dutch). France now seems to be joining Club Med so the romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian) are for losers. Pax Germanica is here to stay so may as well learn the language of the conquerors.

Unless it was King Charles V
Charles is: "I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse."

50 years ago educated Dutch people spoke German, English, French.

No point learning German as Germans speak excellent English.

 

[bigbadwolf]

No point learning German as Germans speak excellent English.

It is the same in Norway -- but the English they speak is stilted and formal and of course they don't speak it among themselves but only with utlending (foreigners) and as an andrespråk (second language) or even fremmedspråk (foreign language). If you really want to deal with them, it has to be in their native tongue -- og man må øve uansett feil (and one must practice regardless of mistakes). So I speak in my botched and hideous Norwegian, with my atrocious accent, rather than English. In any case I consider it a personal disgrace that they can speak my language but I can't speak theirs.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

It is the same in Norway -- but the English they speak is stilted and formal and of course they don't speak it among themselves but only with utlending (foreigners) and as an andrespråk (second language) or even fremmedspråk (foreign language). If you really want to deal with them, it has to be in their native tongue -- og man må øve uansett feil (and one must practice regardless of mistakes). So I speak in my botched and hideous Norwegian, with my atrocious accent, rather than English. In any case I consider it a personal disgrace that they can speak my language but I can't speak theirs.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do!

I know people who have lived in NL for > 30 years and speak NO Dutch...

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Maybe Klingon and you can read Shakespeare in the original.

 

[bigbadwolf]

I know people who have lived in NL for > 30 years and speak NO Dutch...

They must surely be Brits, and probably take a perverse pride in not knowing a word of the local lingo ("I say, old chap, can't you understand a word of English?"). Used to see them in Spain all the time.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

Sounds like paradise to me. Why Londoners don't move en masse to Paris?

Language?

 

[Daniel Duffy]

here's a good math problem. can anyone prove the following?

26 + 6 = 1

Not many people, I suspect.

BTW Isle of Man is not in UK and not in EU but they do speak English.

 

[Yike Lu]

Maybe Klingon and you can read Shakespeare in the original.

taH pagh taHbe'

Also I had to Google 26 + 6 = 1. And here I was thinking it was actually mathematical.

 

[Daniel Duffy]

taH pagh taHbe'

Also I had to Google 26 + 6 = 1. And here I was thinking it was actually mathematical.

And Leveticus 26:6
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus+26:6&version=NIV