Chinese (and other) pilots unable to speak English pose danger for air travel (CNN)

Mxsmanic wrote:

[I had followed up to the assertion that:
" For centuries French was an international language of diplomacy and
negotiation, and this trend persists, although it is fading in favor of
English."]

David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) writes:

It faded in that respect long ago actually. Even close to France, in the
EU, most diplomats from dfferent countries will converse in English.

And many also know French--which is good, because French is still used a lot
in writing.

Many EU diplomats know German too- probably far more than French now
since the new accession states entered in the last few years. French is
only useful in world terms in the sense that learning languages is a
_good_ thing, and there's a great deal of French language culture etc.
However, as a diplomatic language, or in any other meaningful 'world'
sense, it has long since lost any importance. Next to English, Arabic,
Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi are far more important than French.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...

Many of the worst teachers have impeccable credentials and are well paid,
and
vice versa.

Whiners who can't make it usually use that kind of rationalization when the
truth is they simply can't cut it.



Read _Sorbonne Confidential_.

Request denied.

David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) writes:

Next to English, Arabic,
Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi are far more important than French.

It's the other way around. If you can't find someone who speaks English, the
next language you try is French.

EridanMan writes:

Indeed this is my point. French was without a, if not the crucial
international language for many centuries. That said, its relevance
today is waning.

It remains vastly more relevant than Spanish or Chinese, both of which are
highly localized geographically.

True, but again, simple efficiency dictates that an international
'common' language is best served if there is only one, and as uniform
as the geographic distribution of french speakers may be, English
still remains far more common and 'useful', despite whatever flaws you
may find in its capacity for expression.

I never said that French was preferable to English, only that it is the next
best choice after English. Neither language is better than the other
fundamentally; it is purely a question of how many people speak each language,
and where they reside.

... Especially as the crest of the English wave breaks, and the
U.S, grows less and less relevant in the global economy.

The English wave is not being driven by the U.S., and is nowhere near breaking
any time soon. The U.S. could disappear and English would not lose any
significant momentum now.

El Maximo writes:

Whiners who can't make it usually use that kind of rationalization when the
truth is they simply can't cut it.

I've already recommended reading on the subject. There's a reason why so few
French people can speak any useful English despite years of formal education
in the language.

Mxsmanic wrote:

David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) writes:

Next to English, Arabic,
Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi are far more important than French.

It's the other way around. If you can't find someone who speaks English, the
next language you try is French.

The next language _you_ try maybe. It's rarely of any use to me when I
travel (outside French speaking countries)- even in Europe. Despite
being an American, you have adopted a very French perspective, but it's
******** if you travel to most countries outside France.

--
(*) ... of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate
http://www.davidhorne.net - real address on website
"Abominable, loyal, blind, apparently subservient."
Pres. Carter on Pres. Blair- May, 2007

On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:28:09 +0100, (David Horne, _the_
chancellor (*)) wrote:

Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi are far more important than French.

Hindi? One of the current strengths of Indian workers is that the Lingua
Franca of India is English. Hindi may be the major language, but I'm told by
Indian colleagues that English is the language of education (or at the very
least, in the schools and universities those colleagues attended).

DaveM

For what it's worth, at least the scientific courses in universities
in Sweden were being taught in English in the late 60s.

Had been German, I was told, until after WW2


On Jul 8, 7:09 pm, DaveM wrote:
On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:28:09 +0100, (David Horne, _the_

chancellor (*)) wrote:
Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi are far more important than French.

Hindi? One of the current strengths of Indian workers is that the Lingua
Franca of India is English. Hindi may be the major language, but I'm told by
Indian colleagues that English is the language of education (or at the very
least, in the schools and universities those colleagues attended).

DaveM

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*) writes:

Next to English, Arabic,
Mandarin, Spanish and Hindi are far more important than French.

It's the other way around. If you can't find someone who speaks English,
the
next language you try is French.

That probably works in France.....

"Mxsmanic" wrote in message
...
El Maximo writes:

Whiners who can't make it usually use that kind of rationalization when
the
truth is they simply can't cut it.

I've already recommended reading on the subject. There's a reason why so
few
French people can speak any useful English despite years of formal
education
in the language.

Your past history lead me to ignore anything you might 'recommend'. I
suspect any intelligent person would do the same.

With english teachers like you in the system, I'm suprised ANY french people
can speak English.