French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
independent.co.uk
French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
1–10 of 392 posts
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#2Great, well then I suggest that we just repeat this process whenever a new presidency takes over. Wonder when it's Denmark's turn again - we really missed the opportunity in 2012 by being so darn agreeable all the time.
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#3I love France, the food the wine, even the cars. But why is it that they manage to be such wankers sometimes about their language?
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#4Ah, a return to the diplomatic norms of the 178th century. Literally a lingua franca, after all.
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#5Only Ireland has English as their primary language of the EU so it makes sense.
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#6After getting the middle finger from the UK they are slowly then quickly excising the English out of their lives.
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#7Yeah, good luck with that. Easier said than done.
Brexit makes the case for English even stronger as it is more of a neutral common ground than before (since Ireland and Malta have it as official languages - though not the "first" official language of Ireland, in theory, of course)
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#8Only Ireland has English as their primary language of the EU so it makes sense.
Malta has English as an official language, too.
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#9Only Ireland has English as their primary language of the EU so it makes sense.
Yet by far the biggest shared language in the EU is english, no contest.
Re: French set to replace English as EU’s ‘working language’
#10I'm currently reading a book about the Congress of Vienna and it's amazing that the Russian Tsar argued with the English ambassador in French. Here were all the rich and powerful men of Europe dividing up the continent and there wasn't a single translator needed.