Re: The Truth is out about the Irish, Welsh, Scotch, Mamx, Cornish, and Bretons

"Josiah Jenkins" <josiah-jenkins@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:n2lhu298lvc4c56ckj93pp18gdltu4sf0g@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Whilst perusing Usenet on Fri, 2 Mar 2007 13:02:35 -0000, I read these
> words from "Westprog" <westprog@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> :
> >"allan connochie" <allan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> >news:45e52e34@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >...
> >> > On a pro rate population basis, I'll wager that more
> >> > Spaniards, Italians, ****tuguese, Greeks and Poles
> >> > have attempted to learn to speak a second language
> >> > compared to the English !
> >
> >Why say English here? Why not say British?
>
> Because I meant English !

> >I noticed the same thing a while
> >back when there was criticism of "English" cooking,
> >as if Welsh, Scottish or Irish

> They all have a first/second languge to start with.
> Many of them speak 'Gaelic' (of whatever flavour)
> and *nglish. That gives them a head start !

> Perhaps because of that influence on the culture,
> there isn't the same reticence to attempt to converse
> in another language.

Scots and Irish have no interest in speaking any language apart from
English, for the most part. There was a recent program on TG4 where an
Irish
speaker wandered around his country attempting to speak to his fellow
citizens in the first national language. He would have had far more
success
wandering around Europe speaking English.

The Scots, Welsh and Irish don't learn foreign languages any more than the
English- for exactly the same reason. They don't need it to succeed.

The Irish don't learn Irish in spite of the fact that they are given
significant incentives to do so.

> Shouting LOUDER rarely helps !
> (even, as I have witnessed, in Auchan in Calais)


> >If you speak the default language for world commerce,
> >you're less likely to learn another language.
> >How many Germans learn a second language that
> >_isn't_ English?

> Not the question in hand, is it ?

It is now.

> How many 'Europeans' learn a second language . . . ?
> vis
> How many *nglish learn a second language . . . ?

Obviously, most Europeans learn English in addition to their own language,
so they can speak to each other. Ericsson - a Swedish company - have
standardised on English as the company language.

> BTW I am not even speaking of achieving *fluency* in
> another language, just making the attempt to master the
> simple  phrases needed on a day to day basis.

> Excuse me
> Thank you
> How much is this ?
> I don't speak <. . .> very well
> Can you help me ?
> Numbers 1 - 10 (for the beers)
> Ich bin nicht *nglisch, ich bin Schottisch
> Je ne suis pas *nglais, je suis Ecossais
> No soy *nglés, yo soy Escocés

--

J/

SOTW: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" - Joy Division

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