Korean Job Discussion Forums

mithridates · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 9:10 am Post subject:

I've done a small calculation on the number of combinations you'll see in parliament:

When there were 11 languages: 110 combinations.
2004, 21 languages: 420 combinations.
Last month: plus Irish (I think): 462 combinations.
+ Bulgaria and Romania: 552 combination.
+ Croatia and Turkey: 650 combinations.

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

I don't know, but it seems to me Europeans from various countries mix with each other more than most Asians or Africans.

If this is so, I guess Europeans have a greater need to communicate? I'm thinking about everyday people. Of course everyone everywhere needs to communicate for business and government purposes.

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

whoa.. what a weird thread.

makes sense.. a bunch of english teachers who assume that english should be spoken by all in the E.U.

E.U. politics about language is pretty intense.. the reason they have all those languages already is because they can't agree on it. can you imagine all the countries in europe agreeing to give more power to the language of the English? I can't.

The French in particular were already trying to weed-out any tweaks of damage already caused by english language influence done in their country.

Captain Corea · Joined: 28 Feb 2005 Location: Seoul

Personally I htink the EU may loose its competative edge. Instead of dynamic, competative nations it has the potential to form one lumbering blob.

As for the language bit though, I believe it will happen naturally. The dominant language will win out over the lesser ones. No need to legislate it, just give it time.

bigverne · Joined: 12 May 2004

mithridates · Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 5:46 am Post subject:

It would be hard to decide on a cut-off line if you were to try to go for three for example. English, French and German, but Spanish worldwide is a much bigger language and I assume Italy wouldn't be happy with being left out, but if Italian was also chosen why not Portugese since it has more speakers?
There's also the fact that English would be chosen not because of England but because of the US, and I don't know how happy they would be with that. Once again, if you're going to take overseas countries into consideration then Portugese is a bigger language that Italian.
There's also the fact that Scandinavian languages are the easiest to learn, objectively. No verb conjugation depending on the person, almost entirely phonetic, no adjectival agreement. I've often thought that if Swedish had been chosen instead of English (through somne sort of historical fluke) and everbody was learning the language, it would have caught on much quicker.

Just compare this bit of horridly irregular conjugation with Norwegian:

Tiger Beer · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Derrek · Joined: 15 Jan 2003

Wrench · Joined: 07 Apr 2005

Whats it to you? Are you a European?

People need jobs and a translator is a good job.

mithridates · Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 8:39 am Post subject:

So is being a tax accountant. The less clear a tax system is the more of them they are. Simplify the system and they're all out of work.
Being a lamplighter used to be a job too.

billinkorea · Joined: 13 Jun 2005

Speaking as a European im very confused by some of the views so far posted. The idea that few Continental Europeans speak English is bizare! That people would rather have things translated for certainty is certainly true(we're talkling about the establishment of laws for countries). Most people ive met in Europe have a grasp of languages that most English speakers find unbelievable, being bilingual is the norm, trilingual is regulation in many countries and most have the ability to understand the basics of 5 or 6.

As to what to do about language with European expansion it is yet another cost that the developed/wealthy countries will have to bear in thier search for a cheap labour market to compete with Asia! They reckon there is financial gain somewhere in there, otherwise why would they do it!

All up I think the EU will stick with the 3 official languages of French,German and English for meetings but hopefully each country will stick strongly to their own language and cultural identity! Im sure Europe will cope we've managed a few problems with languages before if all else fails back to Latin it is.

What do you call someone who speaks 2 languages

Bilingual

What do you call someone who speaks 3 languages

Trilingual

What do you call someone who speaks one language

An English speaker

Its an old one but no where is it truer than in Europe.
Shit even the football coaches conduct interviews in several languages!(Not the British ones though!)

jajdude · Joined: 18 Jan 2003

I wish I grew up where exposure to other cultures and languages was the norm.

Applied to Korea.....

need I say more? Wink

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

joe_doufu · Joined: 09 May 2005 Location: Elsewhere

Another tasteless language joke:

A new UN secretary general, frustrated by the enormity of the world's hunger problems, sent out a simple e-mail questionnaire to the delegates from around the world, with the following question: "Would you please give your honest opinion about the solution to the food shortages in your country and the rest of the world?"

It was a dismal failure because it was impossible to translate. Why?

The African delegates couldn't understand food.
The European delegates couldn't understand shortages.
The Middle Eastern delegates couldn't understand solution.
The Russian delegates couldn't understand honest.
The Chinese delegates couldn't understand opinion.
The South American delegates couldn't understand please.
and the North American delegates couldn't understand the rest of the world.