Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Non, Niet, Nein, Nei, Nej, Ne, Oxi, Neen...NO

"The cost of education is totally overlooked", Dr Grin told the EUobserver. "Languages have to be learned. If English is to be the only working language (in Europe), then the UK should subsidise English language learning in Europe. If English, French and German are to be the only working languages, then these three countries should subsidise the rest".

I do not know where to begin with this so I won't

8 comments:

Irina Tsukerman said...

Um... Gee... That's an... "interesting" way of looking at things!

Anonymous said...

Oxi??!!!

Gawain Towler said...

No - greek in roman alphabet

Anonymous said...

Irina was born in the year of the Oxi!!

Serf said...

I propose a deal.

We switch all the money from our net contribution, from CAP to English Language teaching, in exchange for making English the only working language.

Sounds fair to me.

Irina Tsukerman said...

Anonymous: an astute observation. As you can guess, if I were living in Europe, I would also say "Oxi" to this ridiculous idea!

The Aunt said...

You all think this is outrageous. About 4 years ago I heard a Bulgarian diplomat discussing with a Romanian the wonderful one-on-one free French lessons the French government had been providing for diplomats and European Affairs civil servants in those countries, in the hopes that when they arrived in Brussels, they would insist on using French as their working language.

The French ARE subsidising the learning of French, and where they think it matters, too.

The beautiful irony of the thing is that this conversation was being conducted in flawless, elegant, English.

Gawain Towler said...

Wandering around the Francophobne country city of Pnom Phen in Cambodia there were signs saying that French could be learnt for free atthe Alliance Francaise. However on every street, even in the poorer areas there were a rash of private English schools. I am not guaranteeing their quality but their presence was telling, of course the French will subsidise their lamguage teaching, otherwise nobody would learn it.

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