What Languge best represents Western Europe?

Guest   Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:26 pm GMT
German is not a language of Western Europe, but of Central Europe.
Get your geographic facts right.
joker   Wed Mar 19, 2008 5:05 pm GMT
I was simply dividing Europe between east and west. When we speak of western civilization, Germany is included.
Guest   Wed Mar 19, 2008 6:39 pm GMT
*When we speak of western civilization, Germany is included.*

Russia is included too.
guest   Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:17 pm GMT
Definitely English.
erol   Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:37 pm GMT
it depends how you regard the Europe's map. If you considered Europe everything but Russia , then Germany might be considered in the center of the continent. If you saw Europe up to the Ural's region, then Germany is in west and Slovakia, Hungary & Romania are central!

Culturaly speaking, Germany belongs to the western part of the Europe and this is what the main question refferes to.
joker   Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:01 am GMT
<< Culturaly speaking, Germany belongs to the western part of the Europe and this is what the main question refferes to. >>

Yes, thank you.
Hispania   Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:37 am GMT
Ignorance arises quite often when people in Europe consider Spain or Portugal as part of Africa or people in the USA consider Spain or Portugal part of Central or South America.

They obviously are the westernmost parts of Europe. To start with quite a few Roman emperors were born in Hispania. Hispania is the Latin word for the Iberian Peninsula so why should Central and South Americans be called Hispanics?

I think it's got to do with some kind of old political agenda which has been assumed.

Why are they called Afro-Americans and the ones from European stock are just called Americans in the USA?
mac   Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:53 am GMT
<< Why are they called Afro-Americans and the ones from European stock are just called Americans in the USA? >>

Good point. I think the same way. Those with Euro ancestry should be called European-Americans. Every white person in the US is aware of their eithnic European background to some extent, but generic words like "White" or "Caucasian" (which I don't like) have become the standard, I guess because they are not a minority ethnic group.

I say give everyone in the US their appropriate ethnic reference, or else call everyone simply American.
Guest   Thu Mar 20, 2008 10:28 am GMT
<<call everyone simply American<<
This is the best solution.
<<people in Europe consider Spain or Portugal as part of Africa<<
Who the hell does that?
Guest   Thu Mar 20, 2008 7:56 pm GMT
"Seeing that the Franks were a Germanic people, how could there not be some Germanic infuence? "

French and Franks are not the same people !
The french are not more descending of the franks than the Italians are from the ostrogoths or Lombards, nor the Spanish are from the Vandals or wisigoths... So I don't see one reason from french having had more germanic influence than, say Italian or Spanish.
K. T.   Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:48 pm GMT
"I say give everyone in the US their appropriate ethnic reference, or else call everyone simply American." mac

Interesting point. I prefer just having "American" as a category too.
Guest   Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:01 pm GMT
USA person, not American, or people will think you're Brazilian.
Guest   Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:15 am GMT
"American" is what we call ourselves in the USA. This USA person stuff is nonsense. Yes, we are all from the Americas, but we've had independence from England for a long time and we've been known as "Americans" around the world for a long time. Should Mexicans be EUdM people, for example?
Guest   Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:05 am GMT
No, but you can't deny it IS a source of confusion. I recently had a conversation with a South American about 'Americans'. And only after 5 minutes of conversation and confusion did we realise we were discussing two completely different things, "USA Americans" and "people of the Americas".
mac   Fri Mar 21, 2008 1:57 am GMT
<< "Seeing that the Franks were a Germanic people, how could there not be some Germanic infuence? "

French and Franks are not the same people !
The french are not more descending of the franks than the Italians are from the ostrogoths or Lombards, nor the Spanish are from the Vandals or wisigoths... So I don't see one reason from french having had more germanic influence than, say Italian or Spanish. >>

I thought that French was known to have had more Germanic influence than the other Romanace languages. Am I wrong? I guess I'm still confused as to what "French" is. In the Latin - German - Celt ethnic spectrum, where is the typical French person?