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What Languge best represents Western Europe?
<<Texas is a whole 'nother country: The Republic of TEXAS
>> Well, it could be if they voted. That's what I was referring to. I didn't know that was their official motto. I just remember hearing the TV ads
Well, people around here aren't quite as well, aggressively nationalistic at the state level than in Texas, but our worldview is still generally quite Wisconsin-centric, albeit in a less aggressive kind of way. We might not necessarily broadcast to the rest of the world that we are from Wisconsin, but in our own minds Wisconsin is still our own society distinct from the rest of the US (and especially our neighbors to the south in Illinois - heh).
On the other hand, if you choose the most spoken in all the continents, the answer would be:
North America: English and French Latin America: Spanish and Portuguese Europe: Russian, French, German, and English Africa: French, English, Arabic, Portuguese, and Swahili Asia & Pacific: Arabic, Chinese, Russian So, the answer is more or less correct globally. English, French, Russian, and Arabic are the most important world languages.
Guest12 : « North America: English and French ».
Le castillan est également une langue nord-américaine (Mexique + États-Unis). Guest12 : « Latin America: Spanish and Portuguese ». Les francophones d'Amérique du Nord font également partie de l'Amérique latine ou, pour être plus exact, de l'Amérique romane.
No, Western Europe thinks that English is too much associated to US and Europe wants to preserve a different identity. German best represents Western Europe.
<< North America: English and French >>
Sorry to break it to you, but it's English and Spanish. Mexico is in North America, not to mention Spanish speakers in the US. French is FAR outnumbered. << Asia & Pacific: Arabic, Chinese, Russian >> Majority of Russians live in the European part of Russia. So, it's Chinese, Hindi and Japanese. The largest Arabic speaking country is Egypt which is part of Africa.
<< Les francophones d'Amérique du Nord font également partie de l'Amérique latine ou, pour être plus exact, de l'Amérique romane. >>
You are missing the point. French is in the minority in the Americas when compared to English, Spanish and Portugese. It's a simple fact.
<< You are missing the point. French is in the minority in the Americas when compared to English, Spanish and Portugese. It's a simple fact. >>
You are missing the point too . French although not that numerous in the Americas when compared to English, Spanish and Portugese, it's more likely to survive than Spanish which is evolving into numerous neo-spanish like Afrikaans. It's a simple fact.
Sorry greg, I mean you are missing the point if we are listing the most spoken only.
<< You are missing the point too . French although not that numerous in the Americas when compared to English, Spanish and Portugese, it's more likely to survive than Spanish which is evolving into numerous neo-spanish like Afrikaans. It's a simple fact. >>
You are distracting from the point which is WHAT IS MORE SPOKEN. I said French is a minority languge in the Americas, WHICH IS TRUE so don't resort to such tactics as your "neo-spanish" theory in your desperate attempt to make an arguement where none is needed. Speculating about the future evolution of a major language is another topic and a complicated one at that. Besides, any wide spoken language is bound to develop some differences, like French (especially in Africa) and even English. Considering that Spanish has been in the Americas for about 500 years, it's actually holding together quiet well. I really have nothing against French, I actually like it. But some French speakers seem so irritated by the fact that French is a minority language in the Americas compared to Spanish. Why is that? I will admit that Spanish is less popular in Europe and especially in Africa compared to French. So why the insecurity? French and Spanish each have their strong areas and weak areas. As for the lack of French presence in the Americas, instead of attacking Spanish, you should blame the French Empire for not settleing more colonies and Napoleone for selling French territory to the US.
Yes. Plus comparing Spanish to Afrikaans is not a very good comparison. It's a totally different situation and relevent at all to Spanish.
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