The president of France has walked out of Europe, over English.
I’m beginning to love the French, and Monsieur Chirac most of all. That country cannot stop butting heads with the English language, and providing EnglishMojo with some really great material.
Where is the problem coming from? Not from the average Frenchman. Your typical Henri is happy enough to pick up and use heaping gobs of English. No, the conflict seems to emanate from an element inside . . . read on >>
The definition of lingua franca that I like most is this: a language widely used beyond its native speakers. And not long ago French seemed destined to be come the preeminent one for all time.
The term, lingua franca, is Italian, meaning “Frankish language” and refers to the Arabic concept of Franks (the ancient Germans) as a general word for Europeans. We’re not in Kansas anymore. The term was originally applied to Italian mixed with Spanish, Turkish, Persian, French, Greek and Arabic. The resulting creole came to be used throughout the Middle East.
Lingua francas have changed according to . . . read on >>
“I must say that I was deeply shocked”, so spoke the commander of the world’s fourth, no fifth, largest economy and nuclear power, explaining why he walked out of a meeting of the European Union’s 25 government leaders and took his foreign minister with him. It’s hard to imagine what could have so profoundly shaken President Chirac, a man who has seen the world and knows its workings.
The circumstance was a civilized presentation to the EU leaders on the current trend of economic protectionism, a trend that France is leading. Top business executive and Frenchman Ernest-Antoine Seilliere was just beginning his talk, telling the leaders that he would “speak in English, the language of business”. Then Le President - who speaks passable English himself - interrupted his countryman in French asking . . . read on >>
Two British media titans are squaring off for battle over an accusation of libel in a British (Royal motto: God and My Right) newspaper. Where are they preparing to fight? At the Palais de Justice in Paris, of course.
According to reports twin businessmen, Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, owners of The Daily Telegraph newspaper claim that an article in The Times of London newspaper contained false and defamatory allegations about their business practices.
So the twins stirred from their home in Monaco (National motto: With God’s Help), a densely populated country sheltering the highest per capita ratio of millionaires on earth in a tax haven and mild sunny climate, to launch a lawsuit again their fellow Brits. The recipients of their attentions were . . . read on >>
Recent happenings prove the French court in Versailles still holds sway over the international use of language. This time, though, the court is a legal one, not a royal one.
In the busy French courts, behemoth General Electric found that there’s a price to pay for relying on English in the land of Victor Hugo. Seven hundred and fourteen thousand dollars to be precise. That’s what a French appeals court said a subsidiary of the “We bring good things to life” multinational has to pay as a fine for its experiment in English as . . . read on >>
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News and views on communications for professionals, international business people, travelers, students and language-lovers. Insights for people who write, edit, publish, advertise, converse, learn and appreciate the lingua franca. Exploring tips and secrets of the world's professionals, celebrities, government officials, authors, and experts. Use these news articles and audios in text and mp3 form to practice English reading and listening skills. Whether movies and films, books and media, television and radio, whether scripts, remarks, discussions, roundtables or interviews, whether in the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada or India, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, we follow developments in the world's most popular language.
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