Why most French-speaking people don't understand English?
By studentabe
@studentabe (109)
Belgium
July 27, 2009 1:25pm CST
I have stayed in Europe for several years. Although in most European countries, English isn't their native language, most people are able to speak it very well. So I seldom have any problem in communication when I am out. However, when I travel to France and south of Belgium (French speaking region), most people don't understand English at all,even it is just a very simple word or sentence. Do they really don't understand English or they understand it but just scorn to speak English? It is said that French-speaking people have superior feeling of their language.
1 response
@jwfarrimond (4473)
•
27 Jul 09
Linguistic snobbery. The French wanted French to be the international language and for a time it was the worldwide language of diplomacy. I believe that they also wanted French to be the main working language of the EC. The fact of the matter is, English is a lot easier to learn than French and so quite apart from the influence of the British and Americans in spreading the language all over the planet, it's this ease of learning and the ability to make oneself understood in the language even with only a limited grasp of grammer and structure.
@studentabe (109)
• Belgium
30 Jul 09
I also have a little knowledge of French. Really it is much more difficult than
English. But I still hope that one day I can master it.
