Posted on 05/06/2017 12:01:02 PM PDT by HonkyTonkMan
FLORENCE — Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, opted to deliver a speech in French on Friday morning because he said “English is losing importance” in Europe.
He gave the comments, which are unlikely to mend fences after a war of words between Brussels and London over Brexit negotiations, at the “State of the Union” conference in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio — an annual event for European dignitaries.
Juncker said he was opting for French because “slowly but surely English is losing importance in Europe and France has elections this Sunday and I want the French people to understand what I am saying about the importance of the EU.”
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.eu ...
Arabic will overtake the French language in importance in the country of France.
“There were ten German Junkers in the air.”
And there I thought they were German Fokkers! Then again most of those on the ground in Germany are fokkers too.
So much for that!!
“What this guy really should be worried about is that if demographic trends continue, Arabic will be replacing the Euopean languages in 30-40 years.”
More worrisome is the fact that most all their European women will have been bastardized by giving birth to some half-breed muzzie rug rats.
“What this guy really should be worried about is that if demographic trends continue, Arabic will be replacing the Euopean languages in 30-40 years”
Well, the good news is that Arabic leads the world in literature
It's probably not what the Irish want to hear.
Or all those Netherlanders and Scandinavians who've learned to speak English very well.
He’s wrong with Media, internet, and American words - OK, Fake, etc.
So are French and German.
Arabic is ascendant.”
Tell that to India, a country of 1.3 billion people where English is the official language of government, business, and anyone who wants to enter the middle class. Fdbdn
The “losing importance” crack was with respect to Europe.
Also known for some time now as “Eurabia”.
Try Mandarin.
Because the UK is leaving. Too bad. I’ll bet his French is a bad as his English.
No one had greater disdain for the French than Mark Twain
And no one ridiculed the French language better than Mark Twain.
Twain discovered a French translation of his story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”.
He back-translated the story into English, word for word, retaining the French grammatical structure and syntax.
He then published all three versions: the original, the French translation, and his re-translation of the French back into English.
Here it is in published form:
Read it online here:
SAMPLES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Original: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County
Rev. Leonidas W. H’m, Reverend Le—well, there was a feller here, once by the name of Jim Smiley, in the winter of ‘49 —or maybe it was the spring of ‘50—I don’t recollect exactly, somehow, though what makes me think it was one or the other is because I remember the big flume warn’t finished when he first come to the camp; but anyway, he was the curiousest man about always betting on anything that turned up you ever see, if he could get anybody to bet on the other side; and if he couldn’t he’d change sides. Any way that suited the other man would suit him any way just so’s he got a bet, he was satisfied. But still he was lucky, uncommon lucky; he most always come out winner. He was always ready and laying for a chance; there couldn’t be no solit’ry thing mentioned but that feller’d offer to bet on it, and take any side you please, as I was just telling you. If there was a horse-race, you’d find him flush or you’d find him busted at the end of it;
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The same paragraph clawed back to English from the French translation:
Back Translation - The Frog Jumping of the County of Calaveras
It there was one time here an individual known under the name of Jim Smiley; it was in the winter of ‘89, possibly well at the spring of ‘50, I no me recollect not exactly. This which me makes to believe that it was the one or the other, it is that I shall remember that the grand flume is not achieved when he arrives at the camp for the first time, but of all sides he was the man the most fond of to bet which one have seen, betting upon all that which is presented, when he could find an adversary; and when he not of it could not, he passed to the side opposed. All that which convenienced to the other to him convenienced also; seeing that he had a bet Smiley was satisfied. And he had a chance! a chance even worthless; nearly always he gained. It must to say that he was always near to himself expose, but one no could mention the least thing without that this gaillard offered to bet the bottom, no matter what, and to take the side that one him would, as I you it said all at the hour (tout a l’heure).
Europe is losing importance, Clod.
This from 2013 directly refutes his claims,
“President François Hollande’s government takes on a contentious issue: how to persuade — or even allow — the French to speak more English, while preserving their own cherished language.”
http://world.time.com/2013/06/21/the-anglo-invasion-france-debates-teaching-courses-in-english/
Did you hear that,Ireland? Now that you know how unimportant *you* are to your German masters in Brussels maybe it’s time for *you* to withdraw as well.
Translation is an art, not an exact science. Regardless of which language you translate to and from, the syntax and grammar *will* be different.
This is why people find running passages through one or more languages in Google Translate and then back to English so amusing.
From the Lord of the Rings:
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
The same poem, translated through French, Russian, Arabic, Indonesian, Scottish Gaelic, Danish, and back to English (I may have forgotten a step):
Three rings for the kings of elves under heaven
Seven dwarves in a room,
Nine mortal man is doomed to die,
One of the Dark Lord on the throne of darkness
In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
The ring them all and in the darkness Bind
In the land of Mordor where the shadows are ..
It’s sort of the same... but not.
Since we know everyone will be speaking in lol and wtf, and they are all derived from vernacular English, how is English losing influence?
Aren’t Irish nationalistic about their Gaelic ? I’ve read that almost half can speak or understand it and they take no pride in English.
Had it not been placed on life support decades ago by radicals the Irish language would be long dead today.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.