Translation

[emmie]

have just received an invitation to fill in a local government survey, it comes with the heading, if you need help with this survey in your own language,
and lists 24 languages, what happened to people learning English.
Come to think of it one of the neighbours told some JW's that she couldn't speak English, perhaps it was a ruse to get out of talking to them, but not sure in fact she does speak a word of English.
Will the English language die out, not perhaps now, next week, but one day.

[emmie]

chapta, not so much fear as getting chuffed off with finding literature from CAB, councils, and so forth having to be translated into endless languages. Sandyr reckons it gives someone a job, well i guess it does, but if the majority spoke English then we wouldn't need them.

[chaptazbru]

Know what you mean em, but I don't think that will ever happen. A lot of immigrants seem to have no intention of ever learning our language.

[tonyav]

Thats why there's ghetto's imo chaptazbru.

[chaptazbru]

Probably true tony.

[Connemmara]

Sorry, for not taking on board all the politics of these postings but Eve as you rightly pointed said English is ONE of widest spoken languages but in fact Chinese is the most spoken in the world. Just an example Marie Osmond has conquered the Chinese but it is indeed the most spoken (repeating myself).

[emmie]

Chinese, then Spanish, then English.. according to a variety of sources...

[woofgang]

Globally, the English are already an ethnic minority:-)

[boxtops]

I don't have any problem with this at all. I'm reading Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue at the moment - fascinating how we and other languages have absorbed terminology from all over the world, from the Romans onward. English is spoken far in excess of other languages - but speaking a language and being able to fill in an official form is that language is a different matter entirely.

[emmie]

perhaps, but as i see all to often many of my fellow neighbours don't speak English, or won't, it's anything but. Not just limited to neighbours either. I feel like a stranger in a strange land.

[boxtops]

You could always learn their language, em, they'd probably appreciate that.

[emmie]

all 300, that would take some doing, or the 24 that the survey i mentioned comes in.

[emmie]

when in Rome comes to mind. But it doesn't seem to apply here does it

[ummmm]

//perhaps, but as i see all to often many of my fellow neighbours don't speak English, or won't,//

Who are they speaking to when they are not speaking in English?

[Zacs-Master]

Very interesting map jake.

[emmie]

certainly a diverse lot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_London