Official Languages

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LotusSong -> Official Languages (6/5/2007 2:13:23 PM)
I was wondering, do other countries have "official languages" and are they given grief for it?

LadyEllen -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 2:21:11 PM)
Yes. Some have a single official language, some have two, some have more. And it often causes grief when there is more than one official language in a single country. E

kittinSol -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 2:32:00 PM)
Well, Switzerland has no fewer than four official languages (German, French, Italian and Romanzch - a very rare language). France only has one. South Africa has ELEVEN: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swathi and huh... I forgot the others... yes, Zulu, of course. Irish was chosen as the official language of the European Union (probably because of Ireland's neutrality). India has over thirty. French is actually one of them. In China, where there's roughly ten official languages, Portuguese and English belong to the list. Obviously, because of 'common law' there are no official languages in either England or the United States. Why?

Lordandmaster -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 2:48:32 PM)
Heh, good observation, I didn't think of that. It's because of Macau and Hong Kong, of course. Throughout most of China, Mandarin Chinese is the only official language, but many autonomous districts and zones have other officially recognized languages. quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol In China, where there's roughly ten official languages, Portuguese and English belong to the list.

kittinSol -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 2:50:54 PM)
Yep. It's interesting. Shows how willingly diverse some countries are, despite apparences. And diversity is good, it makes for a richer tapestry, blah, blah, blah.

Alumbrado -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 6:29:37 PM)
'Official language' as in the language used for official operations, emergency response, legal proceedings, etc? Somehow I doubt that Chinese or Indian air traffic controllers, or emergency room personnel, repeat every single thing in 10 to 30 different languages while in the midst of a crisis situation. "Officially recognized' languages would be something different, of course.

popeye1250 -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 6:54:20 PM)
I can speak a bit of Spanish but if someone comes up to me and tries to speak Spanish I just say; "No habla!" "No ticky no shirty!" Sometimes I'll affect a Swedish accent and it really messes them up! "Yumpin Yimminy, you no speeeka da Vi-king tong, eh?" "Ookie dokee I take you to de Police-a station and dey giva you dee place to sleep tinight!" "You likea dee firm mattress you be in dee very good luck!" It's funny as hell! It really fucks them up! I don't know why but I'm good with accents.

kittinSol -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 7:00:48 PM)
Yes. I get your point, but the question was about official languages, not about common usage. Besides, you can rest assured that a Chinese plane landing in Hong Kong will have announcements in AT LEAST three languages.

kittinSol -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 7:02:06 PM)
Are you really? Phonetically you just sounded like an American making fun of other nationalities. But that's just my opinion, of course.

popeye1250 -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 7:05:43 PM)
You can call me "Sven," tak.

cyberdude611 -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 7:06:05 PM)
Official language of the UN I believe is English. The official language of the Olympics is English and French.

Lordandmaster -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 7:52:41 PM)
They tend to have announcements in three languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. I'sa been there. Edited to add: And cyberdude, the U.N. has six official languages. http://www.un.org/Depts/DGACM/faq_languages.htm quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol Besides, you can rest assured that a Chinese plane landing in Hong Kong will have announcements in AT LEAST three languages.

kittinSol -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 7:59:50 PM)
Yes, one can easily find the information online. Personally I was fortunate enough to work within the United Nations maze at the HQ in Geneva. It was quite an experience: I'm actually in the middle of writing my memoirs. It's saucier than a Jilly Cooper's novel. As for languages... well, I'm not erudite enough to teach anybody anything, but I know a few things about official linguos and what they'll say in airplanes throughout the globe. As you said, it's no big deal, Lordandmaster.

popeye1250 -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 8:00:08 PM)
I like flying on Aer Lingus because they always announce everything in Irish first then in English.

Lordandmaster -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 8:04:14 PM)
I love the sound of Irish! Don't understand a word of it though. One of the bazillion channels on my dish carries an Irish soap opera now and then (with subtitles). It's stupid, but I find myself listening to it just to hear them talk.

kittinSol -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 8:05:39 PM)
Yep, Gaelic is lovely sounding, but Aer Lingus is one of the shittiest airlines to fly the Atlantic with. I've done most of them lol. Then again, airline quality of service deserves an entire new thread altogether [:'(] Edit for stupidity: plus the name Aer Lingus always, without fail, makes me want to make goofy, student union type jokes about cunnilingus. Obviously.

minnetar -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 8:12:49 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol Well, Switzerland has no fewer than four official languages (German, French, Italian and Romanzch - a very rare language). France only has one. South Africa has ELEVEN: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, Southern Sotho, Swathi and huh... I forgot the others... yes, Zulu, of course. Irish was chosen as the official language of the European Union (probably because of Ireland's neutrality). India has over thirty. French is actually one of them. In China, where there's roughly ten official languages, Portuguese and English belong to the list. Obviously, because of 'common law' there are no official languages in either England or the United States. Why? That is funny as i never thought the Irish had a different language than the British English. Excuse my total ignorance. i found how the Welsh speak English probably the most difficult of anyone. minnetar

popeye1250 -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 8:31:05 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kittinSol Yep, Gaelic is lovely sounding, but Aer Lingus is one of the shittiest airlines to fly the Atlantic with. I've done most of them lol. Then again, airline quality of service deserves an entire new thread altogether [:'(] Edit for stupidity: plus the name Aer Lingus always, without fail, makes me want to make goofy, student union type jokes about cunnilingus. Obviously. "Aer Lingus" - Air Fleet. I've always had great service and good food on Aer Lingus, British Airways and Alitalia. I had a neighbor who flew Air France for a high school trip one time and she hated it. Bad food, stale bread and a lot of those Bohemian types who had such bad body odor that it smelled like they hadn't showered in a week! It was summertime and she said they were wearing those very long woolen coats. Oh, and her friend who was sitting next to her had a broken seat that wouldn't recline.

toservez -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 8:34:30 PM)
In Taiwan the official language is Mandarin. When Taiwan was liberated from Japan a direct efforts were made like outlawing any other language spoken in schools and things of that nature but many older people to this day cannot speak Mandarin and our local language and dialects are still very much present. In my lifetime they have not pushed this agenda as nearly as hard and actually there is a lot of talk about doing away with Mandarin being the official language, although most think this is just a way to needle China.

kittinSol -> RE: Official Languages (6/5/2007 8:37:03 PM)
Uh huh. Most standard airlines suck, and Aer Lingus is no exception. However, with Lingus you don't even get a bloody complimentary slug of Scotch to knock you out of the horror of cattle class. I take that personally. I also dislike brutal staff who sigh with dismay when you ask for water - H2O, for fuckssake! - when you're parched from the underoxygenated air. It's not because my ex-husband's Irish that I have a vendetta against Aer Lingus, but man, can they be tight-wads [8D]

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