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Reply 3
I could swear it already was...

Maybe I'm thinking of the EU


EDIT: S/O to whoever repped me I now have my sixth gem, love you <3
(edited 9 years ago)
I don't see why. Germany is probably the most important country in the EU but definitely not the world. I can't see any reason supporting making German the official language of the UN - and of course, most people in Germany speak English anyway which defeats the object.
Reply 5
UN =/= EU.

The languages were chosen based on how widely spread they were, not how powerful the mother nation was, hence English, Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese and Arabic.
How many countries speak German...


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Original post by Arkasia
UN =/= EU.

The languages were chosen based on how widely spread they were, not how powerful the mother nation was, hence English, Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese and Arabic.


Although to be fair the Anglosphere is pretty powerful.
Reply 8
Original post by Chlorophile
I don't see why. Germany is probably the most important country in the EU but definitely not the world. I can't see any reason supporting making German the official language of the UN - and of course, most people in Germany speak English anyway which defeats the object.


What if UK votes to leave and German then became the main EU language? It would then have as much of a case as Russia and China.
Reply 9
Original post by Snagprophet
Although to be fair the Anglosphere is pretty powerful.


Which is probably why the language is so widely spoken, unlike Germany.
Original post by Thomas2
What if UK votes to leave and German then became the main EU language? It would then have as much of a case as Russia and China.


But why? English is the de facto international language. You can argue about how fair that is but the fact of the matter is that everyone speaks English - changing the official language would just be an unnecessary complication. If anything it should be French because that's probably the other main diplomatic language that a lot of officials speak.
Original post by Arkasia
Which is probably why the language is so widely spoken, unlike Germany.


It's a powerhouse but it doesn't have influence abroad. I don't believe it even colonised anywhere. Filthy casuals.
Original post by Snagprophet
It's a powerhouse but it doesn't have influence abroad. I don't believe it even colonised anywhere. Filthy casuals.


All its colonies were taken away in the form of reparations after WW1...


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Reply 13
Original post by Snagprophet
It's a powerhouse but it doesn't have influence abroad. I don't believe it even colonised anywhere. Filthy casuals.


secretly mad he isn't german masterrace
Reply 14
Original post by Chlorophile
But why? English is the de facto international language. You can argue about how fair that is but the fact of the matter is that everyone speaks English - changing the official language would just be an unnecessary complication. If anything it should be French because that's probably the other main diplomatic language that a lot of officials speak.


Yes but things can change. A century ago I imagine it was presumed that French would always be the main diplomatic language. France is weak now and Germany is the driving force in Europe, esp. if UK leaves.
Original post by 1427Phil
How many countries speak German...


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Around 7 countries in the EU speak german as their first language, where only 2 speak english as their first language
Original post by Thomas2
Yes but things can change. A century ago I imagine it was presumed that French would always be the main diplomatic language. France is weak now and Germany is the driving force in Europe, esp. if UK leaves.


The fact that Germany is the driving force in Europe is utterly irrelevant - the language shouldn't change to reflect the dominant country - if it changes at all, it should be for practical reasons only. Given that German is not the most widely spoken language in Europe even without the UK and that most diplomats are still fluent in English (but not German), changing it to German makes no sense. I'd argue that German is a dying language anyway.
If the UK left Europe then there would be no point in keeping English as the main language, the fact is if the main language was changed then people would be taught that language from an early age (like most europeans are with english). In england we stupidly dont put an importance on learning other languages - which we should. Expecting everybody to learn english, when in Europe it isn't a widely spoken first language is kinda dumb.
Reply 18
Original post by Chlorophile
The fact that Germany is the driving force in Europe is utterly irrelevant - the language shouldn't change to reflect the dominant country - if it changes at all, it should be for practical reasons only. Given that German is not the most widely spoken language in Europe even without the UK and that most diplomats are still fluent in English (but not German), changing it to German makes no sense. I'd argue that German is a dying language anyway.


It's not dying at all. Loads of people across EU are learning German so they can go and work there. If Britain leaves it's inevitable that G will dominte rEU even though that might not be what German politicians want. Use of German will rise in EU meetings as more people start to learn. And as China rises more people international will learn Mandarin as a second language.
Original post by Thomas2
It's not dying at all. Loads of people across EU are learning German so they can go and work there. If Britain leaves it's inevitable that G will dominte rEU even though that might not be what German politicians want. Use of German will rise in EU meetings as more people start to learn. And as China rises more people international will learn Mandarin as a second language.


Everyone in Germany speaks English and the German language is becoming increasingly anglicised. Saying that the German language is dying isn't the same as saying that Germany is dying - the former is true, the latter isn't. And even if what you're saying became true in the future, it isn't the case now. There is no case for making the official EU language German now.

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