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From: donh@netcom.com (Don HARLOW)
Subject: Re: Languages in the EC
Message-ID: <donhD3IG43.AAq@netcom.com>
Organization: Esperanto League for North America, Inc.
References: <3gtddp$crg@bambi.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE> <791945488snz@storcomp.demon.co.uk>
Date: Sun, 5 Feb 1995 04:50:27 GMT
Lines: 30

philip@storcomp.demon.co.uk skribis en lastatempa afisxo <791945488snz@storcomp.demon.co.uk>:
>In article <3gtddp$crg@bambi.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE>
>           knappen@vkpmzd.kph.Uni-Mainz.DE "Joerg Knappen" writes:

>> No. The most speakers inside the EC has german, with about 100 Million
>> (Germany and Austria, german minorities exist also in Italy, France, Belgium
>> and Denmark).
>
>I've got a friend who used to live in Germany, and he says that 75%
>of Germans know enough English to get by, and 10% speak better English
>than most English people.
>
>Using the "enough to get by" criterion, I would guess well over 100 million 
>people in the EU can speak English.
>
Before we all agree to this, could someone define exactly what "enough 
to get by" means? I can "get by" in Spanish probably enough 
to ask directions in Mexico City -- and maybe even understand a few 
of the answers -- but I would not say that I can speak Spanish.

(My own experiences in Germany suggest that your friend was talking 
through his hat, but that was some years ago. Perhaps more recent 
residents there -- Mr. Hinsen? Mr. Grimley-Evans? -- could clarify...)


-- 
Don HARLOW			donh@netcom.com
Esperanto League for N.A.       elna@netcom.com (800) 828-5944
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/el/elna/elna.html         Esperanto
ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/do/donh/donh.html 
