Newsgroups: alt.politics.ec,sci.lang
From: philip@storcomp.demon.co.uk (Phil Hunt)
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!das-news2.harvard.edu!news2.near.net!news.mathworks.com!udel!gatech!swrinde!pipex!peernews.demon.co.uk!storcomp.demon.co.uk!philip
Subject: Re: Languages in the EC
Distribution: world
References: <3gtddp$crg@bambi.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE>
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Date: Sun, 5 Feb 1995 00:51:28 +0000
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In article <3gtddp$crg@bambi.zdv.Uni-Mainz.DE>
           knappen@vkpmzd.kph.Uni-Mainz.DE "Joerg Knappen" writes:
> :The more speakers (native + non-native), the better the choice.
> :If the EU does not explicitly decide on a language, English will 
> :probably be chosen as a default, as this is the most widely spoken
> :language in the EU (figures anyone?).
> :
> 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.

-- 
Phil Hunt...philip@storcomp.demon.co.uk
Majority rule for Britain!
