Guest guest Posted March 27, 2003 Report Share Posted March 27, 2003 Hi y'all, There's no doubt that learning foreign languages is a good thing as its a reflection of culture .. and I can communicate in a few of them .. and there's no doubt that generally, Americans being isolated except for our Spanish speaking neighbors, don't generally see a great need to learn a foreign language. But there comes a point where chavenism takes over and its at that point that I refuse to learn a particular language. Having been a staff officer in a NATO assignment, I can assure you that English is spoken by ALL members except the French .. they even brief in French and translators are provided. I thought they were chavenistic at the time .. but more and more I am leaning toward telling them to screw off .. learn English .. or get the hell out of NATO. ;-( Butch A friend of mine is a US Naval Officer. A few weeks ago, he attended a conference that included admirals in both the US and the French navies. At a cocktail reception, my friend found himself in a small group that included an admiral from each of the two navies. The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans learned many languages, Americans only learned English. He then asked, " Why is it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than French? " Without even hesitating, the American admiral replied. " Maybe its because English speakers arranged it so that you did not have to learn to speak German. " The group became silent. --- During a break in the recent UN Security Council debates, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was making small talk with a group when he was asked by French Ambassador to the UN if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush. He answered by saying, " Over the years the US has sent many of its great young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for is enough to bury those who did not return. " And that pretty much silenced the room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2003 Report Share Posted March 28, 2003 Thank you.....from a retired San Francisco Bay Area firefighter...CoyoteJack - Butch Owen Thursday, March 27, 2003 4:22 PM OT: Speaking French Hi y'all, There's no doubt that learning foreign languages is a good thing as its a reflection of culture .. and I can communicate in a few of them .. and there's no doubt that generally, Americans being isolated except for our Spanish speaking neighbors, don't generally see a great need to learn a foreign language. But there comes a point where chavenism takes over and its at that point that I refuse to learn a particular language. Having been a staff officer in a NATO assignment, I can assure you that English is spoken by ALL members except the French .. they even brief in French and translators are provided. I thought they were chavenistic at the time .. but more and more I am leaning toward telling them to screw off .. learn English .. or get the hell out of NATO. ;-( Butch A friend of mine is a US Naval Officer. A few weeks ago, he attended a conference that included admirals in both the US and the French navies. At a cocktail reception, my friend found himself in a small group that included an admiral from each of the two navies. The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans learned many languages, Americans only learned English. He then asked, " Why is it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than French? " Without even hesitating, the American admiral replied. " Maybe its because English speakers arranged it so that you did not have to learn to speak German. " The group became silent. --- During a break in the recent UN Security Council debates, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was making small talk with a group when he was asked by French Ambassador to the UN if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building by George Bush. He answered by saying, " Over the years the US has sent many of its great young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for is enough to bury those who did not return. " And that pretty much silenced the room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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