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If we're talking about what's common in English, I think it's a little odd to discuss European metric habits in the context of the English language. While Engl
by lucideer 6y ago
If we're talking about what's common in English, I think it's a little odd to discuss European metric habits in the context of the English language.
While English is a "lingua franca" in Western countries, the two main native-English-speaking countries in Europe are very recent metric adoptees.
Ireland didn't finish adopting the metric system until 2005, so still use imperial units for many colloquial uses; e.g. human height & weight.
The U.K. is further behind, and if you couple that with the nationalistic associations the imperial system will have there, colloquial uses are even more widespread.
I think metric use in English is only going to become more natural and fluent with generational use.
- xxs 6y agoMalta should be included too; They used to be part of the UK till 1964, they still drive on the left side, so no idea how they feel/speak about metric.
- lucideer 6y agoYeah. I prefixed my country listing with "the two main" as I know Malta is also another but I know much much less about habits & metrication there. It looks to be quite complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_units_of_measurement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maltese_units_of_measurement Also, I think English, while an official language of Malta, is much less dominant than it would be in Ireland (or the UK).
- xxs 6y agoIt's been 2 decades since my visit there (totally loved it). English was spoken everywhere, even though Maltese was common as well.