5 ms·

Most people in the UK have at least some familiarity with European languages. Many civil servants, a point mentioned in the article, studied Classics so are qui

Most people in the UK have at least some familiarity with European languages. Many civil servants, a point mentioned in the article, studied Classics so are quite familiar with speaking multiple languages (and our diplomatic service doesn't work the same way as the US, so some civil servants come from the diplomatic service knowing 5-10 languages fluently). And in Europe, many people speak English. Proceedings at Brussels are largely conducted in English, almost everyone will understand English (they often do not speak it publicly, but are able to understand and speak it). People who talked about Brexit were talking about East Asia and the Commonwealth countries, not the US only. I can't really think immediately of anyone with strong links to the US in the current govt (the only minister in recent memory was Liam Fox, and he hasn't been in govt for close to a decade iirc).

klelatti 4y ago
That's a fair challenge but I politely disagree. - Brits are famously monolingual compared to the rest of Europe. - How many senior British politicians speak a European foreign language fluently - Johnson perhaps - I can think of perhaps one or two others. - Lots of key members of the Eurosceptic movement have deep links to the US. Hannan, Farage, Fox (he was the Brexit Trade Minister in 2019 btw so not close to decade). - The 'Britannia Unchained' group of Kwarteng, Truss etc all looked strongly to the US. I speak from experience in UK business and in Brussels. It's not the only factor certainly but it's contributed.
- skippyboxedhero 4y ago
  I have no idea how you measure fluency, but most of the population we are concerned with learned a foreign language until the age of 16. Brits are "famously monolingual" because the country only speaks one language (unlike almost every other European country). I don't know, I haven't tried to talk to any of them in a language that isn't English. Again, your supposition that this must be true is based on what? It must be...you heard this thing about Brits... Right and two of the people you mention have never served in British parliament. Hannan has links to the US...and is the same person advocating heavily for a Swiss deal with EU...that couldn't be right though? You said he had "links". He wasn't the Brexit Trade Minister (that is a fictional position). Truss and Kwarteng didn't look "strongly" to the US...I have no idea where this is coming from. Do you just not like the US so you think this other group of people you don't like must be allied to them? Truss was Trade Minister and did deals with the Commonwealth, there was no real focus on the US at all (because of Biden). Britannia Unchained is famous in the UK for being particularly adulatory towards East Asia, not the US.
  - klelatti 4y ago
    Language skills: UK bottom of the pack in Europe. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign_language_skills_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php... Just because you're not an MP doesn't mean you can't have huge influence - Farage obviously being the most prominent example. Brexit Trade Minister - my typo should have been Post Brexit Trade Minister - but he was clearly in Govt in 2019 contrary to your claim.
  - hermitcrab 4y ago
    >I have no idea how you measure fluency, but most of the population we are concerned with learned a foreign language until the age of 16. I live in the UK and I am struggling to think of more than 1 or 2 British born people I know personally that speak anything other than English with any fluency.
    - notahacker 4y ago
      There are quite a few, it's just that none of them learned it from two hours a week between the ages of 11 and 16. (Mostly they learned it because their parents and many members of their local community speak Welsh or Punjabi or Urdu...)
      - skippyboxedhero 4y ago
        Two hours a week between 11 and 16? I love this place. People speak with total authority about stuff they clearly do not understand.
        notahacker 4y ago
        > I love this place. People speak with total authority about stuff they clearly do not understand. Well if I lack the authority to comment on my own education, please feel free to share your greater understanding of the years and hours my classmates and I devoted to learning a second language. Perhaps you can even convince me my A* GCSE made me fluent and not utterly incompetent in it!
revertmean 4y ago
Rishi Sunak - the current Prime Minister - held a US green card until October last year (when he gave it up). Boris Johnson was born in New York.
blipvert 4y ago
Umm, Rishi Sunak (PM, this month) moved to California to start a hedge fund, had a Green Card, and still has a mansion there …
- skippyboxedhero 4y ago
  He didn't move to California to start a hedge fund, he had a Green Card because he went to Stanford, and his wife's family has a house there.
  - klelatti 4y ago
    > I can't really think immediately of anyone with strong links to the US in the current govt > he went to Stanford, and his wife's family has a house there
    - skippyboxedhero 4y ago
      Again, what is connection? So if I go to Bocconi then I am Italian? And if someone in my family has a holiday house in France then I am French? The craziest part is that I believe this actually makes sense to you. How sad.
      - klelatti 4y ago
        Did I say Rishi Sunak was American? No, rather that he has strong connections with the US. If I have a house in France and went to a French University does that mean I have strong connections with France. Of course. Likewise with the US.
  - blipvert 4y ago
    Apologies for under-representing how close his ties to the USA are.

klelatti 4y ago

That's a fair challenge but I politely disagree. - Brits are famously monolingual compared to the rest of Europe. - How many senior British politicians speak a European foreign language fluently - Johnson perhaps - I can think of perhaps one or two others. - Lots of key members of the Eurosceptic movement have deep links to the US. Hannan, Farage, Fox (he was the Brexit Trade Minister in 2019 btw so not close to decade). - The 'Britannia Unchained' group of Kwarteng, Truss etc all looked strongly to the US. I speak from experience in UK business and in Brussels. It's not the only factor certainly but it's contributed.

skippyboxedhero 4y ago
I have no idea how you measure fluency, but most of the population we are concerned with learned a foreign language until the age of 16. Brits are "famously monolingual" because the country only speaks one language (unlike almost every other European country). I don't know, I haven't tried to talk to any of them in a language that isn't English. Again, your supposition that this must be true is based on what? It must be...you heard this thing about Brits... Right and two of the people you mention have never served in British parliament. Hannan has links to the US...and is the same person advocating heavily for a Swiss deal with EU...that couldn't be right though? You said he had "links". He wasn't the Brexit Trade Minister (that is a fictional position). Truss and Kwarteng didn't look "strongly" to the US...I have no idea where this is coming from. Do you just not like the US so you think this other group of people you don't like must be allied to them? Truss was Trade Minister and did deals with the Commonwealth, there was no real focus on the US at all (because of Biden). Britannia Unchained is famous in the UK for being particularly adulatory towards East Asia, not the US.
- klelatti 4y ago
  Language skills: UK bottom of the pack in Europe. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Foreign_language_skills_statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php... Just because you're not an MP doesn't mean you can't have huge influence - Farage obviously being the most prominent example. Brexit Trade Minister - my typo should have been Post Brexit Trade Minister - but he was clearly in Govt in 2019 contrary to your claim.
- hermitcrab 4y ago
  >I have no idea how you measure fluency, but most of the population we are concerned with learned a foreign language until the age of 16. I live in the UK and I am struggling to think of more than 1 or 2 British born people I know personally that speak anything other than English with any fluency.
  - notahacker 4y ago
    There are quite a few, it's just that none of them learned it from two hours a week between the ages of 11 and 16. (Mostly they learned it because their parents and many members of their local community speak Welsh or Punjabi or Urdu...)
    - skippyboxedhero 4y ago
      Two hours a week between 11 and 16? I love this place. People speak with total authority about stuff they clearly do not understand.
      - notahacker 4y ago
        > I love this place. People speak with total authority about stuff they clearly do not understand. Well if I lack the authority to comment on my own education, please feel free to share your greater understanding of the years and hours my classmates and I devoted to learning a second language. Perhaps you can even convince me my A* GCSE made me fluent and not utterly incompetent in it!

revertmean 4y ago

Rishi Sunak - the current Prime Minister - held a US green card until October last year (when he gave it up). Boris Johnson was born in New York.

blipvert 4y ago

Umm, Rishi Sunak (PM, this month) moved to California to start a hedge fund, had a Green Card, and still has a mansion there …

skippyboxedhero 4y ago
He didn't move to California to start a hedge fund, he had a Green Card because he went to Stanford, and his wife's family has a house there.
- klelatti 4y ago
  > I can't really think immediately of anyone with strong links to the US in the current govt > he went to Stanford, and his wife's family has a house there
  - skippyboxedhero 4y ago
    Again, what is connection? So if I go to Bocconi then I am Italian? And if someone in my family has a holiday house in France then I am French? The craziest part is that I believe this actually makes sense to you. How sad.
    - klelatti 4y ago
      Did I say Rishi Sunak was American? No, rather that he has strong connections with the US. If I have a house in France and went to a French University does that mean I have strong connections with France. Of course. Likewise with the US.
- blipvert 4y ago
  Apologies for under-representing how close his ties to the USA are.