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That's not universally true. In my country, German was the widely accepted and taught second language until WW2. Since then it's been English.
by 8372049 3y ago
That's not universally true. In my country, German was the widely accepted and taught second language until WW2. Since then it's been English.
- actionfromafar 3y agoWell one empire (sort of empire) defeated another, so it’s related.
- 8372049 3y agoThe reason German(y) was widely unpopular after WW2 wasn't primarily because they lost. ETA: They lost WW1 too, but German remained our #1 foreign language.
- dragonwriter 3y agoOTOH, the reason those feelings were free to be expressed...
- Aicy 3y agoThe relative power of German speakers (Germany) dropped massively after WW2 compared to English speakers (USA).
- OJFord 3y agoHow is that not essentially the same point? The second language was determined by international politics, not linguistic merit.
- 8372049 3y agoDepends on your level of abstraction, I guess. GP stated "We all speak English because at one point the English practically owned the entire planet." Which in our case is false. We stopped learning German as a second language because of the Nazi aggression and atrocities during WW2, and started learning English as a second language due to their aid and closer relations during the war. But yes, it's obviously not because of any linguistic merit.
- throwaway2037 3y agoIt would help if we knew which country. Was this due to (1) pre-WW2 German language mostly useful for trade with Germany, or (2) a significant minority of ethnic Germans, who probably returned to Germany (E/W) after WW2? My guess: #2.
- 8372049 3y agoNorway. Just overall friendlier standing with Germany than the UK pre-WW2 I think. No significant minority of ethnic Germans, and I think trade with Germany and the UK was roughly comparable.
- rblatz 3y agoThat’s true of many countries, including The US.