Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2003/11/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Frank Dernie wrote: > How many people in a small town in the USA would you expect to speak > German? Is it widely taught? > > I would imagine there a few small towns in Pennsylvania where German is fairly widely spoken but I'm not sure what the above point proves - English speaking countries have always been a bit lazy about second languages. The point about the lack of English language speakers at Solms is interesting. I was in Berlin (hardly a small town) earlier this week and was surprised (like I was when I was there before) how little English is spoken by those in the general service industry. Even the person at the 'information point' at Schonefeld Airport railway station spoke virtually no English. I am not being critical - my own foreign language skills are hopeless - but I don't think it is unfair to make these observations. In Copenhagen or Amsterdam it is difficult to find anybody serving the public (or indeed anybody) who doesn't speak English as good as my neighbours here in the UK. Ian Watts. - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html