Hi, I have watched the press conference Angela Merkel and George W. Bush were giving on CNN. I thought the new German chancellor would be able to speak English but to my surprise she doesn’t seem to. I remember that the former German Foreign Minister spoke quite good English, why hasn’t learned Angela Merkel learned to speak English? After all she is the leader of one of the most important countries in the world, wouldn’t it greatly improve the imagine of the Germans if their top lady could communicate with other politicians?
Good evening Spearhead,
What do you mean by ‘important countries’?
Why don’t you put your question the other way round?
Sorry, I’m just being naughty. In fact, it’s exactly the kind of comment I often make about some of our politicians. English may not be the world’s official language (yet!), but it does simplify international relations to have it as an intermediary or link between nations. Besides, what would become of this site if English wasn’t so widely spread?
Hi Conchita,
Good thinking!
Alan
Good evening Conchita. By important countries I was referring to those countries which have a considerable political and economic weight.
You mean why shouldn’t other nations learn German to communicate with the Germans in their language? Well, I was talking about Angela’s current visit to the United States. I simply struck me as odd that the German chancellor doesn’t speak English while many leaders of other countries do speak English.
I think I can see where sprearhead is coming from here and in a way I agree: Nowadays any employee needs a decent command of the English language if they want to make a career. Why aren’t English language skills a requirement for top politicians too? On the other hand, Angela Merkel might ‘speak’ some English, the question is if her English is good enough to lead negotiations with George W. Bush.
Angela Merkel likely had little opportunity to study English in school. Living under Soviet tyranny, she probably was forced to learn Russian. She is a brilliant scholar and leader. Give her a break.
It seems to me that since German is the official language of the European Union (EU), the learning of German by Americans is appropriate and should be encouraged, if not required in the school systems. Standard German is not a particularly difficult language to learn for English speakers, and is, in fact, quite a beautiful language. Most of the world does NOT speak English.