[A Magicman]

I always felt that France had more ties with Spain than Italy, Germany or England. Not by a big margin, but culturally perceptible. Could be subjective, though.

Could be right. Italians hate the French, the connection with Germany has always been a difficult one, though from history, we are brothers and England... well France gave them more than 50% of their vocabulary from the conquer in 1066. But I think, they have remained kind of Germanic.

 

[Bartosh]

As for Poland, that's surprising about Spanish, but I wonder if there's some recent surge in the popularity of Russian now that the language is no longer compulsory?

The number of students in public schools choosing to learn Russian is constantly falling. This number is still inflated by the fact that there are still too many Russian teachers in public schools and until they retire some kids will have no other choice than to learn Russian.

It's not the most useful language if you think about job prospects + we have over one million Ukrainians in this country whose native/almost native language is Russian so they will always have the edge on the job market. Also, modern Russian culture (music, movies, TV etc.) is completely non-existent in Poland so it's not seen as a 'cool' language to learn, like Spanish.

 

[Sammo]

I totally understand that it's a useful language in Americas, but Latin America doesn't really matter in Europe. I feel like this love for Spanish among young Europeans is based on stuff like music, TV, handsome Latinos etc. but at the end of the day, kids that choose to learn German or French will end up with much higher salaries and better job prospects.

I mean, Spanish might not be as in-demand/profitable as French and German in Europe, but I don't think you can only take Europe into account and forget about the rest of the world, unless it's completely out of the question for you to live outside of Europe.

In the US, Spanish is the most in-demand second language, and the combined GDP of the Spanish-speaking world is $13 trillion dollars, so there are obviously plenty of high-paying jobs for qualified Spanish-speaking professionals there as well.

 

[Bartosh]

I mean, Spanish might not be as in-demand/profitable as French and German in Europe, but I don't think you can only take Europe into account and forget about the rest of the world, unless it's completely out of the question for you to live outside of Europe.

I mean, how many people from Poland move to live in Americas? :lol: This is such a tiny little number yet there are tons of people who learn Spanish here. It's just seen as a cool/sexy/trendy language to learn right now :shrug: And weirdly, from my observation 95% of Poles who learn Spanish are women :lol: I guess guys are just a bit more pragmatic and choose to learn the most useful/profitable languages.

 

[A Magicman]

I mean, Spanish might not be as in-demand/profitable as French and German in Europe, but I don't think you can only take Europe into account and forget about the rest of the world, unless it's completely out of the question for you to live outside of Europe.

In the US, Spanish is the most in-demand second language, and the combined GDP of the Spanish-speaking world is $13 trillion dollars, so there are obviously plenty of high-paying jobs for qualified Spanish-speaking professionals there as well.

The Spanish speaking world has about 450 million speakers. So that's 29,000$ per capita - like Malaysia or Hungary. That is nothing so extraordinary.

I think learning Spanish is inflated because of that figure of all Spanish speakers around the world. But one has to take into account how many people will seriously ever go to South America for living, vacation or whatsoever? Same goes for French. Will somebody ever go to Sub Saharan Africa?

From a European position, English is of course a must. And then it's like the decision of the student if they take a secondary language, what they will choose.

German, which is spoken by about 90 million ppl + about 5 million Swiss (I wouldn't call this German. Me as a speaker of Standard German / High German can hardly get a word of that dialect).

French for it being sth like a world language but especially in those parts of the world, where you don't really go.

Spanish (same argumentation)

Italian for its beauty and being the homeland of one of the greatest cultures this planet has ever seen in history. Though it doesnt make a lot of sense. Italy is hardly an economic super power, no other countries have Italian as their native language. But then again... why do it always have to be economic reasons for learning a language?

Or even Mandarine to be able to get a good job and oppotunities in a world of the new masters of the universe to come.

It's also always a question, which school offers what. Most here in Germany have English and then as a secondary language you can choose between Spanish, French or Latin (which is a must, if you want to become a doctor)

 

[JaySix]

Tourism statistics for Norwegians

For Finnish:
Estonia 1st (alcohol), Spain second

 

[Sammo]

The Spanish speaking world has about 450 million speakers. So that's 29,000$ per capita - like Malaysia or Hungary. That is nothing so extraordinary.

I think learning Spanish is inflated because of that figure of all Spanish speakers around the world. But one has to take into account how many people will seriously ever go to South America for living, vacation or whatsoever? Same goes for French. Will somebody ever go to Sub Saharan Africa?

Tons? You do know it's not all kidnap and murder, right? :lol:

If I worked in a multinational and it offered me to be transferred to Latin America I would definitely consider it depending on the salary and the place.

 

[JaySix]

 

[Iblis]

Could be right. Italians hate the French, the connection with Germany has always been a difficult one, though from history, we are brothers and England... well France gave them more than 50% of their vocabulary from the conquer in 1066. But I think, they have remained kind of Germanic.

Lol come on, hate? it's just some banter.

 

[Sammo]

What's EL? Greece?

 

[Petronius]

Check how many people from Scandinavian countries travel to Spain for holidays and how many live there permanently. It's a pretty big number. There are whole cities in Spain consisting of majority Scandinavians that have their own language bars etc. You go to some of these places and you hear more Norwegian or Finnish than Spanish.

Looking at language courses offered by the city of Helsinki: Opinto-ohjelma

There are about 7 pages of different Spanish courses from A1 to C1 while all the other languages except English have 1-2 pages max.

Interesting how the invention of aircraft changes people's places of abode or even linguistic preferences a century later. Europe is really becoming a little village :lol:

 

[Petronius]

I mean, how many people from Poland move to live in Americas? :lol: This is such a tiny little number yet there are tons of people who learn Spanish here. It's just seen as a cool/sexy/trendy language to learn right now :shrug: And weirdly, from my observation 95% of Poles who learn Spanish are women :lol: I guess guys are just a bit more pragmatic and choose to learn the most useful/profitable languages.

This is interesting. I would say that a similar situation exists in the Czech Republic with regard to French. It is considered by girls/women here as a very sexy language, it's almost like magic. I blame the popularity of the French movies and actors like Belmondo, Delon, Gerard Philippe, etc. :lol:

I once attended a French class in Prague (for practical reasons, as I have relatives in FR) and I was the only guy among nearly twenty chicks. It obviously had its advantages :devil:

The number of students in public schools choosing to learn Russian is constantly falling. This number is still inflated by the fact that there are still too many Russian teachers in public schools and until they retire some kids will have no other choice than to learn Russian.

It's not the most useful language if you think about job prospects + we have over one million Ukrainians in this country whose native/almost native language is Russian so they will always have the edge on the job market. Also, modern Russian culture (music, movies, TV etc.) is completely non-existent in Poland so it's not seen as a 'cool' language to learn, like Spanish.

I wonder if there are many Ukrainian or Russian students in Poland and if they study in Polish?

For instance, in Prague there are quite many Russian/Ukrainian students and they often study from Czech textbooks because the languages are relatively similar and - most importantly - in that case the studies are free of charge.

 

[spiceboy]

The "piss off your neighbour" map

 

[Hugues Daniel]

Any mnemonic idea to not confuse the flags of Poland and Indonesia? h:

 

[Silent Bird]

The "piss off your neighbour" map

I don't get it?

 

[Bartosh]

This map is definitely wrong for Poland, no one cares about the flag thing. It definitely should be "Polish concentration camps" for us :lol:

 

[Bartosh]

I wonder if there are many Ukrainian or Russian students in Poland and if they study in Polish?

For instance, in Prague there are quite many Russian/Ukrainian students and they often study from Czech textbooks because the languages are relatively similar and - most importantly - in that case the studies are free of charge.

By law, kids that don't speak Polish get 2-5 hours of Polish language classes per week for one year. But at the same time they also attend normal classes with other kids. Polish law also allows a different solution - schools can open a prep-class for kids that don't speak Polish. They go to such class for one year before they start normal education in Polish. I assume that most Ukrainian students don't need that as our languages are similar enough so that they can go to normal class straight away.

The number of kids of immigrants in Polish schools is quickly rising, mostly thanks to Ukrainian immigrants. Last year there were 44 000 immigrant kids in public schools, year before - 30 000, 2 years before - 14 000.

It's kinda hilarious that despite our stupid government's anti-immigrant rhetoric, we receive more migrant workers than anywhere else in the world :lol: First residence permits issued in the EU in 2017:

Poland: 683 228
Germany: 535 446
UK: 517 000
France: 250 175
Spain: 231 153

 

[Joana]

I don't get it?

I think it's supposed to represent what pisses the general population in each country the most.
It's not really all that accurate IMO, though. I really don't think the majority of Serbs and Croats are that pressed about Mladić or the WW2 flag. :tape: Also, about the 30% of the population of Bosnia and Montenegro would definitely not have a problem with how they're depicted here.
Macedonia is also a very weird case. I mean, it's their official flag :shrug: I know it's not popular among the hardcore nationalists because they think it should have been the flag of Alexander the Great or whatever, but I really don't think it's something that bothers most people all that much.

 

[Fortitude]

WHAT! Netherlands disappears under the sea!? That will never happen. We will raise our dikes! The sea will NEVER take us!

 

[Silent Bird]

WHAT! Netherlands disappears under the sea!? That will never happen. We will raise our dikes! The sea will NEVER take us!

Haha, didn't even notice. That's the best part of the map. :rolls: