warning: listening to this could be damaging to your health

[Skybird]

Let me introduce you to Mr. Oettinger, Germany's new EU commissioner for energy in Brussel. In the first excerpts, in German, he explains why he expects and demands every German employee, every craftsman and businessman, to understand and to speak English language: to read manuals, to communicate with international partners, and because it is the language of the future (hey Oetti, what has become of your Mandarin recently...? )

After that he demonstrates what that means in practice.



I apologize for any felt pain in the ear, possible ear damage, and the explicit accoustic cruelty. I cannot be held responsible for these consequences.

Muchas gracias to the German government for giving Germany a respectable voice in the world (Truth is, Merkel choosed Oettinger to get rid of him in Germany since he criticised her too much).

Even I, as a German, had difficulties to understand what he heck he was talking of.

[Skybird]

And while we're at it:



Another star of Germany's representation on the international stage is the new federal casper for foreign politics, Guido Westerwave. He is best described as Germany's answer to Britain's Miliband. His English is better than that of Oettinger, but to compensate for the lack of laughs, his foreign policy statements so far have been much more hilarious, so has been the foreign policy he has done so far. Even his TV picture still smells against the wind, that deep he has crawled into the lower backs of Poland and Turkey.

In German we have a nice word for non-starters like him. We call them "Rohrkrepierer". A polite way to say "blöder Lackaffe".

Different to Westerwave, Oettinger's competence at least is undisputed. He just should not try to speak English, but get a translator.

The important question is....does he know what "Bail" means in English or will he insist that when it comes to use of the English language in England he is right and the English are wrong?

I don't mind his imperfect english, however, I don't think he is in any position to mandate others learning the english language. Nor do I think it should be mandated.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Snestorm

I don't mind his imperfect english, however, I don't think he is in any position to mandate others learning the english language. Nor do I think it should be mandated.

True, but as a representative of a nation, certain cosmetic attributes must be expoected, and if Oettinger is so hilarious in pronouncing English, he simply should hold any speeches in German.

Almost all German media currently have jokes and mockery about Oettinger, at least a critical reference.

BTW, numerically, the primary language in the EU is German anyway, not English, so it would not even be a big faux-pas to refuse to speak English (the French refuse it all the time). No other language inside the EU is spoken by so many people, like German.

BTW, numerically, the primary language in the EU is German anyway, not English,

Bull.
Why does Sky feel the need to just make up stuff?

No other language inside the EU is spoken by so many people, like German.

According to the EU the amount of people in the EU speaking the English language beats the amount speaking the German language by a very wide margin

Originally Posted by Skybird

True, but as a representative of a nation, certain cosmetic attributes must be expoected, and if Oettinger is so hilarious in pronouncing English, he simply should hold any speeches in German.

Almost all German media currently have jokes and mockery about Oettinger, at least a critical reference.

BTW, numerically, the primary language in the EU is German anyway, not English, so it would not even be a big faux-pas to refuse to speak English (the French refuse it all the time). No other language inside the EU is spoken by so many people, like German.

No, I think everyone in Europe should speak perfectly ALL the EU languages, including Finnish mind you. Time to shove all that cultural imperialism aside.