Should all World Leaders speak in English?

1. 62

   Lady_Eposted 14 years ago

   Should it be a necessity for Presidents/Prime Ministers to speak English Language?
   
   There are a lot of people all over the world who are making a big effort to learn English.  In the UK, thousands of people from places such as Russia, Poland, Spain, Bulgaria, France etc are learning English so they can progress in their careers etc.  The Government also provides a lot of Funding.
   
   I wonder then, why a European President will not speak English -particularly the ones in Europe?  After all, English is an International Language.
   
   Ps. Hope I’m not being controversial.  It’s just a thought.

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   1. 60

      informixxposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Since English is the universal language, I think world leaders should speak with this language.
      But I don't discourage speaking using the native tongue.

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   2. 70

      BundleBoyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Lady_E If a person comes to a country to live or study or work and the national language there is English, I think it is necessary to learn and speak English. But I do not think is it necessary for every one to speak in English. Why should a president speak in English? They are proud of their language and would speak in that language even if they know English. Case in point France. Even though many French might know English they always speak in language French. They are proud of their language! Wouldn't it be boring if the whole world world spoke one language, followed one religion and had one culture? What makes this world interesting is its diversity.

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      1. 62

         Lady_Eposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I guess so, Bundleboy.  You have got a point.

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   3. 68

      waynetposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      They do it to be rude and also ignorant...it's like going to wales in the UK and they are all in a pub speaking english and then you then walk in and they speak welsh....totally ignorant!!

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   4. 61

      Keith Sposted 14 years agoin reply to this

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2. 61

   VENUGOPAL SIVAGNAposted 14 years ago

   Even if we are proud of our language and culture, our common sense should dictate us that what is more important is that our speech should be understood by those hearing us. Unless understood, it is not a speech... It may be termed as murmering or even barking at our opponents.
   
   Now, as English is understood in almost all the countries, English may be taken as a common language. All leaders may speak in English even if their language is superior than English.

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3. 61

   VENUGOPAL SIVAGNAposted 14 years ago

   Even if we are proud of our language and culture, our common sense should dictate us that what is more important is that our speech should be understood by those hearing us. Unless understood, it is not a speech... It may be termed as murmering or even barking at our opponents.
   
   Now, as English is understood in almost all the countries, English may be taken as a common language. All leaders may speak in English even if their language is superior than English.

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4. 64

   Kidgasposted 14 years ago

   I think it is important to determine your audience and communicate with them in the most effective way.

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5. 75

   charlemontposted 14 years ago

   Is there a shortage for interpreters? If a nation elects a president who doesn't speak English, it's doesn't mean they have made the wrong choice. In fact, Mandarin Chinese is spoken by more people than English. Does it mean every president should speak Chinese?

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6. 56

   weblogposted 14 years ago

   I think they can convey better and to more people if it is in english.

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7. 61

   VENUGOPAL SIVAGNAposted 14 years ago

   It is not compulsory for all world leaders to speak in English. Only when they come to world forums to discuss common issues., they should speak in English or arrange for a transcript and reader.

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8. 0

   jami430posted 14 years ago

   Wow, I absolutely do not think every leader should speak English, and I have degree in English. Quite honestly, English is a pretty awful lingua franca for SO MANY reasons. Chinese might legitimately become the real "international language" someday.

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9. 57

   Dame Scribeposted 14 years ago

   I fully support learning bilingual or multulingual languages and think people should be proud of that skill. also, they get paid more

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10. 48

    badcompany99posted 14 years ago

    Why should they, Gordon Brown doesn't speak English he has his own language, called bullshit, is that an international language ?

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       darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       LOL.
       
       I'm so glad I didn't have a mouthful of drink.

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          earnestshubposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          If your talking politics, then yes, bullshit is the International language!

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11. 89

    Rochelle Frankposted 14 years ago

    I believe that learning another language-- other than the one you are born into- helps change you into a better thing person. You learn that there are other points of view, other idioms, other figures of speech-- other ways of expressing yourself according to cultural differences.
    
    I think every person who considers himself educated, should have at least a conversational grasp of some other language-- even if it is similar to his own.
    
    The appreciation of other cultures is enhanced by learning another language. The cultural heritage of many disappearing societies needs to be preserved by preserving the nuances that each language provides. Information is lost when any dialect disappears.
    
    On the other hand, because of the spread of internet information-- English should be at least one of two languages everyone knows.

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       tksenseiposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Are you saying that anyone who does not speak a second language cannot be considered educated?

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       darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I'm good at HyperText Markup Language. It's a language!

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          Make Moneyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I was going to suggest HTML too but then what comes out on the page would be a spoken language.  Unless the world leaders just used images to communicate.

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12. 67

    Make Moneyposted 14 years ago

    I think all world leaders should speak Gaelic.
    
    Makes as much sense as expecting all world leaders to speak English.

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    1. 61

       lxxyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Or Esperanto.
       
       I don't really think language is much of a barrier, because we often think mostly in metaphors--at least, I know I do. ;D

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          Make Moneyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          To be fair to all I think all world leaders should be forced to learn and communicate in Bikya.

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13. 70

    Joelle Burnetteposted 14 years ago

    I think it's insulting and presumptuous to expect foreign leaders to speak English. That being said, it is in the best of any political leader, leader in business, etc., to know and understand the language(s) of their friends and adversaries if they are going to achieve what's in the best interest of their people, company, whatever.
    
    Moreover, I do believe if you are going to move to another country and become a thriving member of that society, you should do your best to learn the first language of that country, whether that is English in America, French in France, whatever. This practice is generally expected in other countries, so why not in America, too.
    
    In America, there's always the struggle of whether to hang on to culture and language, or join the melting pot that makes this country great. Regardless of whether you are a first- or tenth-generation American, you can learn English and the ways of this country while holding on to your culture and customs. In fact, this country is lucky enough to enable and encourage people to maintain their culture.
    
    But don't forget, it was the intention of our founding fathers (most significantly Jefferson) that everyone learn English as a way of becoming an active citizen -- a person who can vote.

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14. 0

    \Brenda Scullyposted 14 years ago

    I Think everyone should speak English......  I hate it when I cant communicate with someone because of language, I know I should learn other languages too, but I am hopeless at them.... This is a tongue in cheek comment, not to be taken too seriously

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15. 84

    wychicposted 14 years ago

    Luckily for the politicians, bullshit can be spoken in any language .
    
    Personally, I think world leaders should be required to speak in the national language of their country. Yes, it's great to know other languages and great to have an understanding of other cultures, but why should, say, a Russian leader be required to speak English if most of the people in his country speak only Russian? (replace the country and language with any in the world, it works for all of them)
    
    Aside from the other great reasons already mentioned for speaking in one's own language, I think it is especially important for a leader to speak in their native language. The best politicians are charismatic and well-spoken, and everyone communicates best in their own language. Sure, any politician can have an English-speaking speech writer pen them a wonderful piece in English, but they will be less effective in communicating anything that isn't already written out. No matter how long you have studied or how well you know a second language, you will likely never reach the level of proficiency in that language as you have in your native tongue.

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16. 61

    Keith Sposted 14 years ago

    I think world leaders should speak Latin or some other extinct language. They just talk to each other anyway.

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17. 61

    Keith Sposted 14 years ago

    I think world leaders should speak Latin or some other extinct language. They just talk to each other anyway.

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