Macron said:
"French will become the first language in Africa, and may even be the first language in the world! There are 274 million people in the world who speak French, which is the fifth largest language after Mandarin, English, Spanish and Arabic. "
Even more naughty, when he called French, he did not forget to criticize the first language English:
"Sticking to a language, refusing to use French, and only knowing to follow the trend of English, this practice in Africa is not looking to the future at all."
A stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the war of words began.
Britain simply said: No matter how well Macron speaks, French cannot become the next global language.
The article also demonstrates Macron Tucson, "In 2006, a French subsidiary of General Electric was fined 500,000 euros for publishing its English software manual. How can such bureaucratic means make French a world language? "
Daily Express
Netizens also do their part:
Don't forget that you want to teach French to China and Indian people. Good luck. By the way, where do so many French teachers come from? Africa? Go home, your mother wants you.
Stupid little people. For hundreds of years, the French have been trying to make the rest of the world feel that French is important. However, it has never happened before and will never happen again!
What is Macron's confidence in saying this?
Media analysis makes France feel beautiful for two reasons.
First, 10 years ago, France's attempt to use French as the EU's benchmark legal language failed, and English stood ahead. But now that Britain has left the European Union, some French people realize that Britain's withdrawal from the EU has opened an opportunity for the revival of French in EU countries.
Another reason is in Africa. Because many countries in Africa are former colonies of France, nearly 60% of French speakers come from Africa. A study of 20 14 predicts that by 2050, French will surpass English, based on the fact that the population of Africa has increased from 45 million in 2000 to 4.5 billion.
However, these two bases were ruthlessly overthrown, and even some French experts expressed doubts.
The reason is that the use of language has its historical background and inertia dependence. The analysis said:
Today, the prominent position of English in international business and culture stems from the establishment of a global empire by Britain in the19th century. At the beginning of the 20th century, due to the economic superiority of the United States, the cultural hegemony of Britain was replaced by the United States. However, the United States is also a country dominated by English. These initial historical conditions, coupled with decades of usage habits, are the reasons why English occupies a dominant position in today's international communication.
Moreover, people are more dependent on habits than demography. Even if Africans born in the next few decades do speak French. However, if they want to travel abroad, study abroad, or work in multinational companies, then they must also learn English. ?
No wonder British netizens are shouting that Africa's population is increasing and the French are allowed to rule the world.
Speaking of languages that have gone global in recent years, I have to mention Chinese. For example:
Arabella, Trump's granddaughter, has been learning Chinese. She can recite three-character classics and ancient poems in Chinese.
Prince George and the Dutch princess are also learning Chinese.
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is very popular in China because of his fluent Chinese.
Zuckerberg's annual salary is 800,000 China nanny;
The British government has previously spent 654.38+0 billion pounds (about 86.5 million RMB) to promote Chinese education in British public schools, with the goal of training more than 5,000 students who are fluent in Chinese by 2020. ......
The global upsurge of learning Chinese is increasing. To paraphrase the netizen Macron, it is:
Looking back 50 years later, it's all Chinese.