this post was submitted on 01 May 2024
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It's kind of weird that English became a universal language. There must have been better choices.
Apparently not, or those would've become the universal.
History is what caused it. Though it's pretty fascinating that in Shakespeare's time, English (in England) was considered the commoner's tongue, while the upper classes spoke French.
This is part of Shakespeare's legacy (he wrote and performed in English) , and also shows why the early documents in America are worded the way they are. No American says "four score and 20 years", that's from French.
My whole life has been a lie.
I mean the options at the time were English, French and maybe Spanish with Dutch being a distant 4th so... Not really? Nowadays your options are English or Mandarin.
French and Spanish would have been better.
I don't speak Spanish but I do speak French and I disagree.