Apparently King Charles boasted that if not for the British, we'd all be speaking French, so I thought I would respond.
First off, I do speak French. I took French in High School. The options were French or Spanish, and to not have to compete with the Cuban kids who spoke Spanish at home, I opted for French so as to be on an even playing field with my classmates. Ironically, I speak French quite often. It is probably the most useful travel language given the vast array of exposure of the French worldwide. You can use it in Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia, since France had colonies there. I even had a student from Rwanda this semester who thought it was hilarious to have secret conversations with me in French since nobody else understood us. I have been to France four times; I have friends who live there. I suppose then the British failed me, because I speak French.
Secondly, the English used to also speak French. After the Norman invasion, it was a hallmark of the victor because only the Norman conquerors spoke French. THe Saxons did not. So it was an easy way to delineate the conquered from the conquerors. It took many years for me to understand how they knew Saxon from Norman in movies like "Robin Hood". It was simple. Only the Normans spoke French. So, it's a miracle that the English don't still speak French themselves.
Thirdly, if not for the United States, the British might speak German. Perhaps it's lost on them, but we did help them defeat Germany twice in world wars.
I don't understand the spite and the sauce. When I went to Normandy in 2023, the French don't seem nearly so pissy about linguistics or Americans. IN fact, they offered me free things in gratitude for liberating them from Nazi Germany, as if somehow I was personally responsible for their freedom (my grandfathers fought in the Pacific). If King Charles wants to show some class, he could start by showing some gratitude rather than just giving us lip. Maybe we can all learn something from the French besides just their language.
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