Thread: usage of national flags in the new language sections

@Bad Manners:
Let's recap for a moment. What are you trying to prove and what am I trying to prove? I think we're both using arguments that could be used for each others point of view, because we don't what we're discussing.

I was simply meaning to say that:
The area in which German is spoken (historically and nowadays) is now for the most part Germany. It isn't an earth-shattering statement, which is why I was surprised that you replied so fiercely.

Originally Posted by Jasper May

I was simply meaning to say that:
The area in which German is spoken (historically and nowadays) is now for the most part Germany. It isn't an earth-shattering statement, which is why I was surprised that you replied so fiercely.

Jasper, this is precisely what I disagree with. I mentioned earlier that even in Germany there is a large region where the language is Low German, which is closer to Dutch than to High German. I also mentioned that if we sum up all the lands in Europe where High German is spoken, the High German region of Germany will not even amount to a half in the number of speakers. Finally, I demonstrated that even the roots (OK, call it some roots) of High German lie outside Germany.

But that is not what I want to say. I want to say that German, just like Dutch and many other European languages, is natively spoken in multiple countries, so marking languages with the flag of one country is simply wrong. Marking a language with multiple flags is simply ugly. Bottom line? Let's get rid of them and restore the visual uniformity of the forum.

Ok, fine. Пусть будет по-вашему. But I still think that it's nice to have flags (more colourful), and one flag per country; namely, the one with which it is mostly associated. If you ask any person on the face of the earth where German is spoken, they'll say 'Germany' first.

Originally Posted by Jasper May

Ok, fine. Пусть будет по-вашему. But I still think that it's nice to have flags (more colourful), and one flag per country; namely, the one with which it is mostly associated. If you ask any person on the face of the earth where German is spoken, they'll say 'Germany' first.

There are a few millions who will not. They may also say that the Germans speak anything but German. That's my point.