XPost: comp.arch.embedded   
   From: thanks-to@Taf.com   
      
   Bill Sloman  wrote:   
   |-------------------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"> N.B. Bill Sloman misused "learned" instead of "learnt".         |   
   |                                                                   |   
   |It's not a misuse, merely a regional variant."                     |   
   |-------------------------------------------------------------------|   
      
   Dear Doctor Sloman,   
      
   A use of "learned" instead of "learnt" is a regional misuse.   
      
   |--------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"Many Dutch kids learn French[. . .] from an early age."|   
   |--------------------------------------------------------|   
      
   I used to be employed in the Netherlands by an employer whose   
   languages are French and English. The Anglophones who used to be   
   employed by this then employer then vastly outnumber the Francophones   
   who used to be employed by this employer then.   
      
   A then Anglophone neigbour used to persecute a then workmate who   
   natively speaks French and who at that time used to work in French and   
   English, by repeatedly saying to him in English (not French) that he   
   must speak Dutch.   
      
   A friend of Belgian nationality told me that persons of Dutch   
   nationality say things to her like "Wow! You can speak French!"   
      
   I detected noone in the Netherlands using French when I used to reside   
   there, except for coworkers.   
      
   All then employees then in this section of this then employer are   
   Anglophones. A majority (55%) are Francophones, an unusually high   
   proportion. This then chief is natively a Francophone. English is this   
   project's language.   
      
   A Dutch then company (before it went bust) on this project tried to   
   apply for money to a French centre for an unrelated project. This   
   Dutch ex-company's ex-chiefs are of Dutch nationality. They wanted to   
   know if a tender must show a proposed price including tax or excluding   
   tax. So they telephoned this French centre to ask. They did try   
   asking in broken French, but they rapidly reverted to English while   
   they frantically reached for their French dictionary to find a French   
   word for tax. Given this lack of preparation and given this   
   anti-engineering belief, this ex-company deservedly went bust.   
      
   |-----------------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"Many Dutch kids learn [. . .] German [. . .] from an early age."|   
   |-----------------------------------------------------------------|   
      
   I bought German magazines from a person of Dutch nationality who used   
   to be raised in the Netherlands near the German border. He used to buy   
   them by short travels into Germmany. He did not have a good grasp of   
   German when I bought them, so he declined to use German.   
      
   |----------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"Many Dutch kids learn [. . .] English from an early age."|   
   |----------------------------------------------------------|   
      
   Yes. "Langenscheidt Expresskurs Niederländisch" alleges that persons   
   who speak Dutch are less good at English than they believe. I do not   
   detect so.   
      
   |---------------------------------------------------------|   
   |"Lots of Belgians are raised as French/Dutch bilinguals."|   
   |---------------------------------------------------------|   
      
   Of course. "Wow! You can speak French!" said an aforementioned friend   
   of Belgian nationality acting like persons of Dutch   
   nationality. "Yeah. [She can speak ]A little[ French]." said she   
   herself as a response to downplay these amazements.   
   (S. HTTP://Gloucester.Insomnia247.NL/ fuer Kontaktdaten!)   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)