Why People Speak English

A friend of mine is an officer in the naval reserve. A few weeks ago, while on TDY in Brussels, he was attending a conference on NATO naval strategy planning that included admirals in both the US and the French navies. At a cocktail reception at the Officer's Club, my friend found himself in a small group that included an admiral from each of the two navys. The French admiral started complaining that whereas Europeans learned many languages, Americans only learned English. He then asked. "Why is it that we have to speak English in these conferences rather than you have to speak French?"

Without even hesitating, the American admiral replied. "Maybe it is a bit of a reward because twice my country arranged it so that you did not have to learn to speak German." The group became quite silent.