English is spoken by more people in the world as a second language than as a first. The language has become The World's language. That is fact, but it has not happened because English is the superior language. English has become dominant by means of war. It is as simple as that. Whether it was the allied forces' (mainly from English speaking nations) defeat of the Nazis, etc., the extensive British colonisation of many parts of the world, or New Zealand's continuing invasion of Australia.
Another critical factor in English as a Global language has been the enormous success of American film and television.
Myself, I speak only English fluently but as a student of Linguistics I have differing degrees of ability in other languages - Hindi, French, Spanish, German, and Maori. In these languages I would struggle to say much more than "hello" or "can I have a beer please". Spanish is probaly the easiest for me to read and speak in, but if I try to talk to a native Spanish speaker I may not be understood unless I repeat myself a couple of times.
I really enjoy the multicultural flavour of Deeperblue. I love it when a person with poor English makes the attempt to post, even if they make no sense it means they are on their way to getting more proficient because they are practising.
I enjoy reading the little Spanish or French additions that people like Sara add to their posts.
Many Deeperblue members act as a conduit between two languages - e.g. Jorg of Sharkbait fame and Trux who has put so much effort into Apnea.cz. I for one welcome people who are not fully proficient in English to post on this site.
The addition of separate sections for the language people are most comfortable to ask questions in would be great as they can then express their ideas more accurately. These sections would be simple with no sub-sections needed because of the lower numbers of posts one could expect. Each one would need a bilingual moderator obviously and volunteers would probaly be needed to ensure that cost was not prohibitive to the Papa.
These sections should be viewed not as a permanent place to hang out, but as an access point to DB for that vital bit of advice, or as a transition place to improve one's English skills to the level where a person could ease themselves into communicating primarily in the main forums.
Hasta luego, A bientot, Tchuss, Namaste and Ka kite.
