If there is a Brexit, will EU throw out English and adopt German or French or Spanish as its main language?

Sir, I refer to Martin Wolf’s “Britain’s friends are right to fear Brexit” April 20.

I reread it several times, and of course, if it is Brexit, and nothing more, then UK has the right to be very concerned about the consequences. But, it doesn’t have to be that way.

For instance Britain could try to explore the possibilities of strengthening the bond that the English language represents. For instance when Wolf remind us of how “US resources and will sustained the west during the second world war and the cold war”, I have to ask myself if that was more because of Europe, or because of England, and frankly I do not really know the answer.

Also Europe itself suffers severe existential problems. As you Sir and Martin Wolf know, I believe that the risk aversion implicit in the risk weighted capital requirements for banks basically amounts to a decision to lie down and die. And so if Brexit would come hand in hand with a Baselexit, then surely UK would come out as a winner.

Wolf is right that the UK would always have the option of existing the EU, but our kids and our children cannot afford to wait for better possibilities to find jobs that those lousy bank regulations permit.

As with the wall Trump wants to build, you are never ever really sure on which side of it you rally want to find your family.

PS. Linguistic determinism is the idea that language and its structures limit and determine human knowledge or thought, as well as thought processes such as categorization, memory, and perception.

PS. By the way could EU keep as its main language a language of a non-member? J

PS. During my two-short-long years as an Executive Director of the World Bank, I don’t recall a more enjoyable moment than listening to a colleague, the Executive Director for France, Pierre Duquesne's wonderful spirited defense of the budget allocation for translating English documents into French. Languages are indeed of utmost importance to some.

@PerKurowski ©

In Miami Florida USA, when stores display “Hablamos inglés”, that evidences the global importance of English

Sir, during my two short/long years as an Executive Director of the World Bank, I don’t recall a more enjoyable moment than listening to a colleague’s, the Executive Director for France, Pierre Duquesne's wonderful spirited defense of the budget allocation for translating English documents into French. And that is why I felt a streak of bad conscience when I caught myself discreetly smiling when reading Jeremy Paxman’s “Voilà — a winner in the battle of global tongues” April 8.

Of course English has won the battle. It is such an important language that even in Miami Florida USA, the stores display signs that read: “Hablamos inglès”, “We speak english”.

What has me a bit surprised though, is that I have not yet heard Mr Paxman suggesting an English Language Empire, as a Brentrance to Brexit.

That Empire would, Professor Higgins allowing, at least save itself most of the costs of translations.

@PerKurowski ©