Quote of the day III

Charlemagne:

as more and more Europeans speak good English, the benefits to a Briton of learning European languages are reduced and the costs increase. The benefits are reduced because a smaller and smaller group of people can be reached only by speaking their language. The costs rise because Britons have to learn to speak foreign languages really well, to avoid inflicting halting French, say, on a room full of fluent English-speakers.

An astonishing oversight is the written language. I almost never speak French unless I'm trying to teach Miss FLG. I listen to French audio or television programs several times a week, but I read French everyday. I find my ability to read French far more important than speaking it.