"If you would be so kind as to answer English."

[Godwynn]

Link to video.

Did Westerwelle do the right thing?
Why couldn't the BBC send a German reporter to the press conference?
Should the Germans speak English in Germany or GTFO?

 

[Cato the Elder]

I found Westerwelle a bit arrogant tbh. While it may perhaps have been better had the BBC sent a germanophone reporter, he shouldn't so blatantly refuse to answer a question in English, or in any other language he's capable of speaking. It just makes you look like a total dick, especially in the context of being a foreign minister.

Perhaps my view is influenced by my sincere disgust of Flemish-language nationalists (the type that believe Dutch is the only language that should be allowed to be spoken in this region, and would rather drop dead than help someone in a different language), but it still bothers me.

 

[Quackers]

Omg! Agressive foreign policy from Germany we hadn't seen that for like 60 years. Get ready Poland!

 

[Virote_Considon]

English should be the only language spoken ever; it is the true language of God.

 

[Godwynn]

Omg! Agressive foreign policy from Germany we hadn't seen that for like 60 years. Get ready Poland!

The Poles bought enough time by signing the Lisbon Treaty.

You should be fearful for the Czech Republic, though.

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

Count on the Germans to stand up against something stupid like that.

I think he's absolutely right; English-speakers seem to take it for granted that their language can, is, and should be spoken everywhere, and sometimes we need to be reminded that there are, in fact, other languages out there.

 

[Phlegmak]

I think Westerwelle's stance is generally ok.

 

[pau17]

It was a German press conference with direct translation services present. It just seems like a lack of respect to ask for an English answer.

 

[bhsup]

I side with the foreign minister. It was the reporter that was out of line to expect a German cabinet official hosting a press conference in Germany to speak in English, particularly when it was clearly obvious that a translator was right there to be used.

 

[scherbchen]

dunno, it made me cringe a bit when I saw it back when. I assume everybody in that room has a basic grasp of the English language so it would not be completely outlandish to switch to English for a minute in this day and age.

guess Westerwelle was riding high on a good bit of hubris after doing well in the elections and it unloaded on this poor British sap.

 

[Harvin87]

I found him arrogant too, but I think he was in his right.

 

[bhsup]

Guys, remember that he offered to have tea with a Britand speak only English at the private tea meeting. What more could the Brit ask for?

 

[roger_wilco]

You're missing the obvious point here: his English is terrible. I think he just wanted to postpone his public embarassment until he's safe in a government post. Looky here for douche chills:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYGPWQ0VjY

 

[pau17]

You're missing the obvious point here: his English is terrible. I think he just wanted to postpone his public embarassment until he's safe in a government post. Looky here for douche chills:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLYGPWQ0VjY

All the more reason that he has the right to give his best answer in his most comfortable language when at home.

 

[scherbchen]

wasn't that bad in my book. sure, his pronounciation is attrocious (there are tutors for that, sheesh) but it pretty much fits with the infamous German Accent stereotype. other than that it was a decent performance of talking freely in front of a crowd and on the record in your second language.

the guy is a lawyer not a linguist...

 

[amadeus]

If a German reporter did this to a British minister, can you imagine their reaction?

 

[Kerozine]

All the more reason that he has the right to give his best answer in his most comfortable language when at home.

That apparently wasn't enough, though, he also insisted on being asked the question in German.

The reporter might have been disrespectful, depending on how you look at it, but it surely didn't warrant the German foreign minister being an donkeyhole.

 

[Elrohir]

Did Westerwelle do the right thing?
Why couldn't the BBC send a German reporter to the press conference?
Should the Germans speak English in Germany or GTFO?

Honestly, I'm kind of unimpressed with both of them. The reporter shouldn't have been so arrogant, and the BBC should have sent someone who spoke German to cover the press conference. I think it's terribly rude to go to someone else's country, and expect them to publicly accommodate your every whim.

But. I think part of being a good host is being polite an accommodating to your guests, even if he's acting like a moron. So Westerwelle, to be polite, should have answered in German first, and then spoken in English for the reporter. And then afterwards, privately told him that this sort of behavior isn't acceptable in Germany, and it shouldn't be repeated. (Although, I'm not really surprised that he didn't want to answer in English - it seemed to offend his German sense of order and propriety to be asked that. You could tell he was thinking "But...that's just not how it's done here! We don't do it that way!" )

 

[roger_wilco]

wasn't that bad in my book. sure, his pronounciation is attrocious (there are tutors for that, sheesh) but it pretty much fits with the infamous German Accent stereotype. other than that it was a decent performance of talking freely in front of a crowd and on the record in your second language.

the guy is a lawyer not a linguist...

BS. Joschka Fischer had a slight German accent but his English was quite good otherwise, as to witness from his speeches at the UN. And that guy used to be a taxi driver. Westerwelle's accent is worse than that of the terrorists in Die Hard, and he stutters and inserts German words and sentences. Considering we all learn English from 5th grade on in Germany, he could really be better at that if he wasn't a moron.

 

[really]

At work so haven't watched videos.

Many senior officials or politicians don't like talking in languages other than their native one in case they make a mistake and give a meaning other than what they intended to something they say.

If an interpreter makes a mistake you just blame the interpreter. If the minister says X it gets thrown to him "in this interview you said X". His options aren't great: say he was wrong or made a mistake.