Is English the Language of Love?

I never thought about ENGLISH as the language of love.

The language of business…a fabulously literary language…a very flexible and easily accessible language to be sure, but LOVE?

I remember one time spending hours and hours talking with a Swiss woman I was head-over-heels for in an outdoor cafe in Bern.  We switched from English to French to Spanish depending on the topic.  I found that each language had a particular subject it was best suited for.  She told me there were whole subjects we couldn’t talk about just because I didn’t speak German.  Love was one of those….dammit….even though I always figured Spanish for the language of love.

Then again, there is Portuguese…..and Arabic…wow….two of the most romantic and sexy languages I’ve ever encountered.

But I digress.

Just last year, the language school Kaplan asked 1,213 EFL (English as a Foreign Language) speakers what motivated them to learn English.

Take a look at the results in the infographic below. Some of it is surprising….some of it is not.  I mean, of course 98% think that language skills are attractive.  A woman who speaks multiple languages certainly makes me swoon.  And given the world-wide popularity (and dominance) of Anglo-American music the last 60+ years it comes as no surprise so many have seranaded someone in English. Still, the overall result that English tops both Spanish and Arabic as the sexiest language?  Something is off with that.

I never gave much thought to which English-speaking city is the most “romantic” but given that London was recently proclaimed the “sex capitol” of the world there might be some connection. Still, it will NEVER beat Barcelona.

Do you agree with the findings? Let me know by leaving a comment.

Love learning English with Kaplan

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