RE: Official ISO 3166 country codes online

From: Christopher John Fynn (cfynn@dircon.co.uk)
Date: Wed Dec 01 1999 - 10:49:18 EST


Doug Ewell wrote:

> Marco Cimarosti wrote:

>> I too agree: national flags used to symbolize languages are definitely
>> inadequate.

>> This practice implicitly makes stupid assumptions like:
>> - All Britons speak English (that would upsets all Welsh and some Scots);
>> - All English speakers are Britons (that would upsets all Americans,
>> Australians, Nigerians, etc.)
>> - And so on for any other language...

> The first time I was in continental Europe and started seeing British
> flags to indicate "Here follows the English-language version of this
> sign or pamphlet," I smiled at the apparently naïve assumption that I
> must be British if I wanted to read English. But at least in e.g.
> France, the majority of English-speaking visitors probably are British,
> not American, so the assumption was not that bad. I did get used to
> looking for the British flag, so the symbology did its job.

Yes but the *English* flag is the cross of St. George - & I suspect the
majority
of Americans wouldn't recognize it as the English flag.

- Chris



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