The French government enforces a strict language regulation law. La Loi Toubon declares the use of a foreign language, e.g. English, is only permitted when accompanied by a French translation, and the translation must be as legible, audible and intelligible as the foreign version. Its scope covers all business activities targeting end-users, consumers and any
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Part of a broader discussion of language policy, an official language is given a special legal status in a country, state or jurisdiction. Often, a nation’s official language refers to the language used within government. Selecting an official language is often contentious, so many countries have no official language. The United States has no official language at
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An oft quoted, but slightly misattributed saying of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor was, “I speak Spanish to God, Italian to Women, French to Men, and German to my Horse.” The multilingual monarch raises some interesting questions. How do animals process and understand human speech? Can an animal be conditioned to understand different languages? Animals
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