Challenge: The British Isles and France united

Yes, but it wouldnt die out. Though a world with French staying as world language would be worse, really... its so much more difficult to learn, and so much less flexible!

Hmm, maybe a suitable POD would allow French to retain the old case system, just to make it easier for you. ;)
 
A language with no case system and no grammatical genders is still easier ;)

So you prefer Chinese over French? ;)

Seriously, I have the very strong impression that complexity of a language hardly has any negative influence on its proliferation. Look at the Koine in antiquity.

(Although the converse is true: The proliferation of a language has a negative influence on its complexity.)

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Back to the point, assume that the Angevin Empire is unhinged from the French crown - quite possible under several PoDs. That leaves us with two "multi-nation" kingdoms (nominally England and France), both with French as dominant/court language: In "England" there are French, Occitan French, and English people living, most probably it also includes Wales and Brittony; Scottland and Ireland might be included, partially included, or staying outside. "France" has mainly French and Dutch subjects. Toulouse, though nominally French, will be de-facto independent or falling to the Angevin complex.

Now we only need a PoD which makes the major part of "France" join the Western Empire.
To take one of our favourites, let some sort of Burgundian state arise and deprive the French crown of its influence on important areas. With some additional weakening, it is only a question of time when a French king without male heirs agrees to marry his daughter to the "English" king, and make her inherit the kingdom ...

The funny thing is, "English" and "French" will be valid cultural, linguistical, and ethnic terms in this scenario; both terms will have some political content at the beginning, but there is hardly any connection between these two worlds. IOTL, the restriction of the Angevins to the British isles and after that, the 100 Y W led to the connection of ethnic and political notions in this region. Changing this will alone be extremely consequential ...
 
A language with no case system and no grammatical genders is still easier ;)

Even if it keeps things nice and tidy? :cool: Seriously, if I did a TL regarding an alternate evolution of English, I would make sure it retained grammatical gender, even if it ends turning into a calque of Dutch or Danish/Swedish/Norwegian.
 
Oh, don't feel so sad - it might turn out to be better in the long run for the Maltese language. :D
How so?
Yes, but it wouldnt die out. Though a world with French staying as world language would be worse, really... its so much more difficult to learn, and so much less flexible!
Indeed. And as Dan will tell you with much frustration, I hate French!
 

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Banned
Yes, but it wouldnt die out. Though a world with French staying as world language would be worse, really... its so much more difficult to learn, and so much less flexible!
Not really, French is very very similar to English.

But then again I only have high school level French
 
Well, no British colonial period, for one thing.
Butterflies? Malta will have a colonial ruler eventually, and maybe next time we wont be extremely lucky and have our native culture actually survive after...*thinks* 2000 years of foriegn rule? Before 1964, Malta had never been independent.
 
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