I was watching the news from Europe, Greece, and Turkey showing this refugee problem and noticed something which surprised me. Most all the banners and poster were in English none of those countries speak English. What is the point of a banner or poster which no one can read or did they know I was going to watch it and it was for me.
I have travelled extensively in Europe... particularly in Greece and Turkey and I can assure you that the majority of the indigenous population speak English very well..as do Romanians, Polish and Bulgarians...in fact they put most English to shame because overall most of us can't be bothered to learn a second language, instead relying on foreigners to learn ours...
Holly I do agree that they are more bilingual than we are in this country but I think they are playing to the cameras and not for the local population. Also it is not there native language.
I know we are lazy, but to be fair there is not much incentive to learn a foreign language, because at the present time English (American) is the universal language, if I learn't another language it would only help me in the country that spoke it, from my experience of travelling, people associated with the tourist industry often speak English, but not the general population so much. In saying that in Russia where English is very rarely spoken it would be an advantage but far too difficult for me Regarding the refugee protests, I am not sure about the use of English in banners and placards, but I would say most people want to get their message on the mass media and heard/seen outside their country, so English being universal they use it. I notice in the current protest in Iceland over the financial issues, most of the placards are in their native language except those posing to the mass media.
It is in France English remains the dominant language of international business and global communication through the influence of global media and the former British Empire that had established the use of English in regions around the world such as North America, India, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. However, English is not the only language used in global organizations such as in the EU or the UN, because many countries do not recognize English as a universal language.