Did you know… Le français est la langue officielle des Jeux olympiques de cette année?
[For those of you who didn’t know… French is the official language of the Olympics this year!]
For the past week, 204 countries have been competing in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. That’s a lot of different languages being spoken all in one place. Traditionally, French and English are always the main languages of the Olympics, with the host country’s primary language as an addition. This year, French will take precedence as the official language.
But what about everyone else? How do they communicate with each other if they don’t speak the same language?
The city of London prepared for this far in advance. Most street signs, restaurant menus and service shops provide translations for many different languages. Interpreters for athletes, journalists, tourists and others are on hand at all times.
And maybe some of the athletes have their Living Language course books in their backpacks!
Just for fun…
Olympics (English)
Jeux olympiques (French)
Juegos Olímpicos (Spanish)
Olympiade (German)
Olimpiadi (Italian)
オリンピック - Orinpikku (Japanese)
奥运会 - ao yun hui (Chinese)
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