English is not just about Britain.
+1, and why German instead of French?
Sure. But once Britain is out of the EU it will be politically very hard for them to justify English as the main working language of the EU.
Money. (In a word!)
But as far as Iâm concerned they should make 'em learn both French and German.
The way I look at it, ALL films should be shown in their original language soundtrack, with the appropriate foreign language subtitles for the appropriate target audience. I see nothing wrong with governments doing some regulating in this area â at least for live action films. Maybe live action television too. Not cartoons.
There is nothing more annoying than watching a film with a DUBBED sound-track â in any language.
When Iâm watching a French film, for example, the last thing I want to hear is English voices dubbed over the spoken French â which obviously doesnât match the movement of the actorâs lips.
I would much rather read subtitles.
I also think that all DVDâs should be required to include the subtitles of the original language soundtrack for those who want to understand what is actually being said in the original language.
Unfortunately (in North America at least) only English language films come with more or less accurate English subtitles (for the hearing impaired) as well as French and Spanish subtitles (which are chiefly intended for French Canadian or Mexican and Latin American viewers or people in the United States whose first language is Spanish or French); whereas films in other languages come with subtitles in English, French and Spanish â but no subtitles for the original language soundtrack. (Even French or Spanish language films that have French or Spanish subtitles contain subtitles that never seem to match the original soundtrack. Itâs as if the English subtitles have been poorly translated back into French or Spanish.) I find this equally annoying!
For me, the only exception to this rule should be animated films â where I have never noticed the difference between animated lip movement and the voice coming out. A good example of this would be Verschrikkelijke Ikke, the dubbed Dutch version of Despicable Me, which I actually enjoyed more watching it dubbed into Dutch. But with animated films, I still think that all DVDâs should be required to include the subtitles of the original (or dubbed) language soundtrack for those who want to understand what is actually being said in the soundtrack.
So there is much more to consider than just âEnglish creep.â Russian films, for example, should be shown in the original Russian soundtrack with the appropriate subtitles for the target audience.
It is not even just about EU.
We are not talking about the hiring, training, and maintaining of a large corp of translators and interpreters for Brussels here.
Yeah, of course. But I expect a lot of Spainâs business is with the EU and especially Germany?
No doubt they have some big links to Latin America too, but Spanish folks would already have the language side of things all sorted out for Eâs and wizz there! 
I am not Spanish so it is not my issue. Perhaps this new law would be somewhat authoritarian, but no real harm. On the other hand if would increase exposure to English and other languages and these benefits could be quite significant. I also hate dubbed films, wonât watch them
You have to think along this line: English is what the Chinese call "ĺ˝é éç¨čŻč¨âďźfunctions like an internatioanl currency. Other languages are good and important, but âŚ
Yeah, I know what you are saying, TR.
Spanish schools can do what they want. At the end of the day Iâm not going to âget my knickers in a twistââŚas the saying goesâŚ
I totally agree with you Steve. I donât fancy the authoritarian attitude either, but this is a good thing. People will get used to it in the end. And like you say there is no real harm, not really.
And Combiendemarins, I know someone who studied dubbing and she says that it is very difficult to get jobs for dubbing films and tv series, the same people get all the jobs, they are like a mafia, just a bunch. So I think that the benefit of a whole nation is better than the loss of a few jobs.
I can tell she is telling the truth because like I said you listen to the same voices again and again throughout all the films and tv series you watch.
Yes, itâd be nice if we had it in German too, or French or the three of them! why not, the more the better!
@Steve
Youâd have a hard time catching a film at most cinemas in Germany, France or Italy!
@Berta
Many people (older folks and younger children especially) wonât get used to it! But it is a very good thing indeedâŚfor the SPANISH FILM INDUSTRY!
Viva AlmodĂłvar!
By the way Prinz, did you know that Rajoy doesnât speak English?. None of our prime ministers ever did!.
And Rajoy spent 8 years in the opposition plus 4 years of government⌠he still canât speak Engilsh!. He said heâs been taking classes but we can see nothing is coming out of it.
(I feel ashamed :P)
Yeah, I heard that Rajoyâs English isnât too hot.
Someone should shave off his beard until he learns! 
I love dubbed films! The day the German speaking world starts making more than one good film every five years is the day I will stop watching dubbed films.
Hahahaha
I know, most people would hate it.
Anyway I donât think theyâll come through with this, but weâll see.
In a way this the real scandal: the fact that Hollywood has quite such a huge share of the film market, even in non english-speaking countries!
Donât get me wrong, Hollywood can totally rock. Who can forget some of the epic scenes from Body Double, for example?
What annoys me is how dubbing is done in Russia, and Iâd assume in some other places. On shows like the Simpsons, which I would otherwise like to watch in Russia, they dub while leaving the original english with slightly reduced volume underneath. I cannot describe to you how much of a headache it is to hear two languages you understand being spoken at the same exact time, saying almost the same thing. Being a native speaker my mind ends up focusing on the English, and I get no language practice out of it.
On the topic of whether dubbing should be made illegal, I think Iâd have to agree with Prinz, but within certain bounds. The English language has more than taken over the entertainment realm worldwide. Dubbing the Simpsons, Friends, or whatever, takes away motivation for countries other than English speaking ones (and letâs all admit it, mostly the US), to have a thriving entertainment industry in the native language. I seriously have trouble finding entertaining things to watch in French or Russian, because people in countries where those languages are spoken, and who share my interests, tend to consume American media.
This reminds me. I went with my girlfriend on a weekend trip to Tallinn, Estonia. It was hot out so we decided to go to see a movie. At the theater, we asked the cashier if they had anything in English, to which she replied âEverythingâs in English.â I felt kind of sad for the Estonian people at that reply.