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LANGUAGE USED IN CLUBS
When the big expansion of Rotary world-wide took place in the 1920s,
there were three main ways in which this was achieved. They
were:-
1 The appointment of ‘Extension Officers’ by Rotary
(SEE OUR SECTION
'EARLY LEADERS’).
2. The return to their homeland by people who had spent time in the
USA or Britain and who had
visited Rotary Clubs while there.
3 Business and professional people working or living in what
were then parts of the Empires of
Western Countries.
The work of Canadians Doug Howland and
Jim Davidson, of Britons like
Herbert P Coates and
Frank Molloy and of Americans like
Angel Cuesta,
James Roth and
Richard Momsen,
(to name a few) is recorded elsewhere. In
general they were ‘passing through’ rather than living locally
so that their first contacts were with either ex-pats or with
local commercial interests. In most cases the proportion
of one to the other seems to have determined the language used.
Clubs started by Molloy, Momsen, Roth and Cuesta certainly used local
languages.
Two areas where Rotary started following the return of local men were
Australia and Japan. In both cases, the language used was
that country’s regular one, English
in the case of Australia
and Japanese in the case of Japan.
It is in the third group that English, Dutch or French was most commonly
used instead of the local tongue. In the early days,
membership was mainly among the professional classes who had
been educated in Europe and in the commercial interests of
western companies. It was therefore quite natural that the
Empire language should be used. In places like Singapore,
English was the only guaranteed means of communication between
the Malays, the Chinese and the Europeans.
In recent years, with an increase in the number of people travelling to
other countries for business or pleasure, and the number
preferring to live abroad, a new development has been the
opening of 'International Clubs' in most of which English is the
preferred language. The first of these was probably the Munich
International Club in Germany, opened in 2002.
International Rotary Clubs
Rotary Clubs in non-English speaking countries,
speaking the English Language
1. EUROPE
Belgium
Antwerp
Antwerp
International,
Waterloo
Waterloo International
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sarajevo
Sarajevo International-Delta
Bulgaria
Sofia
Sofia International
Cyprus
L imassol
Limassol Berengaria-Cosmopolitan
Nicosia
Nicosia Aspelia
Czech Republic
Ostrava
Ostrava International
Prague
Prague International
Denmark
Copenhagen
Copenhagen International
Odense
Odense International
Estonia
Tallin
Tallinn International
Finland
Helsinki
Helsinki International
Oulu
Oulu International
Turku
Turku International
Germany***
Berlin
Rotary Club Berlin International
Munich
München International/Munich International
Frankfurt
Frankfurt Main International
Gibraltar**
Greece
Thessaloniki
Rotary Club of Panorama
Holland
Amsterdam
Amsterdam International
The Hague
The Hague Metropolitan
Utrecht
Utrecht International
Iceland
Reykjavik
Reykjavík International
Italy
Milan
Milano International
Latvia
Riga
Riga International
Lithuania
Vilnius
Vilnius International
Norway
Trondheim
Trondheim International
Stavanger
Stavanger International
Poland
Sopot
Sopot International
Szczecin
Szczecin Multinational
Warsaw
Warsaw-Wilanow
Portugal**
Almancil
Almancil International,
Faro
Faro Estoi Palace International
Porches
Porches International-Algarve West
Russia
Moscow
Moscow International
St. Petersburg
Saint-Petersburg International
Serbia
Beograd
Beograd International
Slovakia
Bratislava
Bratislava International
Spain**
Malaga
Puerto Banus International, (TBC)
Sweden
Malmo
Malmö International
Stockholm
Stockholm International
Goteborg
Goteborg International
Switzerland
Geneva
Thonon Genevois International (English - français)
Zurich
Zurich Belvoir International
Ukraine
Kiev
Kiev Multinational
** Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar - See additional article below originally
posted 10th August 2010
*** The Rotary Club of Keisterbach Rein Main says “our meetings are
normally held in German but if we have non-German speaking
visitors, we switch to English so that our visitors are able to
participate in our meetings”
2. MIDDLE EAST and CAUCASUS
In the Middle East, there are more clubs which hold meetings in
non-local languages, although in many of these countries,
English is recognized as an official alternative. Few of these
clubs are labeled ”International”, but instead the word
“Cosmopolitan” is sometimes used. The reasoning for the use of
English is well explained in our story of Baku International.
“While most agree that a second club might be a benefit, the
debate raised several important points and views, one of the
most significant of which was the complications of language. The
point was made that while there might be several Rotary clubs
across Azerbaijan in the coming years, Baku was always going to
be temporary home to a number of foreigners, most of whom would
not be able to speak Azerbaijani, or even Russian, and who might
find attending Rotary rather a trial as regards language.
So, instead of starting another regular club the suggestion was
made that the next club to be formed in Baku should be an
International Club, with English as it’s working language.”
The same thinking applied in other countries.
In addition to these English speaking clubs, there are others
using French or German. These will also be listed.
Armenia
Yerevan
Yerevan
Giumri
Azerbaijan Baku International
Bahrain
Adivia
Manama
Sulmaniya
Egypt
Alexandria
Alexandria Cosmopolitan
Cairo
Cairo Cosmopolitan
Cairo Sunrise
Giza
Giza Cosmopolitan
Georgia
Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Israel
J erusalem
Jerusalem
T el Aviv
Tel-Aviv Yafo (the last meeting every month)
J ordan
Amman
Amman Cosmopolitan
Lebanon
Beirut
Beirut Cosmopolitan
United Arab Emirates
Dubai
Jumeirah
Dubai
Dubai
In addition:
Egypt
Cairo
Le Caire Champollion -
French Speaking Club
Cairo
Rheine Nile - German Speaking Club
Lebanon
Beirut
Beirut or Beyrouth - French Speaking Club
Tripoli
Tripoli - French Speaking Club
3. ASIA
In Asia there are
several variations in the type of language used in Clubs --
For example, in District
3450, which covers Hong Kong, Macao and Mongolia meetings are
held in one or more of English, Cantonese, Mandarin, Portuguese
or Mongolian.
In
Indonesia several clubs
were originally Dutch speaking but nowadays all the clubs speak
either Indonesian (similar to the Malaysian language) or
English.
The Rotary Club of Bali
Nusa Dua in Bali and the Rotary Clubs of Jakarta and Menteng
Jakarta in Jakarta are all English speaking.
In Singapore and
Brunei all
Clubs use English ( which is the official language of Singapore
(not Chinese)
In
Malaysia a small number
of Clubs use Malay and some are bilingual but the vast
majority use English.
In Japan a few Clubs offer
an alternative to their national language by providing a
simultaneous translation into English.
This is an ongoing project under the watchful
eye of RGHF Senior Historian Basil Lewis. Further details will
be added in due course as research progresses.
Prepared 10th February
2011 by Ian H Campbell, RGHF Vice President – History from information
provided by several persons including RGHF Senior Historian
Basil Lewis, RGHF Global Webmaster Greg Barlow and. Munich
International Rotary and posted on 10th February 2011
by RGHF Webmaster Jack Selway
**International Rotary Clubs-Portugal, Spain and Gibraltar
There are a few
International Rotary Clubs who conduct their meetings using the English language.
As at 10th
August 2010 there are three English Speaking International Clubs
in Portugal.
The first such club is
the Rotary Club of Almancil International based near Faro in the
Algarve, Portugal. The club was formed on 30th May
2006 and had it’s Charter Meeting on 17th June 2006.
Current membership is 26.
The second club is the
Rotary Club of Estoi Palace International also based near Faro.
It was registered on 2nd September 2008 and chartered
on 26th October 2008. Current membership is approximately 24.
The third and most
recent club is the Rotary Club of Porches International also
based near Faro. This was chartered on 24th June
2010.
Spain
does not
presently have any Chartered International Rotary Clubs but the
provisional Rotary Club of Malaga, Puerto Banus International is
currently meeting.
They hope to be chartered in September 2010
The Rotary Club of
Gibraltar an un-districted club in Zone 20 currently meets in
Gibraltar. They have a current membership of approximately 43.
Prepared 29th August 2010 (amended 10th
February & 25 June 2011) by
PDG Ian
H Campbell, Vice President – History, from information
provided by Rotarian Brian O’Neil of the Rotary Club of Almancil
and posted by RGHF Webmaster Jack Selway 29th August
2010
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