[BillChapman]

Hello. You cite the case where "a young man from France would greet another in English, but upon discovering that his conversation partner is from Italy, would switch to Italian." I'm not sure how frequent such a case would be. The dominance of English has pushed other languages to the sidelines in France.

As an Esperanto speaker, I have no objection to anyone using any language on any occasion, and I'm happ. I have just returned from an Esperanto conference in Dinan, Brittany. I was able to use some basic Breton with a few individuals, but the sky did not fall on my head.

I wish you well with your language learning. You may wish to add Esperanto one day.