>>Hi All, but esp. Dragan and Terry.
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>>In my Dutch newspaper of today there is the story of a French teacher (a teacher of French, not a Frenchman) who is currently sueing an employer for not wanting to hire him. The employer is a private, commercial school where adults can learn various foreign languages. The employer only wants native speakers as teacher. This person is a Dutchman who claims to have a better knowledge of current French than many of the employed native French speakers. He claims to know 28.000 French sentences by head, to know all current developments in that language, that many of those native speakers may have been born over there, but may have left their home country more than 20 years ago. She, the employer, feels 'insulted' by him because he says she discriminates him.
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>>So, what's your opinion guys.
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>I'm not Terry or Dragan (nor do I aspire to be), but IMO it is discrimination. Employment requirements should be to pass a test. Make a French test as hard to pass as you want to limit your potential employees. But a non-native French speaker that passes the test is as qualified as anybody else.
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>Now, if you prefer only answers by Terry or Dragan, you can disregard this one.

Actually, you were the one who I recently had a little chat with about when somebody qualifies for the honourable title of being a Native Speaker. So, of all others (who of course are invited, see Hi All above) your input is special here. ;)

You may be right there. On the other hand, this woman says she now applies a simple rule rather than a complex test and she claims it works fine for here.