Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2003 01:29:42 +0100 From: Johannes H Andersen <johsnopsamfitter.com> Subject: Re: winter tyres with rims
Pete Brown wrote: > > Hi fellow Saabers. > > Please reflect on my salutation and please excuse any offence that I may > cause in this post. I play Devil's Advocate. > > Xenna makes several good points about the use of a single language (English) > on an NG like this. What I would disagree with is that English is a > minority language. This requires further scrutiny and clarity in > definition. If, by minority, it is meant little in numbers or % compared to > the total population on the Earth, then yes, English is a minority language. > But this comparator is, in my view, not legitimate. English, of all the > World's languages, is the most common, internationally used language, > particularly in business. Is it not the official language of the European > Union????????(Pardone moi, my French friends and colleagues). > > I would like to make a further point in relation to the view that was > expressed about the use of different languages on a world-wide NG like this > one. (Although I do accept the point made earlier that most Saab owners on > this NG are in North America and the UK). My point is that, whilst the use > of different languages encourages and upholds nationalistic issues, it is > inherently self-destructive. Take the UK, for instance. Our current > government in its support for ethnic minorities (and an immigration policy > that lies in shreds) is spending millions of GBP on employing classroom > assistants who speak non-English languages to reflect the ethnic mix of > whatever school they are employed in. So in certain inner city schools in > certain English cities where kids from an Asian "background" (used > advisedly) abound they are being taught in their ethnic language not English > (which is taught later as a second language). What will happen, as it did > in certain US cities where this was carried out, is further and fatal > alienation of ethnic groups, a lack of integration into British culture and > society and further and catastrophic polarisation of the Community. > Notwithstanding the permanent damage that will be done in an English > speaking society to their long term education. The money of course could be > better spent on buying books and improving the physical fabric of a decaying > educational infrastructure. Political correctness gone mad!! If I went to > live in China or Pakistan I would be expect, out of courtesy at least, to > comply and fit in to the local national culture. Why not in the UK? > > So let us not lose the plot here my Saab brothers and sisters. Whilst there > be no charter (I would much rather prefer the use of the term "convention") > to only use English, effective communication (for this is surely what this > NG is all about) can only occur if all can understand what is being > communicated. Is this not a self-evident fact? > > I, as Devil's Advocate, rest my case. > > Let the debate begin. OK, my turn. For a start I'm not your brother or sister. The usenet is anarchy and anybody can write what he wants. We may not like it, but nobody can stop it. In fact, I could write in Danish was it not because this keyboard is not very suitable. Most Scandinavians would understand it. A disadvantage would be that fewer will be able to read my posts, but the important point to notice is that the disadvantage would be on my part, not the reader who will just skip over. Similarly, I often skip over top posters as I find it cumbersome for my newsreader. This is a problem for the top poster, not for me. I also have a slight problem with people insisting writing everything in lower case, this is not even an official script method. A minority language is. We can take this further. Minority languages in the UK or elsewhere is only a problem if the language is insufficient for reaching the audience intended by the author, otherwise I don't see any problem.
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