US: Why Language Matters

[Francis Hult]

Via lgpolicy...

Friday, July 10, 2009
Why Language Matters

Why should American military officers learn foreign languages? For
that matter, why should Foreign Service Officers or any other
representatives of the American government? The answer is more complex
than I used to think. Conventional wisdom, especially in the wake of
September 11th, points to the appalling rates of foreign language
acquisition among Americans and warns that we're facing a crisis. We
consistently seem to be behind the power curve training up speakers
for the current war (let alone the next war). Congress, the military
services, the intelligence agencies, and the State Department are
constantly cooking up new ideas to improve our country's foreign
language capacity.

Full story:
http://www.buildingpeace.net/2009/07/why-language-matters.html


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