Hiragino Kaku Gothic ProDear List Members,
This entry is in response to the article provided by Stan Anonby under
the heading "LANGUAGE: Tough Talk" and by Harold F. Schiffman under
the heading "French plays defense". The article is provide after my
signature for your convenience.
Well, I suppose it is safe to say that "more than 250 million" speak
English "as a second language" and "more than 60 million" speak French
as a second language. By placing only a minimum threshold the mind
boggles about what the rest of the world's several billion people are
speaking (Please read "have some knowledge of") as a second language.
What tickles me in particular about this article is the statement
"across the E.U. (and excluding the U.K.) 92% of students choose to
study English as a foreign language, compared to 33% for French and
13% for German". Although I have know idea where these figures come
from and would be very eager to learn how they were produced, I find
the word CHOOSE to be a very poor choice of words. It is like saying
you choose to study English, or any other language where universal
language requirements (ULRs) are in place, because you choose to go to
school. Or alternatively, you choose to go to school, because it is
required by law. Indeed, I choose to do some things because the only
reasonable alternative is death, and I am not about to scuttle my
entire ship, because one hold is infested with rats.
What do you think?
Sincerely,
HelveticaR. A. Stegemann
EARTH's Manager and HKLNA-Project Director
EARTH - East Asian Research and Translation in Hong Kong
http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/earth/
Tel/Fax: 852 2630 0349Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro
On 8 Nov 2004, at 21:42, Harold F. Schiffman wrote:
About 380 million people speak English as their primary
language and more
than 250 million as a second language, versus 113 million and over 60
million respectively for French. Despite France's annual $1 billion
budget
to promote French internationally, the language ranks 11th in terms of
number of speakers and is flagging. Though it is still the primary
language at international institutions like unesco, Interpol and the
European Court of Justice and a working tongue at a score of others
English dominates international diplomacy and business, and is the
language used on 52% of all websites; just 4.6% are in French. Across
the
E.U. (and excluding the U.K.), 92% of students choose to study English
as
a foreign language, compared to 33% for French and 13% for German. Even
French multinationals like Alstom and Vivendi have adopted English as
the
workplace vernacular. "This isn't about fighting English, but rather
the
use and influence of any language at the cost of all others," says
conservative legislator Bruno Bourg-Broc, leader of a French
parliamentary
group monitoring the language's fortunes at home and abroad. "It's
about
safeguarding cultural and linguistic diversity by resisting
uniformity."