LL-L "Language use" 2004.06.30 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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L O W L A N D S - L * 30.JUN.2004 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: jean duvivier <duvassoc at comcast.net>
Subject: LL-L "Language use" 2004.06.30 (04) [E]

Considering the problems of language divisiveness in Belgium as well as
Canada, it seems to me that excessive emphasis is being placed on variety of
languages and dialects. I learned Nederlandsch and Antwerpen flemish as a
child before WW2, but have forgotten most of it, because these are not used
anywhere else in the world. I do know Spanish , Portuguese and French
fluently and have been able to use them over many decades all over Latin
America and parts of Africa.
"English", whether the British or American or Canadian variety is understood
and used all over the world by educated people, even with words and accents
that vary widely (for instance Australian English).
French has lost the  international place it had in the 1700s and 1800s, and
German is only useful in Central Europe to a limited extent. I can well
appreciate local populations wanting to preserve their local usages and
dialects, but if they want to interact beyond their immediate surroundings,
they need English.
My grandparents and parents were Belgian, and still spoke some Walloon ,
which has local variants that vary from Hainault to Limburg and Luxemburg,
but anywhere else they spoke French.
There are vocabulary and usage variations in the Spanish (Castellano) spoken
in Mexico, Colombia or Argentina, but I have never encountered the kind of
extreme concern that I find expressed by some of your correspondents about
Vlaamsch or Nederlandsch. In fact in those countries, just like in Holland,
every one I dealt with spoke English.
The absurd extremes to which this concern about local languages can be
carried can be noticed when driving north to Brussels. For a while all road
signs are in French, then suddenly they are all in Flemish. Great help to
tourists and visitors ! In addition, for a small country like that having
two Parliaments and other split government agencies is totally absurd

It is an interesting footnote that the Irish, who have the most reasons to
dislike the Brits, speak and write English rather than Gaelic, and even use
"pounds" instead of "punts" when discussing their currency.

John F. Duvivier

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Language use

Thanks, Jean.

So, am I hearing you say that all of us should just forget about language
diversity, should all adopt English as our first language to get it over
with, that we should relinquish our native languages because they have
little or no international currency, that it is an entirely good thing that
the Irish have, to all intents and purposes, lost their own language and now
use the language of their former conquers?

Can you see a difference between loss of languages and the adoption of an
international auxiliary language (like English)?  Can't you retain native
language diversity and still have national and international linguae
francae?  Please bear in mind the possibility that the entrenched language
situation of Belgium is an aberration, that it may not be entirely justified
to draw internationally valid conclusions from it.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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