LL-L "Language politics" 2012.05.17 (01) [EN]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L - 17 May 2012 - Volume 01
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From: Schmitt, Karen schmittk at ohio.edu
Subject: LL-L "Language politics" 2012.05.16 (03) [EN]

Marlou,

I agree completely and I have never responded to anything on this list
before and I am even an ESL teacher at an American university! I already
can't stand that so many students who have no real interest in English as
the beautiful language it can be come to us because somehow their parents
think that getting an undergraduate education at an American university is
worth more than getting an undergraduate education in their own language at
one of their own universities. We have so sadly flipped these definitions [
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/education]:

1.

the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing
the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally of preparing oneself or
others intellectually for mature<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mature>
 life.
 2.
the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills,
 as for a profession.

And we are all poorer for it.

Karen Schmitt

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From: Mike Morgan mwmbombay at gmail.com
Subject: LL-L "Language politics" 2012.05.16 (01) [EN]

Perhaps they are just copying their ex-would-be-colony, Ethiopia. English
has been the official language of instruction at Addis Ababa University
since ... forever.  (English is also the official language of Indira Gandhi
National Open University in New Delhi, but at least there is makes a
certain sense, English being one of the *de facto* national languages of
India.)

Sandy wrote:

> Article on an Italian university adopting English as its official language:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17958520
>
> I haven't really decided what I think about that yet!
>

mwm || *U* C > || mike || мика  || माईक || マイク || மாய்க் (aka Dr Michael W
Morgan)
 sign language linguist / linguistic typologist
academic adviser to "Nepal Sign Language Training and Research Centre"
project
NDFN, Kathmandu, Nepal

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From: Paul Finlow-Bates wolf_thunder51 at yahoo.co.uk
Subject: LL-L "Language politics" 2012.05.16 (01) [EN]

Inevitable but unfortunate in my opinion. I've never shared the view of
most fellow English speakers that I'm "lucky" to be born to the World
Language; I think I'm hampered by it. But I know there's nothing I can do
about it.

Paul

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