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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">===========================================<br>
L O W L A N D S - L - 28 August 2008 - Volume 03<span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"><br>
From: <span class="ep8xu"><span><span style="color: rgb(121, 6, 25);">Paul Finlow-Bates</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe">
</span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk">wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="hccdpe">LL-L "Language politics" 2008.08.28 (02)
[E]</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">From:
R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Subject: Language politics<br>
<br>
....By the way, I know quite a few native speakers whose English is atrocious.
Does this mean they'd have a better shot for the jobs than non-native
speakers?Reinhard/Ron</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">That's a
serious issue for other European English-speakers. I was chatting to a guy in Germany who
runs an electronics business, often on the phone to many parts of the world,
using English as a standard language. He's fine with Czechs, Russians,
Americans, almost anybody - but he hates having to call anywhere in the UK, as most of
the time he simply can't understand people. OK, Scouse, Geordie, Glaswegian etc
aren't "atrocious", they're valid dialects, but they are pretty well
incomprehensible to most people outside the British Isles.
In their way they are as isolated as Frisian or Yiddish!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Paul</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">----------<br>
<br>
From: <span class="ep8xu"><span><span style="color: rgb(91, 16, 148);">Mike
Wintzer</span></span></span><span class="hccdpe"> </span><span class="ldacoc"><<a href="mailto:k9mw@yahoo.com">k9mw@yahoo.com</a>></span><br>
Subject: <span class="hccdpe">LL-L "Language politics" 2008.08.28 (02)
[E]</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Hi LLs, </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">interesting
discussion.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">I detect an
underlying confusion</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">(which is
so common in this sort of matters)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">between
"common" and "dominant".</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Anyone who
has seen the insides of Brussels</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">or (did)
work in an International Organisation</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">(as I
worked for ESA where potential French(!)</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">contractors
asked me to pass to them under the</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">table the
English version of the Technical Specifications</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">because
they couldn't make sense of the French</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">version
which I was required by the rules to</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">send out to
them with the Call for Tenders)......</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">I resume:
Anyone who has seen this sort of,</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">excuse the
expression, nonsense will</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">most likely
come to the conclusion that</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">some 25
languages (which covers only those</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">languages
that are backed up by a goverment</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">as
official) is a nonsense: It generates 25 times</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">as much
paperwork as is needed, requires an</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">army of
translaters paid by the European</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">taxpayer. I
would be all for Yiddish or Roma</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">as the
common Brussels
language but by</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">expediency
the only reasonable choice </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">appears to
be English.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">This does
not mean that Brussels
should</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">ignore the
other languages, ON THE CONTRARY!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">But it
should be ALL other European languages</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">numbering
NOT 25 or 30 but more like 60 or 80.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">English
common yes, dominant no.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial;">Greetings,
Mike Wintzer<br>
<br>
----------<br>
<span style="color: black;"><br>
From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com" target="_blank">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>><br>
Subject: Language politics <br>
<br>
Just for the record, Mike: I was not serious when I proposed Romany and
Yiddish.<br>
<br>
While I don't necessary want to endorse the language policies we are talking
about, it was my impression that all those member state languages are
officially represented so as not to discriminate against representatives that
are not or are only poorly proficient in what are considered or <i>de facto</i>
are <i>linguae francae</i>. So, at least in theory, a shepherd from Silesia or a lathe worker from Livonia for instance, can be elected and can
participate at least in Polish and Latvian respectively, even if not in their
native Silesian and Livonian respectively. At this early juncture, mandating
the use of English or another international lingua franca for all might seem elitist and exclusive. At
least this is what I understood </span>the intent to be.<br>
<br>
Regards,<br>
Reinhard/Ron<br style="">
<br style="">
</span></p>
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