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<p style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="MsoNormal"><font> </font></p><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">From: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI"><span class="gD">Paul Finlow-Bates</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk">wolf_thunder51@yahoo.co.uk</a></span></span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
Subject: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI">LL-L "Language politics" 2012.05.17 (03) [EN]<br><br></span><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span>Hi Mark,</span></div>
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span></span> </div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span>Two reasons really;</span></div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span></span> </div>
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span>1)
It hampers learning other languages. With the best will in the world,
at beginner level anyone I attempt to speak to will probably speak
English better than I speak their language and will soon switch just for
convenience. Even at a more advanced level, people are so bent on
learning the World Language, they'd rather take the opportunity to
practice with a native speaker. There are exceptions - German speakers
will let you battle on until you get stuck, then put you right. The
other extreme are Scandinavians; any of my attempts to speak Danish or
Swedish are virtually ignored.</span></div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span></span> </div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span>2)
Culturally. If you speak Finnish, you're most
likely a Finn; likewise for Japanese, Italian, Zulu or Dutch. Even
German is dominantly spoken by specific nationalities. Around 400
million people speak English and another 600 million think they can.
About 5% of those are actually English (we're mostly in the second
category :D). I don't even have an identifiable regional dialect like
the Geordies or Scousers. The nearest comparison I can think of is
Spanish, where Spanish people are also a minority of the language's
speakers. I'm curious to know how they feel.</span></div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span></span> </div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span>All in all, I look forward to Global Mandarin.</span></div>
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span></span> </div><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span>Paul</span></div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br>----------<br><br>
From: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI"><span class="gD">Mike Morgan</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:mwmbombay@gmail.com">mwmbombay@gmail.com</a></span></span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
Subject: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI">LL-L "Language politics" 2012.05.17 (03) [EN]<br><br></span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Mark asked Paul:</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="im">> It probably should be obvious to me how you would be hampered by speaking<br>
> the World Language as a native, but I can’t think of it. Would you please<br>
> tell me why you feel that way?<br>
<br>
</div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">Well, as a field linguist and language learning lover, I cannot tell</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
you how many times I have had to fake not knowing a word of English in</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
order to get people to "cooperate" in the language</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
learning/researching process. It is the only way sometimes to stop</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
people from switching to English (although I KNOW by doing so they</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
THINK they are being helpful!)</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
AND, of all the languages I have tried to learn, the one where English</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
has proven the greatest hamper is in learning Nederlands ;-)</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">mwm || *U* C > || mike || мика || माईक || マイク || மாய்க் (aka Dr Michael W</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
Morgan)</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
sign language linguist / linguistic typologist</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
academic adviser to "Nepal Sign Language Training and Research Centre"</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
project</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
NDFN, Kathmandu, Nepal</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">----------</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">From: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI"><span class="gD">Jacqueline Bungenberg de Jong</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:Dutchmatters@comcast.net">Dutchmatters@comcast.net</a></span></span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
Subject: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI">LL-L "Language politics" 2012.05.17 (03) [EN]</span><br><br><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Re ‘Bildung’: From one well-rounded individual ( or should I say ‘well-built’? ) to two others:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Yes
Marlou; What a frightening picture you paint. Throw in some Heidegger (
Das alltägliche Sein zum Tode ) and off we go from the cradle to the
grave, like the look-alike cogs of a chain. Perfect!!!!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Jacqueline BdJ</span></p><span style="font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1f497d">Seattle US</span><br>
<br><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">----------</span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">From: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI"><span class="gD">Hellinckx Luc</span> <span class="go"><a href="mailto:luc.hellinckx@gmail.com">luc.hellinckx@gmail.com</a></span></span><br style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
Subject: </span><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI">LL-L "Language politics"<br><br></span><div style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" id=":1b8"><div style="word-wrap:break-word">
<font>Beste Marlou,</font><div><div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font>You wrote:</font></div><blockquote type="cite"><div>
<div><font color="#000000">Oh, I forgot the One Great Distinction:
making money. Things that make money are no digressions of course; you may do
such things before you die.</font></div></div></blockquote><div><span style="line-height:normal;text-indent:0px;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;font-variant:normal;text-transform:none;font-style:normal;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><font><br>
</font></span></div><div><span style="line-height:normal;text-indent:0px;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;font-variant:normal;text-transform:none;font-style:normal;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><font><a href="http://tinyurl.com/7rb9ur7" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/7rb9ur7</a></font></span></div>
<div><span style="line-height:normal;text-indent:0px;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;font-variant:normal;text-transform:none;font-style:normal;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><font><br></font></span></div>
<div><span style="line-height:normal;text-indent:0px;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;font-variant:normal;text-transform:none;font-style:normal;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><font>Besides,
procreation is another pastime our species sometimes indulges in before
passing away. Not only do significant others tend to hail more and more
from distant communities, but people are also more mobile than ever.
There are more awkward options than English as a lingua franca in this
respect methinks.</font></span></div><div><span style="line-height:normal;text-indent:0px;letter-spacing:normal;text-align:-webkit-auto;font-variant:normal;text-transform:none;font-style:normal;white-space:normal;word-spacing:0px"><font><br>
</font></span></div><div><font>Kind greetings,</font></div><div><font><br></font></div><div><font>Luc Hellinckx, Halle, Belgium</font><br></div></div></div></div></div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif" class="gI"><br>
</span><span style="font-size:12pt;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span></span></span><font style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><i><font><span></span></font></i></font>
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