language query

[Valentina Zaitseva]

>Mr. Buryanyuk,
>Let's put it this way:  for a Russian, Ukrainian, by definition, is
>something else again.  For a Ukrainian, Russian is something else again.
>One is one thing and one is another.  Do not confuse issues by
>taking umbrage at terminology like "substandard,":  that is what they
>are to each other. Each language has its own standards, and,
>substandards. The world has  enough trouble without the insistence that
>one's own is godsent. gg
>PS:  Physics has the advantage of being less tainted by emotion.
>--
>Genevra Gerhart                         http://www.wolfe.net/~ggerhart/
>
>2134 E. Interlaken  Bl.                 Tel. 206/329-0053
>Seattle, WA  98112                      ggerhart at wolfenet.com

Dear SEELANGers,
Allow me to share some thoughts about this new potentially explosive
discussion. I find all the discussions of this type absolutely fascinating
and actually collect them as important data on interpersonal communication
failures. The most amazing thing about language is that it is able to
encode not only info about reality, but also the speaker's
perspective/attitude. If we compare, for example, "substandard" with
"non-standard" it becomes clear that the former does not convey negative
attitude, while the latter does. The substitution of one for another seems
harmless enough but probably not to people who believe that thier norms are
different but not any worse for that. Another point - and this is something
I currently work on- is that the addressee holds the speaker responsible
for the choice of a linguistic exression, so that no matter how impersonal
the subject of the discussion is, there is always something going on
between {I and YOU}. Is it possible to talk about a description of a
linguistic system not related to its use (including the description of the
difference between po-russki vs. na russkom jazyke)?
And the last point: if we teach normative variant of a language (and then
there is a wrong and right way to use it), we, I think, should not mix up
"normative" with "right."

Best regards,
Valentina Zaitseva