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From: tobolsky@granite.cr.bull.com (Irene Tobolsky)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Global Cultural Prototype
Message-ID: <8910171709.aa15054@granite.cr.bull.com>
Date: 17 Oct 89 21:09:29 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 17

The problem with Esperanto or any other spoken universal language is that
it does not break down the barriers for disadvantaged people.

I boldy propose that a universal language is needed, and that this language
ought to be based on sign language.  Sign language is easy to learn, regardless
of your native tongue.  A cat is a cat whether the cat is in England, the United
States, or Russia.  Furthermore, sign language lets us hearing people 
 with both the deaf and blind community.

I think that there will always be native languages in various parts of the
world.  For instance, if you look at French.  The people in Quebec speak a
totally different dialect of French than the people in France do.  I was at
a meeting where someone from Montreal was speaking to another person from
France in French.  The person from France asked the Montrealian to speak 
English since he couldn't understand what he was saying in France.

Irene