Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!liverpool.ac.UK!KPURCELL
From: KPURCELL@liverpool.ac.UK (Kevin 'fractal' Purcell)
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: ENGLISH/LINGUA FRANCA - GLOBAL E-MAIL COMMUNICATIONS
Message-ID: <9003211041.AA06945@encore.encore.com>
Date: 21 Mar 90 09:56:51 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 46

On 20 Mar 90 15:04:12 GMT Rick Genter (ksr!reg@net.uu.uunet) said:

>In article <2492@rodan.acs.syr.edu> isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu (Michael S.
> Schechter - ISR group account) writes:
>>I'm no language specialist so I may be wrong here, BUT,
>>how many English speakers are there as compared to say Chinese speakers?
>>
[deleted]
>>Mike Schechter, Computer Engineer,Institute Sensory Research, Syracuse Univ.
>>InterNet: isr@rodan.acs.syr.edu   Bitnet: SENSORY@SUNRISE
>
>Think about it: the population of the PRC is ~1.25*10**9.  The population
>of all of the English-speaking countries of the world (where English is the
>primary language) is < .5*10**9.  Ignore different dialects in both languages;

The big assumption, but you can't do this -- have you ever watched a
Mandarin Chinese and (say) a Taiwanese Chinese speaker try to speak to
each other. They will end up writing it down 99% of the time so that they
can understand each other, or revert to a common language (like English).

>my guess is that in terms of *primary* language, Chinese wins out over
>English big-time.

A lot of folks seem to ignore how much we have invested in Eurocentric
languages -- have you considered the how we are going to notate a
written lanaguage (or I expect its all going to be spoken -- spoken Chinese
is a difficult for a machine to cope with as English).

We have a defacto standard today -- its english, and you are going to have
to work *VERY* hard to change that. I can't see the standard changing without
a very good reason.

>
>What I don't understand is why so many people are so hot on having a single
>language for all humanity?  There is added value in diversity...
>					- reg

I agree -- a centrally organised plan for 5 billion people just won't
work.

_________________________________________________________________________

Kevin 'fractal' Purcell ...................... kpurcell @ liverpool.ac.uk
     Surface Science Centre, Liverpool University, Liverpool L69 3BX

               "My karma just reversed over your dogma"