Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!ksr.UUCP!reg
From: reg@ksr.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: ENGLISH/LINGUA FRANCA - GLOBAL E-MAIL COMMUNICATIONS
Message-ID: <9003211350.AA00186@ksr.com>
Date: 21 Mar 90 13:50:29 GMT
References: <9003202308.AA26446@uunet.uu.net>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 43


    My point was that there are just so many languages
    on this planet that it would not be economically feasible to set up a
    voice-translating computer or any other sort to link them all together,
    since some of the smallest language groups are also the most impoverished.
    Just because some countries have endless budgets for research and general
    use of computers online, does not mean that it's readily available in all
    countries.  Try travelling to some of the poorer countries and you will
    begin to think in their terms.  This is why you don't seem to find any
    3rd world country citizens arguing FOR multi-language mosaics for global
    communication.

It is perhaps economically infeasible TODAY to "set up a voice-translating
computer or any other sort to link them all together," but I do not believe
that it will always be so.  (And I am not sure what you mean by economic
feasibility; perhaps you meant technological feasibility?)

I think it is unrealistic to expect the poorer countries to teach their
people a nonnative language.  They already are unable to educate large portions
of their population.  Though the United States does not have "endless budgets
for research and general use of computers online," by being economically more
sound, it is more realistic for us to reach toward them.

    If we really want to democratize the planet, then we have to stop being
    paternalistic and realize that they are prepared to make the sacrifices
    which we get so huffy about letting them make.

Compromise is clearly the way to achieve global unity.  This does not mean 
the United States (or any economically prosperous country) should "want to
democratize the planet."  The United States has been paternalistic in the past
and probably will again in the future, but not always in the way you indicate.

    MELCIR ERSKINE-RICHMOND, CO-ORDINATOR - GLOBALCP
    C% U.VIC. CHAPTER - WORLD FUTURE SOCIETY,
    University of Victoria, S. U. Bldg., P.O. Box 1700
    VICTORIA, B.C., V8W 2Y2, Canada
    Fax: Canada + 604 + 721-8653             Bitnet: globalcp@uvvm
    Arpa/Earn/Janet: globalcp@uvvm.UVic.ca   Unix: globalcp@uvcw.UVic.ca

					- reg
(P.S., I find it ironic that an article expressing a pro-English as
 a Lingua Franca attitude came from Canada, which itself is a divided
 country with respect to its "primary" language.)