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From: Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com
Newsgroups: comp.std.internat,sci.lang
Subject: Re: Computers and human languages (was Re: What is a byte)
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Date: Tue, 18-Aug-87 14:06:45 EDT
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Posted: Tue Aug 18 14:06:45 1987
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Before we give the Japanese too much credit for becoming an advanced
technical society in spite of the limitations of Kanji, we should remember
one way in which we have fallen behind:  language.

In Japan, as in most countries, scientists, doctors, and engineers are
required to learn the language that is widely used for their discipline.
As in Europe, most Japanese physicians speak German, most computer scientists
speak English, etc.  The U.S. has lucked out, despite appalling poor language
instruction, simply because English happens to be a standard technical
language.  We don't seem to have made best use of this advantage.