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Poststructuralist
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 Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:12 pm Post subject: Re: Arabic and the international language |
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Susan Maneck wrote:
| Quote: | That would happen eventually anyhow, even if it was explicitly stipulat
ed. |
Yes, it has seemed rather likely to me, too, that which ever language is
chosen as the universal auxiliary language will eventually become the
singular universal language (or at least a leading contender).
--
Regards, Mark A. Foster, Ph.D. * http://www.markfoster.net
"... the modern challenge is how to live with uncertainty. The
basic fault lines today are not between people with different
beliefs but between people who hold these beliefs with an
element of uncertainty and people who hold these beliefs with
a pretense of certitude." — Peter L. Berger, sociologist |
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Okie99
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| Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 5:33 am Post subject: Re: Arabic and the international language |
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If one were to poll
| Quote: | the peoples of the world I am quite sure that many would lobby for the
adoption of his own language as the universal one ...
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In Thailand where I teach, students study up to 10 years of English
before they reach my freshman college classes. I'm positive if they
were to be polled, they would choose English, not Thai, as the
universal language. Indeed, English does now serve as the de facto
universal language in many regions of the world, and certainly here in
Asia.
I assumed when I first came here that Thais used English to be able to
correspond with native English speakers (e.g., Westerners). But I've
learned that Asians use English to communicate among themslves.
So it seems that functionality is trumping linguistic characteristics
(e.g., tonality and use of an alphabet) in this stage of international
communications.
It will be interesting to see if this de facto status will contribute
to the official selection -- if indeed that happens in our lifetimes.
-- Marsha Waren
Bangsaen, Thailand |
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