-Caveat Lector- -----Original Message----- From: Robert Tatman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Ric Carter <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: ><< <snip> ># Goodbye mother tongue. (BBC) As many as 40% of the world's languages >could disappear by 2100. Only the elderly will remember the more tradi- >tional ways of speaking as younger generations around the globe tune in >to a more common way of talking. From 7000 to 3000 in 100 years; >globalization is extinction. >http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/specials/anaheim_99/newsid_262000 /262145.stm > >: Every language is a worldview; will yours be abducted, extincted? How >much cultural genocide can humanity survive? Are Urdu, Dutch, Tagalog >necessary? --Ric > >There are two entirely contradictory things happening, it seems to me. >First, a new *lingua franca* is emerging on the Internet, which could be >called Net English or Web English. This bids fair to be used as the univ- >ersal trade language, much as *koine* Greek was at the time of Christ; in >fact, English had a head start thanks to the British Empire and American >economic imperialism. On the other hand, even as English is emerging as >the world language, it is fragmenting the same way Latin did, evolving >first in dialects and ultimately into distinct languages. English has >already divided into Northern and Southern variants, with such dialects as >Yorkshire, Lancashire, Scots, Canadian, and Northern American falling into >the first group, and "Standard" English (Oxbridge), Australian (Oz), New >Zealander, South African, Southron American ("Old South"), Southwest Amer- >ican, and Californian in the second group. Already the two different groups >are diverging at such a rate that they are frequently unintelligible to >each other--"one people divided by a common language," as Churchill expres- >sed it. At the same all of this is happening, however, the *written* lan- >guage is virtually unchanged, and is even undergoing a renaissance thanks >to the Internet. Net English may emerge as a written medium of communica- >tion uniting the world, even as *spoken* English continues to fragment and >evolve. Many world languages will certainly disappear...but this has been >the pattern throughout history--how many Gothic speakers do you know? Quite a few soi-dissant Goths, not to many Gothic speakers that I've heard though. #8-) But while I agree with you generally, I'd quibble on a couple points. 1) I don't believe in "American economic imperialism"; rather, there's multinational corporate/cartel system based on established British trade links, which us Yanks and other English-speakers have piggy- backed onto. 2) Spoken English will homogenize as more English speakers worldwide talk and listen to each other, thanks to faster aural communi- cations. "Californian" [or ValSpeak] is the common dialect of many young Americans, just as "Mid-Atlantic" is the tongue of an international elite and their spokespeople. Language differentiation depends on separation; new languages will only evolve when we colonize distant planets IMHO. Ric "I can hardly understand my own accent" Carter, http://i.am/nutz DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance�not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
