Esperanto

[shootingstar]

Well then, you already know how great it is to be multilingual. Why don't Engineers Without Frontiers use the local language wherever possible, through engineers who speak the language (preferable) and/or interpreters? Alot of people in developing areas are not literate in their own languages, not to mention that many people around the world are just trying to survive and don't have the wherewithall to read Esperanto textbooks. Just seems like using the local language has all sorts of benefits, not least of which is local involvement and buy-in to projects. Esperanto is admirable, but I'm not convinced it's the best way to go.

It's just a big rant of mine that people in the US (and Canada--read below) don't learn other languages from childhood and use them into adulthood. I know Canadians are required to learn French in school (and Quebecois are supposed to learn English, I think?), but a few years ago I was at a conference in Montreal and I was the one who ended up translating between the folks from Alberta and the Quebecois on a professional project visit. I was born in New Jersey--and yet I was the bilingual one. I'm not a translator, I'm a landscape architect like the other people at the conference. The Albertans hadn't spoken French since school and the Quebecois didn't speak English well enough to communicate in English. It did result into some good, if sheepish, laughs on all sides, though.

I would like to respond to Kh comments on esperanto first, before I respond to tulip's:

Interestingly I knew of a Dutch cyclist who was cycling around the world solo ..and she dropped by Vancouver to visit us. She was an enthusiastic speaker and learner of esperanto. There seems to be whole community, if I am not mistaken...even a cycling informal Internet group who speak esperanto. She did stay in her trip with some esperanto folks worldwide.

I think the most important thing, regardless of how popular or...obscure a language maybe, is if there is a group of people in our big world to speak with...then that's great. Perhaps a point of esperanto..is not to diminish multicultural richness but to give a layer of bonding internationally.

After all, ENGLISH holds political weight in language dominance in ...professional fields worldwide, business and....look here....on the Internet just to find the broadest set of search results on many topics. I'm not saying it's right, but it is a terrible reality in language dominance internationally.


For tulip: I read your rant....with sadness. Recognize there are alot of Canadians who don't necessarily appreciate / remember their mandatory French that they had to learn in primary/high school. I will confirm I can read more French than any Chinese. I was tested for 3 hrs. recently for reading comprehension and sat at near failing level....which I consider positive since I haven't used any French since taking a mandatory basic French course over 25 years ago...mandatory to graduate with my university English literature degree. I thought I would do worse!!!

However it is POSSIBLE, tulip because many Canadians are required to learn French in school.up to a certain grade level...it might increase awareness for some folks who wouldn't experience otherwise unless forced as a mandatory course, to APPRECIATE even dimly, (no matter how much they hated learning that 2nd language) what it is like to learn a 2nd language and that the spirit of cultural nuances is embedded in linguistic structure, idioms, etc.

I don't believe that the objective of 2nd/foreign language learning needs to be primarily ability to have basic fluency or comprehension. Nice to have, but not always realistic.

***** I believe the true, top benefit of 2nd/foreign language is not fluency, but heightened awareness and hopefully, sensitivity by the learner of another culture and how the world can be perceived differently through the lens of another linguistic structure/words.

Like many folks who have severely lost their mother tongue or 2nd /3rd language fluency, I am sad to have lost a great deal of what I acquired as a child. As you know, tulip, language retention demands daily use/immersion for several hrs.

That's great you could translate for the situation that you described. But the problem of 2nd/3rd language retention plagues learners/speakers worldwide..