Re: Foreign Languages- A Waste of Time.

Lee Sau Dan wrote:
"mb" :
Grefenstette:
>> I'm a hard time deciding whether or not the above was written
>> toungue-in-cheek or not, because for all its attempt to reflect
>> innate cultural openness and sophistication, I see nothing but
>> blank-minded naiveté and unjustified statements.

mb> 1. He described accurately something that already happened
mb> with Assyrian, Greek, Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, French and a
mb> few other imperial languages. What, exactly, is unjustified by
mb> fact in his observations?

His biased view. He only judged from the utility point of view. A
single point of view. He was unable to see how language learning can
be fun and a way to train one's thinking, because he's ignorant about
those effects.

Looks like you haven't even read his post. He is learning, he knows
what it does.

Why are people still learning and doing yatching, when we already have
motor boats? Why are people still practising and learning
rock-climbing, when we already have lifts and helicopters? These
activities don't seem to make sense, using the OP's narrow-minded
view.

Narrow-minded? Read again his accurate list of the advantages of (at
least) linguistical colonial behavior. To which you entirely subscribe,
if one is to judge by your acknowledgement that speaking the host's
language is now at the same exact level of hobby sailing in the age of
steamships.

mb> All useless to the user of an imperial language. The OP also
mb> showed in detail the advantages of not learning the slave
mb> language.

But he fails to see the advantages of learning the local language.
And he doesn't mention the disadvantages of not learning the local
language. (Maybe, that's because he's simply ignorant of those.)

As you said yourself, the advantages are at the level of optional
hobby. It's precisely this status which is in discussion. Not the
mind-improving qualities of intellectual exercise, which is far from
being a necessary component of colonial behavior.

mb> Except, of course, if your specific function is to increase
mb> knowledge to be used in further colonization.

Understanding the others doesn't mean occupying them. You have a
highly invasive and unfriendly mindset.

Read history and look in depth at the funding and use of language
learning in imperial times. Don't forget the missionaries, either.
Right now, the best funding available in the US is for learning Persian
and Arabic. Who is the one with an "invasive" mindset?


>> Furthermore, not bothering to learn the local languages is not
>> necessarily (and actually rarely) accompanied by the various
>> perks you describe in your message. The very of idea of this is
>> plainly ignorant.

mb> Which ones, exactly?

Everyone.

Argument and facts, please.

.

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