4.1090 Hum: The Languages of Humanist Topic (1/38)

Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Mon, 25 Feb 91 23:05:01 EST

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 1090. Monday, 25 Feb 1991.

Date: MON, 25 Feb 91 09:46:22 EST
From: "Benoit Laplante" <LAPLANTE@INRS-URB.UQuebec.CA>
Subject: [The Languages of Humanist Topic]

When I happened to browse for the first time into the postings on the
use of languages other than English in HUMANIST, I thought the matter
would be soon settled by going back to the basic principles of the forum
on that matter: English is the lingua franca, contributions in other
languages will be distributed anyway.

I was totally astonished this morning when I read the last postings on
this issue: the question has now become a pretext for a pretty low grade
debate about Canadian internal politics!

What the hell is this doing here? The notion that Humanists encompass a
large view of things is interesting but isn't this a bit too much? I
guess it could be of some interest if the arguments were at least of a
scholarly level but this is definitely not the case except, maybe, for
the humoristic notes about English having never been spoken by anyone or
the call to force all Humanist's contributors to use a totally unknown
African language.

Don't the others undertand what those who wrote those pieces are
politely trying to say? Here is not the place for arguments that should
be left to hotline shows...

If some people are interested in discussing issues pertaining to
multiculturalism, to the role of language in culture or, and this one of
my favourites, how come the Listserv software has been written and is
maintained in France while French themselves don't use it, I guess there
is room for it on Humanist.

But repeating here stuff that would be considered as bigot both in Quebec
and in the rest of Canada, no thanks! There are at the very least three
official parliamentary or special commissions just to do that up here
right now and this is more than enough.

Benoit Laplante
INRS/Urbanisation
Montreal (Quebec)
LAPLANTE@INRS-URB.UQUEBEC.CA
LAPLANTE@UQUEBEC.BITNET