[Ubuntu-be] language usage on this list

[Kristoff Bonne]

Amadee,


OK. Dit is al een aantal keer gediscussieerd geweest hier, maar OK.



Amedee Van Gasse schreef:
> When I self one topic start on this list, then write I outerearth in the
> Engrish. :-D
>
> But when replying to a post, I think it's only polite to answer in the
> same language as the original post. (While I write this, Villa Politica
> is on the TV. When ministers are interpellated by a MP, they are
> supposed to answer in the language of that MP. Yeah, go ahead. Insult
> me. I'm a political animal.)
>   
Wel,

Beeld je eens in dat men in het Belgisch federaal parlement men engels
zou beginnen gebruiken als "unitaire" taal. Dat zou pas eens echt idioot
overkomen.
Maar toch doen we het hier!!! ("as we are technies").



I always wondered where this assumption comes from that the people on
the other side of the language-"barrier" (note the word "barrier" :-) )
understand english better then french or dutch.

As Jan put "nobody is going to mind if you do not write perfect
english". Well, I wouldn't mind if you wouldn't write perfect dutch or
french neither. My french isn't perfect neither but I assume that
french-speaking people will not mind it neither.

The thing is that you are creating a self-fulfilling prophessy:
- We say "people in Wallonia or Brussels do not understand dutch, so we
should all write in english".
- as a concequence, french-speaking people say "why should be learn
dutch, we can just as easy use english anyway"
and those who did have dutch at school never get a change to use it
train it as they do not get into contact with it.
- as a concequence, the level of knowledge of dutch in Wallonia goes down,
- and, as a concequence, we say "hey, if you want to be understood by
everybody in Belgium, you have to use english".

(BTW. The same thing applies for the knowledge of french of the
dutch-speaking people too).


I even wonder why the choice of language should be "regulated". Let
everybody choice for him or herself what language is best for the situation:
Use english if you want to, use your own language if you want and if
-like me- you think it is the most polite to address people in their own
language and you are not afraid to write with an error from time to
time, use the languages of the other language.


Cheerio! Kr. Bonne.