Re: Two official work languages is smarter (was Re: IETF working language

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On Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 5:05 AM, Ted Lemon <ted.lemon@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I don't think the discussion is practical.   If we are all going to learn a new language, why
> not Chinese?   French is actually very easy for people who speak Indo-European
> languages, but no easier for Chinese or Japanese speakers.

English has become the lingua franca of modern business. Until that
changes, the only thing that will be introduced by introducing a
variety of languages is cost and litigation/time. Look at the ITU,
look at multilingual jusrisdictions eg Quebec and Belgium. A great
example is the NZ/Aotearoa Waitangi Treaty between the Maori and the
English. Discrepancies in translation keep them in the courts, as gee
it turns out the Maori didn't agree to as much as the English thought
they did.

imho the only suitable new language to introduce would be symbolic
logic. That would be the only truly useful form for ietf work.
Otherwise, all that would be introduced by introducing other natural
languages is an even greater diversity of interpretation, rather than
an increase in the diversity of input. It is better to support those
from diverse backgrounds in contributing to the discussion in the
first place.


regards

-- 


Narelle Clark
narellec@xxxxxxxxx





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