From: Piotr Gasiorowski
Message: 783
Date: 2000-01-06
----- Original Message -----From: Gerry Reinhart-WallerSent: Thursday, January 06, 2000 6:45 PMSubject: [cybalist] Re: Odp: The relationship between Spanish, Galician and Portuguese
Fear not, Gerry, it was just a mistype.
Piotr: As a linguist, I am always sorry to watch a language die and
delighted to see it saved. I believe linguistic diversity is worth
protecting.
Gerry: Preserving linguistic diversity is a noble cause. So is
environmental diversity. But there IS a basic evolutionary function
here: ALL species ever brought into existance CANNOT be saved. It goes
against natural/biological law. QUESTION: would you like to live
forever? Would you like to discover that fountain of youth? And if so,
at whose expense?
Gerry, I'm not setting a goal for linguists. Nor am I dreaming of an utopian world in which everything is permanent and everybody is happy. I know that countless languages have gone extinct and that it is a perfectly natural thing to happen. I was just telling you about my sentiments. As for diversity versus global communication, I'm for both. Multilingualism is a very natural thing; in fact, it is more widespread among "primitive" tribes than among educated Western people. You need not give up your native language in order to acquire a language of wider communication. Sooner or later virtually everybody on earth will find it necessary learn English, but I don't envisage that as a nightmare.
Piotr: Let me quote your own confession to that effect (Cybalist #772,
just yesterday):
Gerry [to Miquel]: I know exactly how you feel. I live in California
now but I have absolutely nothing in common with these folks. We are
different socially, politically, economically, religiously,
educationally etc. However, I do relate to the United States and to
Massachusetts in particular. And I'd much rather be living back east.
I took the liberty to infer from the above that you "don't feel quite at
home in California".
Gerry: But Piotr!!! That post was directed to Miguel. A "gentleman"
would know that a post containing "personal" information is meant to be
commented on only by the person indicated as its recipient! What you
did was "eavesdrop" and then pass along the "gossip". That is NOT a
gentlemanly thing to do. But since you did inquire, no, I do NOT like
living in California because I have nothing in common with these people.
But Gerry, it was a public exchange on Cybalist -- a thread of a discussion in which I was also taking part. I got it with the rest of my daily mail like all the other members. We're talking out in the open. I don't mind if people refer to my personally directed postings on the list; they are meant to be public. If we want to say something in private, we know each other's e-mail addresses and can do it off the list. I wouldn't reveal a personal secret entrusted to me in that way. However, if you feel hurt, I apologise.My best,Piotr