Teaching Comparative

Idioma 语言 Язык Language

Usually, when we think of "common language" and civil society, we're thinking of a national language or a language that allows for communication across linguistic barriers (like English in Nigeria and India).

Michael Harvey wrote from Abu Dhabi suggesting that the example below from Australia is an example that we could use to teach about the politics surrounding civil society. The news story illustrates that common first thought about common language. But, the essay by Frances Hesselbien that follows suggests that a common language in today's global society might be a technical jargon used in many national languages. (Frances Hesselbein is editor-in-chief of Leader to Leader, chairman of the board of governors of Drucker Foundation.) Other examples are the .html, .xml, and other programing languages used by web sites. (Even those are not without controversy. See: Divided by a common language.)

What effects might these technical common languages have on civil society, the state, politics, nationalism, governance, and democracy? How important is a common language? Should countries legislate an official language? If only some countries should declare a legal language, which countries ought not do so? Which facets of government and politics are hindered most by the lack of an effective common language? What facets would be hindered by declaring an official language that is not used by large segments of the population? (think Nigeria) Can specialized technical common languages compensate for the absence or weakness of a national language?


Howard: English tests for entrants

"Australia will demand new citizens pass an English language test and sign up to undefined Australian values, Prime Minister John Howard said...

"Howard said the conservative government was also considering lifting to four years from three the wait for new immigrants to become an Australian and imposing a "fairly firm" test on knowledge of Australian history.

"'It won't become more difficult if you're fair dinkum, and most people who come to this country are fair dinkum about becoming part of the community,' Howard told Australian radio, falling back on a local slang term for genuine.

"Australia is a nation of immigrants, with nearly one in four of the country's 20 million people born overseas. Almost six million people have settled since 1945 and Australia plans to accept about 144,000 new immigrants in 2006-07..."

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Speaking a Common Language by Frances Hesselbein

"Today leaders speak a common language. It is understood across the borders that once separated business, nonprofits, and government and moves just as easily across cultures, countries, and continents. It is a global language of mission, strategy, and customer, as readily understood by leaders in Beijing as in Boston.

"To today's business, government, and nonprofit leaders of change, the principles of leadership are basic, generic to all organizations, and universal in their reach and relevance..."

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See also:

• The Common Language Project
  
• List of official languages in Russia
  "Although Russian is the only federally official language of the Russian Federation, there are several other officially-recognized languages within Russia's various constituencies. This is a list of languages that are official only in certain parts of Russia..."
  
  
• Languages by Countries
  
  
• Uniting China to Speak Mandarin, the One Official Language: Easier Said Than Done
  or
  Uniting China to Speak Mandarin, the One Official Language: Easier Said Than Done
  
• The Languages Of Nigeria
  
• The Persian Language
  
• The Indigenous Languages of Mexico
  
• A common language: a cure for the business and IT disconnect?
  "It's no secret that business and technology are frequently misaligned, resulting in failed IT projects and unmet business goals. As companies rely more on technology as driver of business results, the disconnect and finger pointing becomes even more apparent and crippling. How do you close the gap?
  
  "According to Faisal Hoque, the answer is management science. He proposes creating a common language and taxonomy for facilitating the business and technology dialog..."

posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:23 AM