Re: English on the internet

Robin Harwood (HARWOOD who-is-at UConnVM.UConn.Edu)
Mon, 15 Apr 96 09:15:09 EDT

Ana wrote:
>But I want to give the whole issue another perspective. In spite of the
>troubles I sometimes experience, I feel a richer person. I think that
>knowing more than one language is actually an advantage in many ways. It
>opens up whole worlds to the one who takes a trouble to learn another
>language, wonderful worlds which otherwise stay completely shut off from

I've always felt that it would be a deeply enriching experience to
be fluent in another language, to actually step inside a different
way of conceptualizing the world, and to note those differences (and
similarities!). Unfortunately, nonAmericans seem more likely to
have this experience than Americans... I think you're right, though--
it definitely speaks to the issue of "sharedness" versus "unique
construction" in any communicative act.
Robin