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Diversity, identity and communicative equality as three essential pillars in the world governance
Joan INGLADA
Monday, November 18, 2002 11:29 PM
ººº Abstract: In my point of view, the primordial value is that of individual
diversity, the identities are in second term, subsets of the human diversity
with infinity of intersections. Another high-priority value is the
communicative equality, because the knowledge of English as a mother tongue is
being increased in demands for international positions, and this it is an
evident discrimination, as it is demonstrated that non native speakers cannot
reach such a level without to abandon their own language in some way. Such
discrimination is manifested on the other hand in oratory, which is a
fundamental element for the democratic debate. The use of a non ethnical
language, as Esperanto, puts everybody in equality of conditions in front of
the difficulty of the inter-linguistic communication ººº
In my point of view, the primordial value is that of diversity; each one of
the six thousand millions (6000000000) of inhabitants have the right to be
different to the other ones and this reality must to be respected. Identities
are in second term, subsets of the human diversity with infinity of
intersections like for example Breton-Esperantist-greener, with the same right
to be respected, whenever, as much diversities as identities, don't interfere
arbitrarily each one to the others. The freedom as no-dominance impedes the
arbitrary interferences and therefore it guarantees those values by avoiding
anyone to invade the space of other people.
International work positions are increasingly demanding an English native level
Another high-priority value is that of the communicative equality. The
linguistic discrimination is a serious attack against the second article of
the Universal Declaration of the Human rights. This happens very usually, for
example concerning the candidates to international work positions of the
United Nations and of the European Union, where having "good" or "excellent"
knowledge in English is no longer enough. More and more announcements of works
for the international organizations look for people specifically only with
English as mother tongue ["English mother tongue", "English native
speaker", "English native speaker or equivalent"], (see the list of 400
announcements in http://lingvo.org/eo/2/15)
The system of conceptual communication is essentially verbal, but the
multilingual wealth, paradoxically, makes difficult communication between us.
Even when learning the language of the others, although if we reach to
dominate their linguistic repertoire with all their attributes, the difficult
thing is not just to immerse in the essence of the speaker's language, but
coming off temporarily of the essence of our one.
To facilitate the intercommunication through the linguistic diversity it will
be necessary to find a linguistically democratic solution. To overcome the
semiotic distances, to understand the meaning of the expressions of the
language of another culture it is not enough to have the predisposition of
coming closer to it and to be distanced with enough intensity and frequency as
necessary.
On the other hand, one of the fundamental tools of the democracy is the debate
and the rising deliberation; meaning that citizens have to make use of words
as the only instrument to reach agreements. One of the indispensable aspects
in the citizens education is the domain of oratory. Nevertheless, to debate
and deliberate in owns language and in owns milieu is enough difficult in
itself; expressions, turns of phrases, etc. I don’t need to insist how all
this is complicate in multilingual meetings with simultaneous translations.
With a lingua franca, everybody are acquiring the practice of thinking an idea before communicating it
For that reason we are trying to define an intermediate point, to which we all
should come closer enough to make us understand and to understand the others:
A lingua franca, Esperanto; a planned language based on elements of ethnic
languages, a language that is offering, in a semiotic sense, a synthesis of
the categorical maps of understanding the world. Thus, those wanting to
communicate, they acquire the practice of thinking one idea before saying it,
before doing it; then the first step for a inter-linguistic and democratic
communication is done.
We believe that the use of a non ethnic language would also help to overcome
the problems between ethnocentrism and linguistic relativism: the knowledge of
the other people's cultures through a filter globally based. Also, this
intercultural linguistic bridge would favor the preservation of
the “linguistic species”, that it is also an ecological emergency keeping in
mind that many of the species of animals and plants in danger of the world,
they are nowadays only known by some of those peoples whose languages are
being extinguished.
With a language that is not from any nation, is not possible just more direct
contacts and without discrimination with people of different culture, but also
is possible to contribute to the realization of a transnational community,
respecting all the linguistic identities
WP21 Alliance Forum on a World Parliament for the 21st Century
E-mail : world-parl@forums.alliance21.org
Fax 1 717 264 5036
Information, inscriptions, désinscriptions: germa@alliance21.org
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