[lbo-talk] Protection of Chinese language urged

[Dennis Redmond]

>> In contrast, the works of Asian writers need to be translated and
>> much of a work's essence can be lost in the translation.
>
> This is a problem, certainly, though one shared by writers in Islandic,
> Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Estonian, Hungarian, and other
> "Western" languages of lesser dissemination -- so enough of the
> West-bashing, already.

Well, they do have a point, to the extent that Norway, Sweden, Denmark and
Finland are rich countries, with a well-developed network of US
immigrants/emigres/family members. Their languages are taught at major US
universities, something not true for many other significant languages and
cultures on the planet.

The real question is, though, just what *is* an Asian language, anyway?
Are we talking Tagalog, Kannada, Marathi, or just Chinese/Korean/Japanese?
This is more than just a cultural question. It goes to the heart of how
the East Asian region -- a rapidly-integrating economic space -- is
developing a multinational political and social identity.

-- DRR