A critical consciousness is awakening. This has happened before, but now the preconditions are better than ever. Internet strengthens our abilities to think. Social media make it easy for us to link together and thanks to the collective wisdom of Wikipedia we can even understand what’s going on.
A failure or success? 
September 17, 2010 at 3:45 pm |
Hello Per,
and let us not forget that the use of a common language on the internet makes it possible to echange thoughts all over the world.
Obviously there are critics for the use of English as ” lingua franca ” who are defending a more neutral language but the advantages of an existing important language are hugues. Learning a language is also learning a culture and if one is able to learn more languages the better. But if one is able only to master two languages (more or less) the choise of English as second language has advantages, if only there is a library on most subjects were one may have a liftime work to read it all.
And altough the English-speaking people have an advantage that they don’t have to learn a second language in order to communicate, we can read all they write but they can not read what we write, unless we do it in English.
Paul
September 17, 2010 at 6:07 pm |
You are right, I forgot to mention the importance of speaking the same language. Google translate makes it also possible to write in differens languages. I am having a conversation with Demoex Brazil. I write in Swedish, translate to Portugese and post – they write in Portugese, translate into Swedish and post. Funny messages sometimes, but we understand each other!
September 20, 2010 at 2:44 pm |
Hello Per,
now I am using the microsoft translator on IE browser and then you have the choice of several displays. Screen divided horizontally or vertically with original and translated text both on screen.
http://www.microsofttranslator.com
It is a very good help but very amusing if you can’t read at all what you are writing 😉
Do you have the final results yet ?
Paul