Update/No.23, 2003

UpdateEAB www.esperanto-gb.org ✩ Gisdateˆ An organ of the Esperanto Association of Britain Organo de Esperanto-Asocio de Britio No. 23, October–December 2003 ★ N-ro 23, oktobro–decembro 2003 ISSN 1741-4679 International Communication without Discrimination ★ Human Rights in Practice Internacia Komunikado sen Diskriminacio ★ Homaj Rajtoj en la Praktiko Authentic Language Equality – a European Right by Dr Humphrey Tonkin When, many years ago, efforts were first made to introduce French as the language of government in Quebec, many speakers of English protested. Why are people trying to change human behaviour throughout the legal system, they asked? Don’t they understand that intimate things like language use can’t be changed through laws? And if the language of the Francophones is to be protected, why not the language of the Anglophones? hirty or more years have notable progress in women’s economic passed since disputes over “A rational and social situation. T language began in earnest in Today, in Europe, there is a risk Quebec. People learned one thing language policy that Europeans will follow the same quite early: laws exist to protect the course as people followed in Quebec weak, not to confirm the power of the among the more than thirty years ago. Although strong; language policies are needed within almost every country in the not to support existing privilege, but EU countries EU there exist laws – some more ef- to bestow rights on those who lacked fective than others – to protect the them. remains language rights of minorities, the es- In Quebec today, the language tablishment of a rational language situation has changed beyond all rec- laughably low policy among the EU countries re- ognition. Not only does the Franco- mains laughably low on the priorities. phone majority have broader rights on the priorities” to equal education in their own lan- Some more equal than others guage, or rights of access to the gov- ing to the US after fifty years away The present procedure, whereby in ernment, or access to the justice sys- would find a changed world: more theory all the official languages of EU tem, but they can also now enjoy Blacks with university degrees, in in- members are treated equally (though Francophone culture in an essentially fluential positions in major corpora- in practice some languages are more Francophone setting. With the tions, as leaders in government, as equal than others) not only does not French language has come economic lawyers, judges, doctors. work satisfactorily but is often sim- prosperity for many French-speakers, Similar doubts are expressed ply ignored in practice. and a sense that French culture in about laws on discrimination against In vain the smaller countries com- the Canadian context is no longer women, but these laws have brought plain, because everyone knows that some provincial culture good only for village fêtes and saints’ festivals, but Humphrey Tonkin is University Professor of the Humanities and President Emeritus at a way of reaching the world, and a the University of Hartford. He joined the university as president in January 1989 and served for almost ten years, stepping down in June 1998 to return to scholarship and re- door open to a proud Francophone search. Between 1998 and 1999 he was Visiting Fellow at the Whitney Humanities Center heritage. at Yale University. Dr Tonkin is a former chair of the Foundation for Educational Exchange between Canada and the United States, the Canadian Fulbright Commission. He also chairs the American Creating tolerance by law Forum for Global Education (New York) and serves on the board of World Learning, which Similar notions about the uselessness operates the School for International Training and the Experiment in International Living. of new laws were expressed when leg- He chairs the Center for Research and Documentation on World Language Problems (which organises conferences and seminars and publishes research on sociolinguistic issues) and islation on racial discrimination was the Esperantic Studies Foundation (which conducts and supports research on international proposed in the United States in the language issues). 1950s and ’60s. How can you change He has chaired the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, the International Partnership for Service-Learning, and the International Education Commission of the hearts by changing laws? How can American Council on Education. He is also a past president of the Spenser Society, the you create tolerance by recourse to Universal Esperanto Association (Rotterdam), and the Zamenhof Foundation (Poland). He legal intolerance? But anyone return- is vice president of the Universal Esperanto Association. Gˆ isdate • 1 CÊFARTIKOLO LEAD ARTICLE REDAKTORA NOTO in fact, if an issue is really important is translated from English: even the to them, they can manage in English so-called major languages are begin- Gîs revido! – and in this context languages tend ning to surrender their independence to be regarded simply as communi- to English. l la densa verda gˆ angalo cation machines, some of which work Eatingis miajn orelojn more efficiently than others. In vain tamtamo, ke ne aperis en the smaller countries argue for Gˆ isdate informo pri la eksigô greater language equality when the “Even the major de David Kelso kiel Direktoro vested interests of the major states por Evoluigo. (Pri tio legu pli effectively stand in their way. languages are sur pagô 4) Spread of subordination beginning to Nu, vi eventuale iom legis If it were just that the major lan- pri tio aliloke, sed okazis tiel ke guages, despite the rules and princi- surrender their – kvankam la estraro de EAB ples of language equality in the EU, ja estis antau˘avertita – ne estis succeeded in dominating in the meet- independence aktuale tion anonci en la ing-rooms and corridors of the Euro- to English” pasinta numero, kaj Gˆ isdate pean institutions, people might com- aperas nur kvarfoje jare. plain, but would suffer no great loss. Restas danki al David pro But much more is at stake, because Almost criminal neglect the lack of prestige and power among The game has changed in fundamen- lia valorega laboro dum la the smaller languages extends to tal ways – and primarily because of pasintaj jaroj, kiu grave helpis many other settings. the almost criminal neglect of the lan- teni la asocion sur la reloj dum Only with the greatest of difficulty guage problem on the part of the la impeta kaj malfacila periodo can a Danish-language or Dutch-lan- stronger countries. de la transloggˆ igo. Kaj ni elkore guage author compete with authors Ten years ago it was still possible deziras al David agrablan writing in the major languages; only to argue that you couldn’t really use duonvivon en Italio. with the greatest difficulty can the Danish, say, in informal dealings in Lau˘dire li revenos al Britio publishing industry, the film indus- the heart of the EU, for the simple por eskapi la italajn vinon kaj try, the theatre, and almost all other reason that Danish was barely used forms of human artistic expression, outside its own country; the same was sunbrilon dum la pli varma stay alive under the constant flood of true of Greek or Dutch. So obviously duono de la jaro. Neniel kredu, cultural products from the larger speakers of these languages needed ke la Administra Komitato de countries. to acquire a knowledge of the larger EAB forgesis tion bone noti. Take a look at what people are languages. Geoffrey Sutton reading in a Dutch train or a Danish Fifty years ago, the Dutch and the airport: increasingly they read their Danes often learned French or Ger- novels in English, and so the prices man to cope in international settings, of cultural products in, say, the Dan- even if English was the most popu- • Material for the next issue of ish language rise to a point where lar choice. But today it is not just the Update should be with the editor they are no longer competitive. And small languages like Danish or Dutch ideally no later than 1 December. if in France and Germany people con- that must give way to a group of • Materialo por la venonta numero ˆ tinue to read in French and German, stronger languages, like French, de Gisdate atingu la redaktoron to an alarming degree what they read (Continued on page 12) ideale plej laste la 1-an de decembro. 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