Re: [tlug] Re: [mew-int 01432] A french page about Mew

[Jonathan Q <jq@example.com>]

On Tue, May 27, 2003 at 12:02:53AM +0900, Edward Middleton wrote:

>I don't really understand your problem. 

The author or the howto was trolling, really.


> Wouldn't it have been more
>arrogant to have simply not mention that he was writing a related
>Howto.

I don't think so, because:

>  Perhaps it was intended as an invitation for translators.

his English level was far too high to be unable to make that
clear, if asking for a translator was his intent.  What he
wrote was, IMO, quite delicately cast and made his point clear:
don't even think about asking me for a translation, you'll have to
read it in French, or find someone who can, if you want to benefit
from it.

See, in France, the government, and apparently some of the people, have
a problem with what we might call, uh, Language Envy.  That is, some
languages, most notably English, are bigger than theirs and more 
important than theirs, and even a lot of their own native speakers want
to use words like Le Cheeseburger.  What to do with a bad case of
Language Envy?  Why, make not using French illegal, of course!  Just
what any reasonable person would do.  You can have a bilingual web
site, certainly.  But if you want a monolingual website, it must
be in French.  And that bilingual website?  It better not have English
before it has French, or the police will have to pay you a visit.
That will show them properly whose language is bigger and more
important.  If that isn't enough, finally, they will say "Now depart,
you silly English knight, or I will taunt you for a second time," or
something to that effect :-)

Jonathan

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