I think French and Esperanto have tried at some point, but failed.
The only alternative I think is possible is, Simple English. That is, English with limited words. However, there would still be things like black, white, and main.
It is hard to be politically correct and please everyone.
You suggest French as an alternative to English, as if they’ve been somehow less colonial and oppressive throughout the ages?
Simple English isn’t a language. We’re programmers; our very work involves a lot of specialized terminology that wouldn’t come close to meeting the requirements of a “simple” English.
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Please, let's not get ridiculous. There's no feasible alternative to English. I've been writing about this since 2008. English unites us, regardless of native tongue, ethnicity, skin color etc.
It's a terrible argument to say
"English was used 200 years ago for something bad, therefore we should stop using English"
By the same logic, we should stop using computers because computers were used to perpetrate billion-dollar hacks.
Spot on. You could even expand further on it.
Don't forget that IBM provided the logistic systems that were used to run Hitler's concentration camps.
Swiped a Master-card recently when shopping? How about Visa, thinking about borders here...or American Express, which could be argued makes references to the US railroad system, built in part by slave labor. Where should we stop?
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What alternative do you propose? What language would be widely understood and has never been used by an oppressive culture?
I think French and Esperanto have tried at some point, but failed.
The only alternative I think is possible is, Simple English. That is, English with limited words. However, there would still be things like black, white, and main.
It is hard to be politically correct and please everyone.
You suggest French as an alternative to English, as if they’ve been somehow less colonial and oppressive throughout the ages?
Simple English isn’t a language. We’re programmers; our very work involves a lot of specialized terminology that wouldn’t come close to meeting the requirements of a “simple” English.
(And what’s wrong with “main”?)
Please, let's not get ridiculous. There's no feasible alternative to English. I've been writing about this since 2008. English unites us, regardless of native tongue, ethnicity, skin color etc.
It's a terrible argument to say
By the same logic, we should stop using computers because computers were used to perpetrate billion-dollar hacks.
Spot on. You could even expand further on it.
Don't forget that IBM provided the logistic systems that were used to run Hitler's concentration camps.
Swiped a Master-card recently when shopping? How about Visa, thinking about borders here...or American Express, which could be argued makes references to the US railroad system, built in part by slave labor. Where should we stop?