------------------------------ Bundle: 562 Archive-Message-Number: 7069 Date: Sat, 26 Mar 94 12:59 GMT From: [-- REDACTED --] Subject: LANGUAGE IN THE WILDS A thought occurred to me the other day. How widespread is the use of standard GalAnglic throughout what was the Imperium? I always got the impression from CT that GalAnglic was a trade language as much as anything and that many planets had their own languages - especially those that were settled by Solmani of non-Anglophone extraction or Vilani. With the collapse of interstellar society as we know it, the reason for many people to know GalAnglic will disappear. The Syleans will carry on speaking Sylean, Vilani will carry on with Vilani and the Solomani worlds will carry on with a modern version of their old language, be it Russian, Chinese, Swahili or whatever. Seventy years of not hearing from other planets will also do odd things to those planets that did speak GalAnglic. Dialects will appear, and may become mutally incomprehensible. Think of all the differences between American, Australian and British versions of English. They've all cropped up while we've remained in contact with each other. Perhaps a good analogy can be drawn with the local situation here in Wales. The fair county of Gwynedd has a population the majority of which first language and the local culture thrives, having TV, radio, newspapers and films in Welsh. (Incidentally, if you can, get to see the film Hedd Wyn, recently nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. It has no sci-fi content at all but is a damn good film. Good for cultural detail for those who appreciate such things). Anyway, I digress. The point is that if Gwynedd were an island, it would have no need to speak English, all the mod-cons of civilisation are provided in Welsh. However, they do need to communicate with: a) The government in London which doesn't speak Welsh; b) The world at large which doesn't speak Welsh; c) People like me who have moved in and (as yet) don't speak Welsh. Thus I tend to hear more English spoken than Welsh since in town it gets used as a Lingua Franca. Out in the mountains things are a little different. If England were suddenly removed from Wales (i.e. instellar trade went), then the majority of people would probably get on with their lives - but now have no need of English. The local TV and radio are in Welsh, the schools teach using Welsh. English would die out, and fairly quickly too. People like me would have to learn or become a small ghetto-ized community. I would say that this sort of thing would have happened all over the wilds. Most of those planets will have at least a dialect that is strange, and most of them a completely different language to that which the players speak. " I see. Can anyone hear speak GalHispanic? No? Bugger!" Well that's all folks, Pnhawn Da, Stewart Johnson. ------------------------------