Yep, Kathy, we're all "ethnic". I have a so-called "mixed race" (weird
term - there's only one human race) family.
But we can't talk about a Black language, can we? or a "white" or
"non-white" language.
Perhaps we should focus more or on culture than on colour? Skin
colour's in the genes - language and philosophy isn't.
Sometimes there's a correspondence and concord among labels, e.g.
Chinese (Chinese people, Chinese language, "yellow" skin, Chinese
history etc.) - sometimes there's not, e.g. American, Swiss, South
African.
No matter how "PC" the labels, we're always going to go adrift if the
underlying attitude is unhelpful. I'm sure Peter was using the term
ethnic with every good intention.
Merry Christmas everybody!
-----Original Message-----
From: Kathy Oluwi [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 03 December 2002 09:29
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: e-books
What is an 'ethnic' language? If you mean e-books in languages other
than English, then say so and think twice before using the word
'ethnic'.
What's wrong with saying, Black, Asian, Chinese etc? Why not be specific
about what one means, rather than trying to be too sensitive or too
polite when talking about something that is 'non-white'.
Kathy Oluwi
"Marshall, Peter" wrote:
> On the subject of e-books, I regret that I have no experience to
relate,
> but, while the subject is in the air, I would like to raise the issue
of
> the availability of e-texts in ethnic languages.
> It seems to us that the most immediate, not to say urgent, need in
> providing access to electronic texts retrievable from the web is the
> area of ethnic language material, where there is an obvious need for a
> wide range of languages (here in outer SE London our Council
> interpreting service reckons about 50, and in inner cities it can be
150
> or more), but the actual number of customers for each language makes
it
> uneconomic to purchase books (i.e. those old-fashioned things with
paper
> pages).
> I know that there is quite a lot of stuff available in Chinese (though
I
> am given to believe that this is more of interest to your average man
or
> woman on the Beijing omnibus, rather that the millions all over SE
Asia
> who use Chinese as a lingua-franca) and there appears to be quite a
bit
> of Vietnamese (largely it seems owing to the size of the
> Vietnamese-speaking community in California), and I am of course aware
> of the ethnic language newspapers available through
kidon.com/medialink/
> and other sites, but from this point on my knowledge starts running
very
> thin, and if anyone knows anything more - even about one individual
> language, particularly those spoken by the various refugees
communities
> - I should be grateful.
>
> Peter Marshall
> Project Development Librarian
> Bexley Council
> Thamesmead Centre
> Yarnton Way
> Erith. DA18 4DR
>
> Tel: 020 8320 4135 (Direct Line)
> email: [log in to unmask]
>
>
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