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From: elna@netcom.com (Esperanto League N America)
Subject: Please learn [something other than] English
Message-ID: <elnaE2qKFx.90q@netcom.com>
Organization: Esperanto League for North America, Inc.
References: <4el8tf$a3v@chleuasme.francenet.fr> <850572780.17014@dejanews.com> <elnaE2n0Lt.8Ft@netcom.com> <32B96D75.4B58@lonnds.ml.com>
Date: Fri, 20 Dec 1996 23:40:44 GMT
Lines: 31
Sender: elna@netcom8.netcom.com

Julian Pardoe <pardoej@lonnds.ml.com> writes in a recent posting (reference <32B96D75.4B58@lonnds.ml.com>):
>Esperanto League N America wrote:
>> Reinhard Selten shows how game theory demonstrates that the advantage of
>> native speakers of the ruling language leads to a short-term gain, but
>> a long-term loss. This of course includes the notion that the various
>> players act rationally...
>
>You can't just titillate us!!  Please at least outline how this long-term
>loss arises!
>
The model is a variation of the "Iterated Prisoners' Game" in which players
are rewarded differently for co-operation or non-co-operation, depending on 
the status of the other player. The iterations correspond to educational
policy shift; the strategies of co-operation to the relationship between
business & education.
If the dominant block (English-speakers) does not co-operate (remains
monolingual) they eventually lose business with countries (France, Germany,
Italy) who *do* co-operate (encourage polylingualism).
There have been several articles recently (in "The European" & elsewhere)
which describe incidents in which this occurs. A Spanish company contacting
a French firm and a British firm discovers that the French firm has sales
reps who speak Spanish, but the British firm does not. You can guess the
result!
Monolingualism eventually isolates its victims, even when the language in
question is most powerful (for a while).

-- 
Miko SLOPER              elna@netcom.com              USA  (510) 653 0998
Direktoro de la          ftp.netcom.com:/pub/el/elna   fax (510) 653 1468 
Centra Oficejo de la     Learn Esperanto! Free lessons: e-mail/snail-mail
Esperanto-Ligo de N.A.   Write to above address or call:  1-800-ESPERANTO
