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From: hinsenk@cyclone.ERE.UMontreal.CA (Hinsen Konrad)
Subject: Re: Languages in the EC
In-Reply-To: livesey@solntze.engr.sgi.com's message of 14 Feb 1995 08:06:08 GMT
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Date: Tue, 14 Feb 1995 15:23:15 GMT
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In article <3hpo9g$5rg@fido.asd.sgi.com> livesey@solntze.engr.sgi.com (Jon Livesey) writes:

   |> By becoming so widely used that the people not speaking it are
   |> a minority.

   I asked *how* this is going to take place.

   You have insisted that you don't intend to impose Esperanto on
   anyone, and that you don't want subsidies or special treatment.

It is true that I do not intend to impose anything. As for
subsidies or special treatment, that depends on how you define
them.

What I would expect the EU to do in the interest of its population and
especially its tax payers, is to initiate a scientific study on the
various alternatives for international communication within the
EU. One of the alternatives should be the instruction of Esperanto in
schools. I certainly expect the EU to pay for this study, but I would
not call that a "subsidy".  If such a study affirms what has been
found in small-scale experiments, namely that learning Esperanto
improves communication abilities even in other languages learned
later, I expect the EU to encourage its member states to make
Esperanto part of the school curriculum. No one should be forced
to learn it, but everyone should have the chance to learn it.

--
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Konrad Hinsen                     | E-Mail: hinsenk@ere.umontreal.ca
Departement de Chimie             | Tel.: +1-514-343-6111 ext. 3953
Universite de Montreal            | Fax:  +1-514-343-7586
C.P. 6128, succ. A                | Deutsch/Esperanto/English/Nederlands/
Montreal (QC) H3C 3J7             | Francais (phase experimentale)
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