Note to Linguistic Fascists
If you’re going to demand that people speak English, you should make it a priority to learn how to spell English.
via: Immigration Chronicles: Perhaps spell check is in order …
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Well, it appears that I must be a linguistic fascist, then.
I have argued in favor of investing in the promotion of a national language on the same grounds on the grounds of developing a common infrastructure. We set standards in a number of areas as a way of making things run more smoothly and at reduced costs. We have standards regarding everything from the threads in a screw to the labeling of products.
A national language would simply help the economy run more efficiently as it eliminates the costs of translation, missed communication, or non-communication simply because the audience does not speak the language.
In defending the national language as an infrastructure improvement I have argued that the government should invest in this standard, and not simply demand that citizens learn a common language. The benefits of a common language will accrue across the whole economy, so it is only fair that people throughout the economy pay for the development of this infrastructure.
I have a more complete development of this argument in A National Language.
If people are going to demand that English be the official language, shouldn’t the first priority be teaching it to our president?
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