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On noting that there is no longer a (modern) language department inBradford University, UK I comment that I do not think that there is no longer a need for some competance in languages these days, but that it is a subtle one which is quickly evolving. It's all very well arguing that language is a basis of division betwen peoples so perhaps everyone should be encouraged to speak English (presumably by the omission of the department), but I don't think this is going to go down very well everywhere. English is not the only culture which has had something to offer and the fact is not everyone speaks English at the moment. I see langauge courses as transforming not into a specialist study of the literature of culture of just one (or perhaps two) other cultures but ones encompassing a wide breath of disciplines (this IS the culture of languages). Thus language is rooted in history, the names of places, professions and people and it aids in the study of history disciplines. Language is intertwined with history. A langauge scholar (certainly a practitioner) needs to know many langauges, to have some competance in the emerging multilingual software applications, their methodology and their facilitation. S(he) even needs some technical (programming) competance, and to be relaxed in using the devices which are providing translational services. Indeed it may be in future that the language specialist is a very technical competant and aware person indeed.

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