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Welcome to a brand of
Mathematical
Services.
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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