Forums about proz.com » Translation news »
President Yoweri Museveni asks teachers and language developers in Uganda to preserve and promote local languages

This discussion belongs to Translation news » "President Yoweri Museveni asks teachers and language developers in Uganda to preserve and promote local languages".
You can see the translation news page and participate in this discussion from there.

Mark
Mark
Local time: 14:15
Italian to English
Hey! Nov 9, 2012

You don’t catch me calling western languages richer than African languages:
a) because it would be rude.
b) because I'm not convinced that it can be anything other than a subjective statement.
 
Usch Pilz
Usch Pilz
Local time: 14:15
English to German
+ ...
Amazing language skills Nov 9, 2012

So many Africans have amazing language skills. I have met countless people who are fluent in 3 - 5 African languages or even more. And I am not talking about dialects or variants of one and the same language. I am talking about languages as different as say German and Portuguese.

Unfortunately this wealth of knowledge hardly ever leads to economic success for the individual language whiz, because those African languages are mostly used for communication within communities and trade on... See more
So many Africans have amazing language skills. I have met countless people who are fluent in 3 - 5 African languages or even more. And I am not talking about dialects or variants of one and the same language. I am talking about languages as different as say German and Portuguese.

Unfortunately this wealth of knowledge hardly ever leads to economic success for the individual language whiz, because those African languages are mostly used for communication within communities and trade on a small scale. They hardly ever play a significant role in commercial activities on a bigger scale, not to mention trans-continental big business.

Keeping all those languages alive is a commendable goal. Talk about cultural diversity and identity ...
But I often find myself wishing somebody would come up with a way to harness those language skills and turn into an economic asset as well.

[Edited at 2012-11-09 18:01 GMT] ▲ Collapse
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

President Yoweri Museveni asks teachers and language developers in Uganda to preserve and promote local languages







Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »
Trados Studio 2022 Freelance
The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.

Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

More info »