So, someone who is technically clueful can follow technical discussion in
another language.
Someone who is not technically competent, but speaks the base language, can
learn the technical side.
but if they're not technically clueful AND unfamiliar with the language? all is
lost. And the IETF cannot cover both.
Lloyd Wood
http://about.me/lloydwood
________________________________________
From: Dave Cridland [dave(_at_)cridland(_dot_)net]
Sent: 09 March 2014 09:44
To: Wood L Dr (Electronic Eng)
Cc: Klaas Wierenga; ietf(_at_)ietf(_dot_)org Discussion
Subject: Re: IETF working language
On 9 March 2014 08:45,
<l(_dot_)wood(_at_)surrey(_dot_)ac(_dot_)uk<mailto:l(_dot_)wood(_at_)surrey(_dot_)ac(_dot_)uk>>
wrote:
A four-year-old is taking the effort to learn a language, which is
why the comparison is valid.
Valid from a communications standpoint, perhaps, but not from the standpoint of
having the required knowledge.
Taking part in "foreign" technical discussions really is hard - I've engaged
once or twice in French discussions, and I apologise for those I inflicted my
French upon. It's not that I have no clue what *they're* saying - I can in
general follow written technical French reasonably well - and it's not that I'm
clueless in the subject either, but I struggle to make myself understood
properly. In most cases I give up and shamefully switch to English, which is
only an option because I happen to know the audience will understand my English
better than my French. (The Russians have a phrase - I'm like a dog, I cannot
speak, but I understand.)
On the flip side, the studies into bilingualism - a subject close to me since
both my children are bilingual[*] - demonstrate that problem solving skills are
enhanced by a different language, since the grammar changes make considering
different solutions more natural. My gut feel would be that this would apply to
this situation too, and moreover, would apply more to communications protocol
design than many other problem domains. So writing off bad English too quickly
is problematic for "us", too.
Dave.
--
* - English/Welsh, in case you wonder. We live in an area where Welsh is a
common first language, so hearing it on the street is normal.