Language.
Why are we, the taxpayers of this nation, paying for documents to be translated into a veritable multitude of languages?

During a recent email conversation I found myself thinking how absurd the concept is. That is, when you delve deeply into the subject. I could have mentioned it in the email, but instead I wanted to explore the topic here. I will not go into great detail (alas, I have not the energy) but I will outline my case.

Now then, lets start with some praise. Helping new-comers to this country to know what is going on is a noble sentiment. Very friendly, very, well, probably very British too. But then where is the encouragement to learn the language of the realm (English)?

Surely by rendering it unnecessary to learn a language then you won't (unless you particularly want to, of course). Surely being able to converse with your adopted society is a prerequisite for becoming part of that society?

So, assuming (for the sake of brevity) that it is good to unite the realm under one language, why is the Welsh language given such attention? I don't mean to single out the Welsh, but it is they who appear to have put in the most effort to keep the language in use. The Scottish, for example do not, to the best of my knowledge, have bilingual signs (though they do have non English speaking areas like Wales).

I can understand wanting to save a dying language (another noble sentiment) but surely using a different language is accentuating the differences between the members of the realm? Shouldn't we be trying to unite these members since we are supposedly one great nation? Or do we want something like the Australian Commonwealth model?

But where do we stop? Where do we draw the line between keeping a language alive (which, from an academic point of view, can only enrich our appreciation of the world) and creating subdivisions within a united country?

In fact, where do we stop subdividing? England itself was not one united kingdom until late in the 9th century. Given that the Welsh language can be traced back to the original Celtic inhabitants of the land, and so can Scottish, then surely the English version of the Celtic tongue is the one the English should be learning?

But there is a problem with this. Nobody knows what the English Celtic languages were like (with slight exceptions that I would love to go into, but here is a link instead). It truly is dead. So we are forced to move forward in time. To the next language spoken. That of the Anglo-Saxons. After all, it was from these Germanic settlers that we get the name England in the first place.

So perhaps we should take on our local dialects of anglo-saxon (the sounds of which, by the way, are still evident today)? For me, it would be Mercian. Taking on sounds from the Viking north and the Germanic east. Read more here.

With all of the links I have had to include, I hope you can see why i can't go into that much detail. There is just so much and I do not have the energy or inclination to do it right now. However, any debate would be greatly appreciated.

Take care :-)