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Linguistics in daily life. Draw attention to the worldwide language problem and the promotion of Esperanto as the global interlanguage for the global village. Encourage learning Esperanto as a second lanaguage for everyone, to be a tool for international understanding among millions of its speakers in hundreds of countries. Free instruction offered online or off.

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REPEAL THE LANGUAGE TAX

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Contributed by: Richard Shrout on 7/1/2007

IN OTHER WORDS
BY THE MICCO MORPHEME ADDICT

REPEAL THE LANGUAGE TAX!

The "Language Tax" refers to the financial benefit that accrues to English-language-using nations, corporations, and individuals, as a result of the widespread acceptance of English as the default language of international and interethnic communication. Although this "tax" affects all nations, corporations, and individuals which are not primarily English-using, it falls heaviest on those (especially in the third and fourth "worlds") that can least afford it.

For example, Britain receives a net profit of something in the hundreds of millions of euros annually as a result of other countries' need to send their students there to perfect their English. (The United States presumably realizes a similar take, perhaps more, though I haven't seen quantified documentation.)

Countries like Germany and Japan can afford their end of this equation, though it does cost them money. But countries like Mali or Honduras cannot really afford their part. The result is in effect a "tax" that benefits the English-using minority part of the world at the expense of the non-English-using majority, which is also on average poorer and less able to pay such a regressive added cost.

At the same time, the widespread assumption that English is or will become the default medium of international communication means that many theoretically international organizations and media make little or no effort to make themselves accessible to participation by the English-deprived. If you want your opinion heard, you will make it known in English (yet if your English isn't pretty good, chances are it won't get aired).

As a start towards rectifying the matter, explore the Esperanto alternative!

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If you wish to study Esperanto on our online learning center free, email Richard at seraphim@gate.net
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