Multilingualism

Being bilingual, and living with somebody who is trilingual, I am a big proponent of the importance of learning foreign languages at school. The issue has raised its head again in the news recently, with the government promising a drive to get kids to do more foreign languages - though it baffles me why they are suggesting this now, when only a few years ago they changed the curriculum so that it isn't mandatory to do a foreign language GCSE.

There is an interesting article in the paper about it today, written (in very elegant English) by a Frenchwomen, which got me thinking a little more on why I think learning a foreign language is so important.

"The global culture we live in is a double-faced creature, part angel, part devil. It induces two sets of behaviour in world citizens: a greater openness and a new curiosity towards others, or the illusory and self-satisfied conviction that the world has come to them. The first group, embracing multilingualism, have learned that a better understanding of other cultures, based on mutual knowledge of each other's languages, can foster stronger business partnerships, richer cultural exchanges and lasting peace. The second, often found in the English-speaking world, are proud of their monolingualism, and have retreated into a fantasy world in which it seems everyone speaks their language."

The monolinguist's arguments are usually along the lines of "all the world speaks English, what's the point in learning another language?". In that respect, they have some sort of point, even it is a touch arrogant. Yet, to me, the main benefits of learning another language are not limited to the ability to converse in that language; rather, they are the enlightenment of realising that you aren't limited to a single method of expressing yourself linguistically*, and the appreciation of different cultures that can only be acquired by immersing yourself to the level where you have to use that culture's language.

At school I learned French to GCSE level, and went on two exchange visits to France, staying with French families. Being forced to speak French meant that I began to see the world a little bit through French eyes, and as a result I am a big fan of France, and the French people - not a view shared by many of my fellow Brits! But how many of them went on a French exchange? And if they didn't, would their prejudices against the French still exist if they had gone on an exchange?

The point I'm trying to make is that, even though I have forgotten much of my French now, I don't think for a second that learning the language was a waste of time. I learned far more than 'just another language'.

* For some time I've pondered the best way of describing this (the idea that there isn't always an equivalent translation) to an English monolingual, and the best example I've come up with is translation of the word 'Welsh':

Cymraeg = Welsh (the language e.g. "she speaks Welsh")
Cymreig = Welsh (something that is from Wales e.g. "a Welsh harp")
Cymry = Welsh (the people of Wales e.g. "the Welsh sing very well")

so;
the English can talk about English things in English;
but (to paraphrase)
the Cymry talk about Cymreig things in Cymraeg

Pinochet is dead

So, like Pol Pot, Idi Amin and several other criminals before him, General Augusto Pinochet cheats real justice and escapes to the land of the dead. He will not be missed by the majority, yet his death still comes as a blow to the thousands of Chileans, Spaniards, and people of all nationalities who wanted to see this man stand in the dock and face responsibility for his crimes.

Pinochet assumed power in Chile in a military coup d'etat in 1973. The incumbent president, Salvador Allende, had led a socialist government which had followed policies unpopular with the Chilean right, such as the nationalisation of industry and health service, and the seizure and redistribution of land and wealth. The coup was short, bloody and violent, with troops and tanks surrounding the Chilean palace in Santiago while it was bombed from the air. Allende died in the attack, and Pinochet emerged from the shadows to head the new military dictarship. The following months were a humanitarian disaster, with thousands of 'subversives' picked up by the secret police. At least 3000 people were killed, and several tens of thousands tortured - 40,000 alone were detained in Chile's national stadium, which had been converted to a concentration camp.

Despite these horrors and others, Pinochet remained a hero for many in Chile for some time after his removal from power, as some on the right still saw him as the saviour who prevented the country's slide into communism. However, this support had gradually eroded since it was discovered that he stole millions from the country's exchequer, skimming off funds and transferring them to a private swiss bank account. This was no upstanding citizen doing his best for his country; Augusto Pinochet was a common thief.

Baroness Margaret Thatcher is said to be 'deeply saddened' by his death. While I appreciate her point of view that his assistance during Falklands War may have saved British lives, it reflects rather badly on her judgment that she should continue to support a man who's name will forever be mentioned alongside some of the most infamous in history, and who be remembered by most as a repugnant man who had not a single redeeming quality.

New Zealand vs. the rest of the world

Just too good. I managed to catch the second half of the France/NZ game at the weekend, and to be honest it was really rather depressing. France are currently the number 2 team in the world rankings, yet they were completely and utterly outclassed by a New Zealand side that just does everything right. For 20 minutes, I saw France sit on the NZ 22, trying everything, using every trick they could think of to break the All-Black line. They might as well have been throwing pebbles at a concrete wall. A sea of black shirts soaked it all up, without appearing to make any effort, before quite casually stealing the ball and running in another try from their own half. If they can maintain this form for another 11 months, for the rest of us can only aspire to second place in the World Cup.

The rest of the weekend's rugby was more pleasant viewing. A second string Wales eased passed the Pacific Islands without actually playing a very good team game. Yet the signs are promising - if Gareth Jenkins can organize a strong and consistent squad, there's at least a semi-final place for the taking in the World Cup. The Irish gave the 'boks a stuffing, and nobody's ever sad to see that happen. The Scottish had a glorified training day, and poor old England got rolled over at home by a team of amateurs who'd had four days preparation. Personally I'm all for the Argies making the 6-nations the 7-nations. Wales has strong ties with Argentina, and they are only strengthened when they humiliate the old-enemy so!

But, dear-oh-dear, I'm really not looking forward to the 25th of November.

David Cameron - all style, no substance

For several years now (in fact, almost a decade), one of the biggest complaints that the Tories have had about Blair is that there was too much spin, too much media focus, too much style. It is one of the few issues that they and I have ever agreed upon. Yet now that David Cameron is on the scene, they appear to forgotten all such criticisms, at least officially. www.webcameron.org.uk is possibly the most pathetic piece of 'politics' since Blair said "This isn't a time for cliches, but I feel the hand of destiny on my shoulder" or some such nonsense. It is a ridiculous site, trying to package 'Dave' to being a media-savvy, trendy, down-wid-da-kids hero.

Take, for example, his video blog that was recorded after his speech to conference. It is obviously set up. Everything that is said, from the 'summary' of his conference speech, the 'interview' with his web-tech geek, to his 'response' to the enormous amount of comments on the site, is so blatantly un-genuine it is laughable.

Fortunately, it appears I'm not the only one who's noticed the similarity between Cameron and Blair...of course, the irony in me linking to this video is that the chap who made this video is campaigning for UKIP!!

It's looking Wii-lly good

The other day I nipped into PC World to buy some paper, and grabbed a chance to a have a quick go on a couple of Xbox360 demo machines. The two games I played were MotoGP (a motorbike racing game) and Dead or Alive 3 (a beat-em-up). The first thing I noticed was the fact that, on MotoGP, the graphics were nigh-on video quality. I'll be honest, my jaw dropped - I simply couldn't believe how realistic and life-like the game looked. Dead or Alive 3 was more stylised (thus less life-like) but still looked breathtakingly beautiful.

Yet I eventually left the store rather unimpressed. Why? Because, once a certain standard has been reached, graphics just don't make much difference. Superbike 2000 had brilliant graphics, and when played with a joystick, was pretty much all you could ever want from a motorbike racing sim. Is Dead or Alive 3 really much better than Tekken 3, or Soul Caliber? I guess what I'm getting at is, is it worth paying hundreds of pounds for a new system, and £50 each for games to play on it, when the final experience you get isn't much different?

My current thinking is 'no'. Which is why, each time I hear a little more about Nintendo's console, the daftly-monikered 'Wii', I get more and more interested. It's now well-accepted that the graphical power will not be as high as the Xbox360 or the PS3, yet the new control system (which is based around the detection of motion of a wireless controller) opens up an entire new domain of gaming options. Fine, if it works well. Yet from reading reports on the internet (e.g. http://wii.ign.com), it looks like Nintendo, and the various developers who have working on the launch titles, might just pull it off.

In conjunction with the facts that the Wii is likely to cost around £150 at launch (under half the price of the PS3), the games will be around £30 (rather than £50), and many classic Nintendo games of previous consoles will be available for direct download for £5 or £10, Nintendo might actually have a chance of taking top-dog in the console market. Previously I have been a Sony die-hard when it comes to consoles, but unless Sony announce something really revolutionary with the PS3 (and drop the price!), my money might well be going Nintendo's way.

September the 11th

Today is the fifth anniversary on the attack on the twin towers of New York. Remembrance services are being held around the world. But are we remembering the right things? Today's newspaper had some interesting 'official death toll' statistics, based on worldwide activity since 11/9/01:


US citizens killed in terrorist attacks: just under 3000.
US citizens killed in 'the war on terror': just over 3000.


Worldwide deaths due to 'terrorist attacks': just under 5000.
Worldwide deaths due to 'the war on terror': >95,000.


So. While it is right to mourn those who died five years ago today, shouldn't we also be mourning the other 90,000 people who have died, mostly innocent civilians in Iraq and Afganistan?

And while Saddam Hussein deserves to be tried and punished for killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians; why isn't anybody being tried and punished for the deaths of nearly one hundred thousand people who have died thanks to military action that has occured since September 11th?

Biking: Red Bull District Ride 2006

The Red Bull District Ride has just finished it's second round out in Nuremburg, and you can watch the highlights to your heart's content here. It's almost enough to make me want to go out on a street ride again. Though not quite. Pretty amazing stuff but I can't help thinking that, while these guys get a lot of air, in terms of technicality MTBing is still lagging miles behind BMX. The difference is that the MTB scene lacks the hate-everything, individualistic attitude that plagues BMX culture - thus its more corporate image attracts the big name sponsors, which is why a BMX competition has yet to get the run of the centre of a large European city.

It annoys me in a way because there are riders out there really pushing the boundaries of technical MTB-riding, trying to fuse the best parts of MTB-street, BMX-street and dirt-jumping into one package. But people like Ryan Leech, Chris Akrigg and Eddie Tongue are either relegated to bit parts in the latest New World Disorder flick, or have stepped back from the pro-riding limelight, as they're not getting the money/sponsorship/recognition that they deserve.

So, while it's all very impressive seeing the Paul Basagiotas and Cam McCauls of this world pulling a backflip or tail-whip with a gothic cathedral in the background, it's tempered by the fact that they're riding a trail that was blazed by our 20" wheel cousins several decades ago. The money's only there now because of the packaging.

Opinion: 'MySpace sucks'

My good mate Richie 'Scuffboy' Astbury has some strong opinions about MySpace. He's right, you know...