[Foundation-l] Re: [Wikipedia-l] Re: Quenya language request, and Chinese Wikipedia again

[Mark Williamson]

On Thu, 10 Feb 2005 18:06:23 -0800 (PST), Christopher Mahan
<chris_mahan at yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> --- Mark Williamson <node.ue at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > > > It angers me very much that you don't take this into
> > consideration
> > >
> > > Mark, woah, come down, unplug the computer and take a walk around
> > the
> > > building or something.
> > >
> > > I don't think Jimbo is siding one way or another. I suggest that
> > you
> > > contact a chinese linguistics professor at some fancy university
> > and
> > > get his expert advice. I know Jimbo listens to the voice of
> > reason,
> > > and getting all emotional is not the path.
> >
> > As I noted in my previous e-mail, both myself and Stirling Newberry
> > have quoted experts, and I have suggested reading materials.
> 
> Obviously not expert enough. Ask the Chinese embassy for an official
> statement.

The Chinese embassy will tell you many things, including "There is
only one Chinese language" and "Taiwan is a province of China". They
may both be true in the mind of PRC and the UN, but they're certainly
not based on reality.

> > > I also think that there has not been a hard and fast rule made.
> > Thigs
> > > are still in discovery mode.
> >
> > It's not the decision that irritates me, it's the reasoning and
> > what
> > appears, at least to me, to be ignorance.
> 
> Get off your high horse and pony up half a million dollars and 5000
> man hours for wikipedia and then we'll talk about ignorance.

I said ignorance, not lack of generosity. I would not hesitate to call
Mother Teresa ignorant if I found out that she had done something I
perceived to be ignorant.

> Chinese wikipedia will sort itself out. Like they say: "Under the
> Manchus for 500 years, can wait 10 more."

Yes, it will sort itself out because eventually under increasing
pressure from linguistic imperialists like Andrew, local Chinese
vernaculars will be gone completely.

Mark