[Ltru] Use of the string "microlangauges"

Hi -

As co-chair...

> From: "Marion Gunn" <mgunn@egt.ie>
> To: "LTRU Working Group" <ltru@ietf.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:05 AM
> Subject: Re: [Ltru] Re: extlang
>
> On 29 Aug 2007, at 13:13, scríobh John Cowan:
>
> > Note that it's the "microlanguages" (not an official term), the
> > languages
> > encompassed by macrolanguages, that are handled by extlang subtags...
> >
>
> I strongly object to the use of the above unofficial term, which John

On what grounds?  If the string '"microlanguages" (not an official term)' is
objectionable to you as a shorthand for "language tag which are constructed
by joining an extlang representing an macrolanguage and an additional subtag
to identify the specific language" (or something like that), please suggest a concise
alternative suitable for use in our discussion.

> Cowan is now using this list to promote (as evidenced in a recent msg
> from him, as cited below) and I believe that, if the administrators
> of this list _fail_ to deprecate his use of such an objectionable
> term, that this may be an appropriate time for representatives of the
> National Bodies of governments of the countries whose indigenous
> languages he has so denigrated (by his deliberate use of said
> unofficial term) to withdraw any provisional support they may have
> given until now to the use of the term "macrolanguages" (because that
> provisional support for treating that term as "official" would seem
> to be providing the opportunity to use an objectionable word to
> denigrate languages without even naming them).
...

Participation in the IETF is by individuals, not National Body representatives.
Calls such as this are meaningless.  We use "unofficial terms" all the time.
Honestly, I completely fail to see how "microlanguage" (formed by obvious
analogy from "macrolanguage") to describe language tags formed in a
particular way could be though to "denigrate" a language.

Randy

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