Preserving languages as published in Science section

Linguistic science is science since science means knowledge from observation,indeed.

Washington Post,March 16, 2009 on page A7 published A Dinosaur tragedy: A team of US and Chinese paleontologists completed excavating the site in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia. A paper may be searched in Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

Michael Blake,a professor of philosophy and public policy, said languages have always changed. Chinese language reforms include the simplified form but the traditional form is needed for broader coverage to those who are familiar with the traditional form only. There are debates by educators in China recently. "Work and Study Cycle Theory" includes Chinese language reforms, listed at the Library of Congress www.loc.gov for reference.

It would be desirable to be familiar with both the simplified and the traditional form plus the Pin Yin for learning the Chinese language. Such method is being adopted at the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of State with my past experience.

For elaboration,"A Glimpse of the Chinese Language" in English is dedicated for such purpose. It is available at www.rand.org free of charge via PDF as public service.

The philosophy of language would involve etiology and such intellectual pursuit would be interesting and exciting for scholars who might be interested in the classical(as classical as Greek) and modern(as modern as French) language of Chinese with music from the 4 tones in Mandarin and art in calligraphy. Chinese language is a form of art and music for certainty.

Chinese is one of the six official languages in the United Nations and is spoken by most folks in the world since China is the most populous nation in the world.

Francis Shieh a.k.a. Xie Shihao with passion for cultural exchanges of languages as a true means of communication for all folks on earth.

March 16, 2009 at 10.28 a.m.