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Originally posted by AlphaHumana
Originally posted by Astyanax
language is not an instrument of control; it is an instrument of liberation.
It's not always used in such a way - the clearest example that comes to mind is the RCC's corruption of Latin. This made it so the commoners and even the more learned class could not read the Bible themselves and had to rely on the interpretations (ahem, "control") of the clergy...
...and we all know what happened to Christianity once people were able to read the Bible for themselves [in their own language]...
When language is used as an instrument of control, the control is usually exercised by restricting access to the language.
Originally posted by quintar
I was just pondering how it's pretty much accepted that English is the international language of the entire planet