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Posted by David Segall on 01/19/06 20:37
"Alan J. Flavell" <flavell@physics.gla.ac.uk> wrote:
>My American colleague gets very upset about that, too, muttering dark
>imprecations about delusions of colonial grandeur, Boston Tea Party
>and such. Naturally, he'd use the stars and stripes to denote the
>language. And there's more of them, and they tend to have an even
>narrower view of international relations...
Indeed they do, but all of them instantly recognize the Union Jack as
the icon to choose if they want to be able to read some text. It's a
good example of national sensitivity but not a good reason to drop the
icon. If he is willing to accept the use of "America" as a synonym for
the United States of America, ignoring the other 24 countries, then he
can put up with using the Union Jack as the icon for the English
language.
>
>And English is not the only indigenous national language spoken (and
>written) in the United Kingdom.
That's a good example of misplaced logic. Thousands of Coca-Cola
bottles are used to contain water but in its iconic form it represents
Coca-Cola.
>
>> It is a triumph of misplaced logic and ethnic/national sensitivity
>> over communication.
>
>If it amuses you to think so. Which language does the Indian flag
>represent in your universe, by the way?
That's another good example of misplaced logic. Because the Union Jack
and the French flag are instantly recognised as icons for a particular
language does not mean that all flags must have a meaning as icons for
a language.
An icon acquires a meaning of its own. The swastika has been used as a
symbol for three thousand years but if you choose to put one on your
web site you know how it will be interpreted. The same applies to the
Union Jack and I think that makes it very useful. The fact that it
happens to be the flag of a particular country is irrelevant.
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