[scribus] Bleed & crop marks

[John Culleton]

On Sunday 02 January 2011 08:55:01 Jim Ford wrote:
> On 12/29/2010 3:00 AM, John Jason Jordan wrote:
> > Still, it does embarrass me when an English speaker tries to
> > force English on others. The only thing special about English is
> > that its speakers have a lot of financial and political power
> > these days. As a language it sucks. No one can pronounce the
> > English r, not even all native speakers. Its spelling is a joke
> > that not even the French can fathom. And the insanity of what
> > passes for its grammar is legendary.
> >
> > OK, I guess I've insulted most everyone now. Time to shut up.

Chauvinism aside (that's my French reference for the day) both Modern 
English and Modern French are blends of Romantic and Germanic 
languages, with a sizable shot of Celtic remnants. The dominance of 
English on the internet and elsewhere is not based on  any inherent 
virtue but on the need for a common language, any common language. 
The internet grew out of Arpanet, which involved the U.S. Defense 
Department and some U.S. universities, and the habit of using English 
as the Lingua Franca stuck. 

They tell the story about ancient Ireland where two bards of high 
repute were to engage in a contest to see which was greater. Hundreds 
flocked to hear this classic confrontation, only to discover that the 
contest was conducted in a language that only bards understood. 

And during the height of the Cold War and the space race when a 
diplomat was asked what language the first men on the moon would speak, 
he replied diplomatically "Broken English".  Since both Soviet and 
American space programs depended on imported German scientists the 
prediction was guaranteed to be accurate. 

Those of us who are English monoglots are grateful if posts in other 
languages are translated for us, so that we can benefit from the 
exchange of information. That said, there is perhaps less here than  
meets the eye about this issue. It is what it is. 

-- 
John Culleton
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