Getting books out of the library

[S. aureus]

In a post Brexit world are the foreigners going to continue to write and speak in English for British convenience?

Not sure that it's really for British convenience. Anyway, it's been quite a long time since an anglophone country wasn't the most powerful nation on Earth, and the world has probably changed more in that period than it had for a long time before that (thanks to the industrial revolution). Currently English is the lingua franca for much (most?) of the world's population, and certainly most of the world's wealth so I suppose a question is what would it take to change that? It seems self-perpetuating to me, but it's not something that I've thought about much or am really familiar with.

[Sporting]

In a post Brexit world are the foreigners going to continue to write and speak in English for British convenience?

Danes and the Dutch will continue to converse in English. For example.

[ad hoc]

Yes, people speak English not for British convenience (any more), it;s because it's the lingua franca that everyone knows. I can't see that changing any time soon, and I don't think the steep decline of the most powerful anglophone countries will have much of an impact

[ursus arctos]

The histories of Latin and French are instructive in this respect, as each survived as a lingua franca for many years after their initial promoters lost power (many centuries in the first case).

Also worth noting that China relies heavily on English outside of East Asia.

[Nefertiti2]

but the Lingua franca English they speak is not the one the British speak.
That LFEnglish is what they use when they want to communicate with other nations. What the UK needs to know is what they use when they don't.

[ad hoc]

but the Lingua franca English they speak is not the one the British speak.
That LFEnglish is what they use when they want to communicate with other nations. What the UK needs to know is what they use when they don't.

Agreed. Not arguing with the point about learning languages at all. Just casting doubt on the assumption that with the US in sharp and obvious decline and the UK already very much a non-player globally, that this will mean English stops being the lingua franca

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

Yes, absolutely. Latin was one of the main languages of international academic publication in Europe up to the end of the 18th century. For example, in maths, all Euler's stuff (and thus a chunky proportion of all important 18th century maths, the guy was both super-genius and phenomenally prolific) was in Latin, and as late as 1801 Gauss's first important publication was in Latin. The Romans had really lost their economic and political clout by then.

[Nefertiti2]

Yes, absolutely. Latin was one of the main languages of international academic publication in Europe up to the end of the 18th century. For example, in maths, all Euler's stuff (and thus a chunky proportion of all important 18th century maths, the guy was both super-genius and phenomenally prolific) was in Latin, and as late as 1801 Gauss's first important publication was in Latin. The Romans had really lost their economic and political clout by then.

German was the Most important scientific language of publication before the First World War, and if you wanted to be a serious scholer you needed to be able to read papers in German and French as well as English.

One of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles was to prevent or limit publication in German and from them on English became the dominant language of science

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

One of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles was to prevent or limit publication in German and from them on English became the dominant language of science

Interesting point, Nef. That was a pretty sordid and petty measure, to be sure. But, in isolation (leaving aside wider and longer causal chains which might distract us) it probably merely accelerated something which was going to happen anyway, not least from the 1930s onwards because of the massive shrinking of German science which occurred as the Nazis caused a huge proportion of Germany's best scientists to flee overseas, mainly to the US, whose science standing rose dramatically partly as a result of that.

[Nefertiti2]

I'm not sure you can say that you can completely separate the rise of the Nazis from the Treaty of Versailles. But I was only making the point that before the first world war a British or American scientist would have expected to be able to read French and German if they wanted to function at the highest level

Yes the best scientists fled Germany- largely to Britain and America- but until 1933 there were almost no Jewish Scientists active in either the US or the UK. No Jewish Scientist in the Uk had won a Nobel Prize before 1933, and just one in the US

[Evariste Euler Gauss]

I'm not sure you can say that you can completely separate the rise of the Nazis from the Treaty of Versailles

Indeed. Only a fool would suggest that. Which is why I said "in isolation", i.e. looking solely at the direct consequences of publication restrictions.

Your point about 19th century scientific choice of language is particular prominent in maths. Britain had some great and important applied mathematicians in the 19th century, but contributed almost nothing to pure maths that century compared with the French and the Germans.

[danielmak]

I could swear that there was a discussion at some point about little libraries, where folks set up a box in front of their house so others can take and leave books. Is this a thing outside the US?

Anyway, there is one on the route where I walk my dog. My daughter checks it daily. I mostly do a quick glance and move on because I have too many books in the "to be read pile" already. But today there was a bunch of new stuff from someone who decided they were done with their Beat collection. Included in that mix was a pristine copy of Robert Frank's The Americans (Anniversary edition) with an intro from Kerouac, which I assume is the reason the person had it. I have the hefty Looking In... book, but had not owned this book. I almost missed this because the OBI strip was covering some of the title.

[ursus arctos]

The schools ursus minor attended in Frankfurt and Milan had similar facilities.

I have also red of phone booths being repurposed in Europe, but I can't recall where.

There is a curated collection of several hundred volumes in our communal laundry room. The librarian at my firm was the original curator.

[Wouter D]

I could swear that there was a discussion at some point about little libraries, where folks set up a box in front of their house so others can take and leave books. Is this a thing outside the US?

In my neck of Dutch suburbia, this is absolutely a thing.

[Amor de Cosmos]

I could swear that there was a discussion at some point about little libraries, where folks set up a box in front of their house so others can take and leave books. Is this a thing outside the US?

It came up a few years back. (I think I mentioned it one of the generic threads.) They're big around here. There are three or four household ones ,and the rotary club has one by the old elementary school, all within a block or so of each other. Always interesting to pore over. A genuinely human social nicety I think.

[ad hoc]

Pretty much every village phone box in the UK is now a library of this nature. (or, occasionally, a defibrillator)

[Benjm]

A lot of stations in London in have a bookcase for this purpose, not Oxford Circus and Bank tubes, say, but further out.

[Jobi1]

Became a bit of a thing round my way during lockdown (and still occasionally happens) for people to leave boxes of books out for others to take for free with no expectation of one being left in return. I think our fussy local residents' association weren't keen on it because they thought it looked a bit untidy.

[Furtho]

I've seen book exchanges in communal spaces like church porches, outside village halls, etc. Very common.

[danielmak]

Became a bit of a thing round my way during lockdown (and still occasionally happens) for people to leave boxes of books out for others to take for free with no expectation of one being left in return. I think our fussy local residents' association weren't keen on it because they thought it looked a bit untidy.

The small library boxes can solve the untidy appearance (for people who care about that). Most around me look like little houses, but there is one designed to look like a Dr Who Tardis.

It's interesting because there will be times when the box closest to my apartment will be somewhat full and then a few days later almost all of those books will be gone and different books will be there. These changes lead to a lot of speculation on the part of my daughter and me about some library re-arranger who has decided that it is time to circulate the books, swapping what was in this box with books from another box in a different neighborhood. Perhaps, the person decided that the location/books combo is not working and the demographic in a certain area needs a different selection of books.

[Felicity, I guess so]

I was puzzled by this thread reviving and went back to see where it meandered from its original source.

I have read some of the boxed books now, tho not as many as I'd have liked* and also passed some on to a PhD student at another institution. And we've still got that car.

*In fact I read Annie Ernaux's La Place in one sitting while off ill the other day- I knew it would have an impact and it certainly did.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Oh and I picked up a Duras novel from a neighbourhood windowsill library box in Charleroi in the summer, leaving a copy of Sight and Sound

[danielmak]

I think it meandered a few times. Very rare for OTF. Haha. I went with it last week since the title was closest and I couldn't find the thread that may exist or maybe only existed in my mind.

[Felicity, I guess so]

I'm happy with meandering, too so no blame intended

[caja-dglh]

have got too many books out of the library. I have to pick another up today and already have a line to complete.