various musings on education

[sophineclaire]

No: HPFGUIDX 59177

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "manawydan" <manawydan at n...> 
wrote:
> An interesting suggestion. But does it also suggest that there is a 
school
> for every language? Or even every European language? Even the 
(muggle) UK
> has four living (more if you count revived) native languages on top 
of
> English - conceivably the WW has even more!
> 
> Though although Hogwarts is located in Scotland, it's neither a 
Gaelic nor a
> Scots-language school



The students aren't speaking Shakespearean English either, 
considering the oft made statement that wizarding culture, in the UK 
at least, is stuck in the middle ages. I suppose another issue that 
this brings up is the place of the school in wizarding culture. Could 
a school dictate the language spoken by the wizards within that 
district? How would Muggleborns who do not speak the accepted 
language of the school adapt if at all.
   
   Which makes me think of Drumstrang and their no muggle-borns 
policy. If tthe school sticks to one language, Drumstrang probably 
gets away with that policy by saying that muggleborns who do not 
speak that language are not allowed to entered while Wizarding 
children who are already in the know have studied the Drunmstrang 
choosen language for most of their lives.  

I disagree with the comment that the WW has even more languages as a 
pure wizarding community. Yes, there will be introduction of new 
languages by muggleborns and half and halfs, but if the population 
numbers have been calculated are correct, I think the WW is limited 
to a main language per school district then you have your dialects 
and other languages that people may speak in the home or in the 
wizarding equivalent of ethnic communities come in afterwards at much 
smaller numbers.

-SophineClaire





This essay makes and interesting point about Hogwarts at the end...
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon/essay-durmstrang_lang.html