Re: NATLANG: English Homework - Keeping alive languages of minoriti...

In a message dated 3/6/2005 11:29:24 AM Eastern Standard Time,
kingbiscuitglk@C... writes:

>I saw an article yesterday (I'll dig it up) discussing the decline of
>indigenous languages, for example in Madagascar there are 23 such
>langauges but they are declining rapidly since Portuguese became the
>official language upon thier independence in '75.

In conlang@yahoogroups.com, Doug Dee <AmateurLinguist@A...> wrote:

>>Just because I enjoy nit-picking:  You wrote "Madagascar" but the
>>article you then posted is about Mozambique.

The comment puzzled me, too, not because of the subject of the
article, but rather because I'm sure that the lingua franca of the
Malagasy Republic is French.  My first thought was, "Whoops, I got
that one wrong!"  But, on reflection, I don't think the Portuguese
ever occupied the island.  In any case, the French were the last
colonizers.

Charlie
http://wiki.frath.net/user:caeruleancentaur