I'm jumping in here mid stream, with a back log of emails unread, but just wanted to bring in something to think about, from another discipline. Aviation. English is the standard language world wide. And this helps keep air traffic safe (there are language issues and there are incidences, but a common language helps.
"Although local languages are sometimes used in ATC communications, the default language of aviation worldwide is English. Controllers who do not speak this as a first language are generally expected to show a certain minimum level of competency with the language. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_traffic_controller) The International Civil Aviation Organisation has decreed that from 1 January 2008 all Air Traffic Controllers and Flight Crew Members engaged in or in contact with international flights must be proficient in the English language as a general spoken medium and not simply have a proficiency in standard ICAO Radio Telephony Phraseology. This has important implications for all aircrew and controllers. Those who do not have proficiency must acquire it by that date or risk removal from international flight routes. ( http://www.aviation-esl.com/ICAO_English.htm) So, I don't see it as "a bit selfish" I see it as "safe" and "effective" and making sense. Well, I can see it as selfish in that it keeps more of us alive longer. Hope this helps. Joanne > thing"... By "right thing" I mean that I'm sure Hungarian semantic-webbers > would have quite something to say about a decision to make the URI "partOf" > rather than "A_0001" + multi-lingual labels. It's a bit selfish of us > English-speakers to create global infrastructures just for ourselves... na? > > > ++1!! > > And the HCLS domains are filled with examples where label-URI would not work: > for example, hypothetical proteins > (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothetical_protein), would not be named are > not named and yet we know they exist. > > Should we give these hypothetical proteins a numeric URI but all other > proteins a name? How about when they are "graduated" into real proteins? > Should everyone just stop using the hypothetical-protein-URI and change into > the newly named protein-name-URI? > I think that would be a recipe for disaster :-) >
