Google Sparks French Warcry

[onedomino]

Google must be panicked by the threat of war with France. How will they handle such a massive surrender?

Google "Library" Sparks French Warcry
Fri Feb 18,12:01 PM ET
By Timothy Heritage

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050218/od_uk_nm/oukoe_france_usa_google_1

PARIS (Reuters) - France's national library has raised a "warcry" over plans by Google to put books from some of the world's great libraries on the Internet and wants to ensure the project does not lead a domination of American ideas.

Jean-Noel Jeanneney, who heads France's national library and is a noted historian, says Google's choice of works is likely to favour Anglo-Saxon ideas and the English language.

He wants the European Union to balance this with its own programme and its own Internet search engines.

"It is not a question of despising Anglo-Saxon views ... It is just that in the simple act of making a choice, you impose a certain view of things," Jeanneney told Reuters in a telephone interview on Friday.

"I favour a multi-polar view of the world in the 21st century," he said. "I don't want the French Revolution retold just by books chosen by the United States. The picture presented may not be less good or less bad, but it will not be ours."

Jeanneney says he is not anti-American, and that he wants better relations between Europe and the United States. But like French President Jacques Chirac, he says he wants a multi-polar world in which U.S. views are not the only ones that are heard.

His views are making waves among intellectuals in France, where many people are wary of the impact of American ways and ideas on the French language and culture.

But he says he has heard nothing from politicians in Paris or Brussels, days before U.S. President George Bush (news - web sites) visits the European Union's headquarters and NATO (news - web sites).

"On the eve of George Bush's arrival in Europe, the president of the National Library of France is sounding a warcry ... he is seeking a French and European crusade," Le Figaro newspaper said on Friday.

California-based Google Inc. said last December it would scan millions of books and periodicals into its popular search engine over the next few years.

Its partners in the project are Harvard University, Stanford University, Oxford University, the University of Michigan and the New York Public Library.

Google says the project will promote knowledge by making it more easily and more widely accessible. It aims to make money by attracting people to its Web site and to its advertisements.

The impact this might have on attendance at world libraries is not yet clear. But Jeanneney expressed his concerns in an article published by Le Monde newspaper late last month.

"Here we find a risk of crushing domination by America in defining the idea that future generations have of the world," he wrote, urging the EU to act fast.

He pushed his campaign forward this week by announcing the national library would make editions of 22 French periodicals and newspapers dating back to the 19th century available on the Internet.

 

[dilloduck]

Google must be panicked by the threat of war with France. How will they handle such a massive surrender?

They could report Google to the Internet Office of Equality of Information couldn't they ?? :rotflmao:

 

[Annie]

They could have their own sections:

All things Anti-American

Why France Should Decide All Things

:teeth:

 

[theim]

HAHA! YES!

Thats it frogs! Cry to your beloved EU.

 

[Merlin1047]

Perhaps Chirac can put in a call to Al Gore. With a little collaboration between the two, they might be able to invent the french internet.

 

[CSM]

I thought the French warcry was "WE SURRENDER!"

 

[Wolfe]

I thought the French warcry was "WE SURRENDER!"

It was and still is their national motto! The French are a bunch of has beens and will never be more than a second rate power ever again. French is a dying language and it's only a matter of a few years before it dies off completely.

 

[padisha emperor]

About the language

COLOURS :
red : France
dark orange : french is mother language
orange : french is officially language
yellow : french isan important language
squares : french minorities.



About the wars.
If france was a nation of cowards, how do France too have these territories.
If you want some victories, I alrerady post here in the thread" Europe".

 

[Wolfe]

Sorry but French does even make the top ten languages anymore. As far as Canada is concerned its only French in Quebec. The rest of Canada could not be more English. Vietnam has put French behind them and use only English now. Even France, the home of the French language is using more an more English thanks to the European Union. And Africa well...not much there.

 

[padisha emperor]

Wolfe, for Canada, I agree, i never said something against what you meant.


For Africa : you're wrong : Go to Morocco, and speak in French with some people, a lot will answer to you in french.

All the old french càolonies speak again french, but not at the same scale : look at the second map, here is the scale.

For the "french french", i think i'm better positionned to speak about it, no ?

French use english words, but some of them are in fact ancient french words, taken by english, and then taken by french - like "ticket", "tennis", "budget".....

the young use some english words, but be sure that in the official things - and here are also comptabilizated the class exams, the weekly tests at shools.... - if you use english words, wow, bad mark.

There is more french words in english than english words in french.

 

[Said1]

Sorry but French does even make the top ten languages anymore. As far as Canada is concerned its only French in Quebec. The rest of Canada could not be more English. Vietnam has put French behind them and use only English now. Even France, the home of the French language is using more an more English thanks to the European Union. And Africa well...not much there.

So I take it you're living in Quebec, but not a "True Blue"?
Atlantic Canada is pretty french, so is Ontario, and Southern Manitoba.

 

[Wolfe]

So I take it you're living in Quebec, but not a "True Blue"?
Atlantic Canada is pretty french, so is Ontario, and Southern Manitoba.

Certainly the bulk of French Canadians live in Quebec with minor populations in the other provinces.

 

[Said1]

Certainly the bulk of French Canadians live in Quebec with minor populations in the other provinces.

If you don't mind me asking, what part of Quebec are you from?

 

[Wolfe]

I live in the "great" city of Montreal.

 

[Said1]

I live in the "great" city of Montreal.

I smell sarcasm. You don't like Montreal,move.

 

[Wolfe]

I smell sarcasm. You don't like Montreal,move.

Its not so much sarcasm as it is understanding that Montreal is no longer the city it used to be. Toronto can lay claim as the most vibrant city in Canada. In fact when politics were really bad here in Quebec a lot of English Montrealers moved west to Toronto. Our loss was their gain.

 

[Said1]

In fact whne polotics were really bad here in Quebec a lot of English Montrealers moved west to Toronto. Our loss was their gain.

You seem sort of young, are you refering to the early '90s?

 

[Wolfe]

You seem sort of young, are you refering to the early '90s?

the 80's and 90's. A lot went in the 80's though and they took with them money, ambition and a desire to succeed. Montreal has never really recovered from the drain.

 

[Said1]

the 80's and 90's. A lot went in the 80's though and they took with them money, ambition and a desire to succeed. Montreal has never really recovered from the drain.

Yes, the results of Bourassa's Bill 22 and 101, and the referendum. The genius of Quebec's politicians at work.