l'exception culturelle

Sometimes I get lost in translation.

Here's a helpful guide, English to French:

NHL=LNH

AIDS=SIDA

WTO=OMC

WTF=OMG

I found this great article on the perceived decline of the French language and thought about Classical music. First the article: on one side was a nationalist newspaperman who bemoans the foreign influence on both the language and the culture; on the other, there's the International Organization of the Francophonie that celebrates French around the world--like in Africa where it is often the most common language from among the hundreds.

The lesson is that French is thriving--albeit not in the way the French themselves want it. The French like their language like they like their gardens: carefully structured and manicured. But right now it's overgrowing its bounds. And, just like some in America are concerned about the influx of Spanish, they, too, are concerned about invasive species.

It made me realize that the ebbs and flows of cultures are intimately tied to their language--as well as their music. The Classical music concert tradition is a subculture that seems to be similarly waning. I don't think it will die out completely (even as it's audience members die off) but is in transition with a downward slope. There was a time, probably at the height of the Romantic period, when Classical music was almost popular in the "pop music" sense. The genre may never achieve such popularity again but that's no reason to assume that it will go away forever. The music will live on even though the language is no longer a living language.

So much to process; I keep procrastinating. I'll hopefully have a summary of events--still from the funeral all the way through Resonate--up soon.