Anti-Mondialisation, Anti-Globalization

Robert Romeo writes:

" I was scanning today's issue of Le Monde and was surprised of the coverage on so many "antimondialisation" hotspots. "Les opposants a la globalisation," writes LeMonde, se sont donnés rendez-vous pour dénoncer les méfaits de la mondialisation sans toutefois parvenir a enrayer les effets."

My comment: This is a good example of French linguistic schizophrenia. As soon as a word appears in English, the French rush to find a French equivalent, even though the English word is of classical origin. There was a similar movement in Germany, where attempts were made to replace French imports with German equivalents, i.e. "stockwerk" for "étage" What is the situation in German now? Although Spain was sharply divided between "afrancesados" and conservatives, I cannot think of a French borrowing which has ben replaced by the conservatives. That may be because French and Spanish are both Romance languages. Do "globalización" and "mundialización" coexist in Spanish?

Incidentally the anti-g or antim-m demonstrators in Pôrto Alegre, Brazil were a throwback to the Luddites who smashed the spinning machines in 19th century Britain. The Pôrto Alegre mob smashed up a Monsanto plant which produces genetically modified seeds. They must have been disappointed that the management had evacuated the plant, thus avoiding a confrontation which would have given them ample TV publicity. The Luddites were swept aside by relentless progress, and the anti-g/anti.m forces may face a similar fate. He who ignores history repeats its mistakes. The word "Luddites" would have been Greek for the Pôrto Alegre mob. Incidentally, how does one say "Luddites" in French?

Ronald Hilton - 1/30/01