Jackie Danicki

On Saturday, Antoine went to the Café-philo à l’Institut français without me, because sitting in on philosophical discussions conducted totally in French (which I have done more than my fair share of, thanks) makes me frustrated with my lack of fluency. (Honey, how DOES one say “Bullshit!” in French? I forget.) The group ended up talking about whether it is possible to divorce one’s mother tongue (”How French is THAT?” Antoine laughed when he got home), and from what he reported, it sounded very interesting. I would especially have liked to hear the bits from linguistics professors and teachers about how children raised in bilingual or trilingual environments pick up multiple languages with speed and ease that varies depending on the order of their birth. (Something about how younger kids can get easily confused by their older siblings speaking fluently in more than one language, and not knowing why - for example - “he is” and “il est” are the same thing.)

Sometimes Café-philo is in French and sometimes it’s in English, and this Saturday it’s in English. I’m sooo glad I booked a late flight to LAX, because it means I won’t miss what is sure to be a corker of a debate:

Café Forum: Does Privatisation Bring Efficient and Affordable Public Services?
Margie Jaffe & Helen Disney
(In English | free) 24 February 2007 - 10.30am
Location: Le Bistrot

A mantra of most governments, international agencies and experts for two decades, privatisation of public services is now loudly challenged. Margie Jaffe, Policy Officer of Unison, is among the doubters; Helen Disney, President of the Stockholm Network, firmly believes in the private sector. Come and join us for a passionate debate, and take sides.

Email Christian Michel on cmichel AT cmichel DOT com for more information, or just show up.

L’Institut français is in South Kensington, a stone’s throw (as Christian is fond of saying) from the Tube station, very easy to reach and with lots of nice restaurants for lunch afterwards. Unless I’ve REALLY procrastinated on packing for this trip, I’ll be there.

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