We have a fantastic and, in many ways, groundbreaking issue for you this month. The theme, as you have probably noticed, is Education. This is a fascinating topic in itself (and I'm sure you'll enjoy all the feature articles), but this issue is special for several other reasons. This is the first time which we have accepted submissions in different languages, and thereby approaching our goal of becoming a truely international magazine. Our language policy is quite simple: writers may submit in any language, but we will only publish it if we can find someone to translate it into English (for free). This issue has articles in English and Esperanto (there are also a few pages in French). If you'd like to help with translation, please e-mail me at editor@teletimes.com.
This issue also sports a new look for the magazine. We still use the beautiful freehand icons of Anand Mani, but as you see we've intensified the use of graphics and have made a considerable effort to abandon "rectangular" images which we are all used to on the WWW. You'll also notice that we've slightly modified the navigation bar so that is appears at the top and bottom of each page along with new translation buttons. In order to view Teletimes in all its glory, we highly reccomend that you use the latest version of Netscape for your computer. If you are using Netscape, you'll notice that there are no blue borders surrounding clickable images. Instead, icons on your screen which are clickable will appear to float (they will cast a shadow) or they will somehow look 3D.
Finally we've also added a new section to Teletimes simply called "World." This section will contain articles from all over the world on any topic that deals with issues on a local level. In a way, the articles will be similar to feature articles, only not dealing with the theme of a given issue.
Well, enjoy this issue and please send us some feedback through our online response card.
Ian Wojtowicz, Vancouver, Canada
editor@teletimes.com
Now it's getting to the point where, if e-mail had physical substance, my mailbox would on some mornings be bulging at the seams. E-mail indeed from all over the world -- Russia, Japan, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Poland, Portugal, Great Britain, Finland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, South America (still looking for more contributors from the south) and of course Canada and the USA. There's a kid inside me that says, gee whiz, this stuff actually works -- people can communicate over immense distances, and instead of weeks for snail mail to deliver something from the other side of the planet, responses arrive within a day.
But you know all that. These facts are fascinating, but our devices are only a means to an end. And despite the wonders of technology, a stubborn fact has been increasingly rubbed into my face, and that is: communication between human beings still depends primarily on language. Now I hadn't anticipated dealing with language issues, which in retrospect I realize was very naive of me. I think I assumed that since Teletimes is primarily an electronically distributed magazine, hence in the realm of high technology, and since the primary medium of high technology appears to be English, I therefore would only have to deal with English. Imagine my surprise when first confronted with a text almost entirely in Spanish. Then there was a posting from someone in Russia, who said that while he understood English, he would really prefer to write in Russian or Esperanto. Esperanto! I was astonished.
To explain my astonishment, I'll have to back up a little. When I was in high school I had considerable interest in languages (though I must admit I never got very far in any of them), even attempted to invent one. I was surprised and delighted to discover one day that someone had already done so, more than a hundred years ago now. I found an ancient battered textbook in Esperanto, and spent a few weeks absorbing what I could from it. I learned that an eye doctor in Poland invented Esperanto as an easy-to-learn language to facilitate international communication. Discouraging opinions from some of my elders eventually led me to drop the language, concluding that it must be only one of those charming but quaint 19th century idealisms that were swept away by the harsh devastations of the 20th. And now here it was again, in 1995, appearing in the extremely 20th century milieu of the Internet. I soon found out that Esperanto even has its own newsgroup.
Perhaps it is the international idealism of most Esperantists that has led some of them to respond so generously to my subsequent postings in their newsgroup. Some of them even saw my postings in other newsgroups devoted to various countries and cultures. That in itself was an eye-opener, by the way, all those newsgroups filled with ASCII text in other languages. I'm glimpsing the future here, and it isn't all in English, that is certain.
Whether or not Esperanto or some other language achieves international acceptance among the countries of the world, the problem that faces International Teletimes is a very practical one. You have to know the language of the person you wish to talk to, or vice versa, in order to communicate. The trouble is, there are a lot of languages out there: one estimate suggests more than 200 major languages, and that's not including the innumerable "dialects" that are nevertheless the mother tongues of many people. Any endeavour that strives to become truly international in its scope, must somehow confront this fact. Teletimes of course intends to do so.
Although I hope that the unexpected and new-found relationship between Esperantists and Teletimes will continue and flourish, the question remains: how can we help give voice to those whose language is not English? As my contribution to that end and in addition to acting as Features Editor for International Teletimes, I've taken on the task of dusting off and expanding my knowledge of Esperanto in order to serve as translator from that language. Our policy at Teletimes now is to publish both the English version of an article and its original language version, if we can find a way to translate it. We are also open to developing other language versions, and a French edition is in the works already.
We are committed to this process because the goals of International Teletimes include providing a vehicle for viewpoints from all around the world, from every culture. If we were to accept submissions only in English, the effect would be to limit that expression. Yet we simply do not have the capacity, financial or otherwise, to translate every conceivable text. We cannot do it alone. And yes, here's the pitch -- we welcome translators who would like to help out, either by translating texts from their language into English, or vice versa. English will undoubtedly remain central to Teletimes for the foreseeable future, but we will do everything we can to expand the scope of our magazine, in our ongoing efforts to make it truly international. Do I sense a future theme for Teletimes? Indeed, our November 1995 issue will have Language as its theme. I encourage all our readers and contributors to reflect on this very important topic.
In the meantime, the world is full of fascinating viewpoints and cultural experience. Our next issue's theme is religion, a topic sure to set many hearts and minds churning with many thoughts and reactions. Well, we're ready to hear from you. Give us your viewpoint, tell us something about your experience with religion, whether as a believer or non-believer, whether you are strongly influenced by it, or merely an astute observer of faith and practice in your country. What role does religion play in your country and culture? Are there more than one? How do these interact? Please bear in mind that Teletimes is not a forum for proselytizing -- it is a vehicle for the open discussion of many viewpoints and varieties of experience.
I hope you will continue to find International Teletimes a useful and intriguing vehicle for assisting your own adventures into the outer reaches of knowledge and understanding.
Marvin Entz, Vancouver, Canada
marvin_entz@mindlink.bc.ca