Bill,
Kids in Europe begin learning English not long after kindergarten, and by the
time they're in the sixth grade, they can speak English much better than the
average American foreign language major can speak the language studied in
college. These elementary school children are not 'erudite.'  They are not
engaging in 'intellectual showing off'. Rather, they have an ardent desire to
learn and use American English because they see in American culture values
they want to make their own. Pound felt the same way about the world's great
literature.  And don't forget that he was a champion of translation.
Tim Romano
 
The thought of what America
The thought of what America
The thought of what America would be like
if the classics had a wide circulation
troubles my sleep...
 
---E.P.
 
 
 
Bill Wagner wrote:
 
>   It always struck me as elitist snobbery... a kind
> of intellectual showing off, as in "see how many languages I know" ...
> aimed at other people who could devote their lives unravelling puzzles
> so they, too, could show off their erudition.
>