User:Globish

An immigrant to the United States when I was young, I consider myself a success story and case study for the American Dream (both senses). I think the wiki concept is a great idea despite some reservations. I am not a Scientologist, but I find the phenomenon interesting from a sociological point of view.

The name

I love the word Globish. It sounds so quaint to me. I believe such simplified forms of the language can be useful, but I'm not a fan of "Simple English" wikis. Part of the challenge as a learner of English is tackling native-level content and learning as you go, looking up unfamiliar words and phrases, etc. For those who are not yet versed enough to read the English Wikipedia, there is almost always Wikipedia in their language, and Wikitionary provides an even stronger argument against Simple English since all one has to do is look at the translation matrix and/or click the appropriate link under "other languages".

At the same time, if you don't have a coherent understanding of a language, don't contribute to that language's wiki. We may be part of the Cult of the Amateur, but we should at least strive not to be amateurish. :-)