Re: Clarke Award Finalists 1993

James Nicoll wrote:

In article <87v7r5yk1l.fsf@moroka.fritz.box>,
Stephen Harker  <sjharker@aussiebroadband.com.au> wrote:

Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> writes:
>

On 2025-04-14, James Nicoll <jdnicoll@panix.com> wrote:
>

Which 1993 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

>

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

>
... where I learned that English geologic vocabulary is full of German.

>
I understand that is because when in the Medieval period they wanted to
exploit mineral resources they did the usual invite specialists who were
from Germany.  Probably with incentives.

 >
 > My engineer grandfather once mentioned MIT encouraged him to learn
 > German. That would have been the late 1920s, early 1930s.
 >
Foreign language requirements used to be in place for Doctorates at the University of Toronto.
My next-door neighbor actually had his PhD in math delayed several months owing to difficulties understanding spoken French. He switched to German and qualified, but then his first academic post was in the French speaking part of Switzerland.  Which was probably better practice than the lessons he got at U of T.
Physics required proficiency in one of French or German, Chemistry actually required two of French, German, Russian, or Italian.  I felt quite smug about this as I already spoke enough German to get by, but alas, by the time I graduated this was no longer a requirement.
On the other hand, by the  time I graduated perhaps I no longer spoke German well enough.  I certainly don't now.  Unless I am drinking.
William Hyde