User:Brat Forelli

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 * width="100%" style="border: 3px solid #0073e6; background-color:#c2d9ef; padding:1em;" colspan="2"|Brat Forelli - also known as Foxite
 * width="65%" style="border: 3px solid #0073e6; background-color:#c2d9ef; padding:1em;" valign="top"|Bio
 * width="65%" style="border: 3px solid #0073e6; background-color:#c2d9ef; padding:1em;" valign="top"|Bio

There are certainly many things that I can say about myself, where should I even start?

I am from Silesia, and I am Silesian. I am a staunch regionalist, communitarian, and even separatist. I was heavily inspired and impressed by the views and works of Leopold Kohr and E. F. Schumacher, and I agree with these fully. So for me Silesia is Silesian, and not Polish, and I wholeheartedly support any autonomist or separatist struggles here.

Apart from Silesian, I also speak Polish, German, English, Dutch and I am learning Spanish. I studied German studies (Germanistyka) in the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and that is where I learned both German and Dutch. I especially like talking in German, I find it quite an expressive language!

I deeply believe that our cultures and languages are our lifeline. The beauty of diversity lies not in a world where everything boils down to individual differences - if everyone would speak the same language, then what would there be really? This would mean that we would have the same thinking patterns, be under the same cultural differences, and intentionally or not, create a dystopian, uniform world. Linguist Peter Trudgill drives the point home: "The barriers to communication are a good thing. I have suggested previously (Trudgill 1975) that such barriers, although penetrable - it is perfectly possible to learn languages other than your native language - help to ensure the survival of different language communities. Thus the separation of the world’s population into different groups speaking different Ianguages helps the growth of cultural diversity, which in turn can lead to opportunities for the development of alternative modes of exploring possibilities for social, political and technological progress. That is, a world where everyone spoke the same language would not only be a very boring place; it would also be a very stagnant place. If the entire population of the world consisted of native speakers of English, it is probable that we would not only all be watching Dallas and drinking Coca Cola, we would also all tend to have the same values, the same ideas, and the same world-view. If it is the case that diversity leads to progress, this is a frightening scenario indeed. (Similar views are expressed in Labov 1972 and in Muhlhausler 1987)."

If not Wikipedia, then I'm really active on Discord these days - feel free to add me, #Foxite7733/foxite. (yes, with the dot included)!