Chronology Current Month Current Thread Current Date
[Year List] [Month List (current year)] [Date Index] [Thread Index] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Prev] [Date Next]

Vernacular (was A weighty subject)



We know that Newton, an his contemporaries in many
countries, wrote in Latin. The cause was probably their
desire to promote exchanges of information. But perhaps
it was also a realization that common languages are less
suitable for the purpose.
Ludwik Kowalski

Joel Rauber wrote (in part):

If this is your viewpoint, it seems to me that there is no need to
ever mention the word weight in class. ...

The reply was:

We may decide not to use the word weight (or heat, etc.) but it is part
of language. We can not prevent students from using it. The best we
can do is to focus on the proper use of such words in physics. Or we
we may decide not to teach physics in vernacular. Would Latin be
better than Greek? I am for the vernacular approach.