Not Voice of America, not anymore, at least not in the core vocabulary VOA uses in its “Special English” broadcasts meant to teach our lingo abroad and - in the war of ideas — represent the American way of life.
As Senator Tom Coburn observes, under the heading “Your Tax Dollars at Work,” on his web site as ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, VOA has now removed the word “capitalism” from its 1,500 word lexicon of Special English.
Shouldn’t we leave it to America’s enemies to delete a word like that from our broadcasts?
Note: The last time I posted a comment critical of VOA, I received a letter of protest from the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, James Glassman — formerly a commentator who over the years has written eloquently in defense of capitalism. I can only hope that in this case he would agree — while “capitalism” is a long word, it is probably far more vital to the basic American message abroad than any number of words which have just survived the VOA special English vetting process, such as “ecology,” “evaporate,” “parachute,” or “guerrilla.”
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1. Mark Ducharme:Capitalism huh? So what you’re saying is, anyone who doesn’t believe in absolute and uncorruptable laissez faire capitalism as the only way to go, economically, is a “phony disseminator of Americanism”? Wait until Harry Reid hears about this! There is simply no telling how many senators he’ll mobilize to scribble their names on a piece of paper in order to protect the public from you.
Look out Miss Rosett, God hath no wrath like a senator with nothing better to do.
Seriously though,my skin crawls every time I read a story like this.(what was that one about us funding anti-American broadcasting in Iraq?) I stil can’t help but wonder if God -you know, the one who helps them that help themselves- is keeping score, and sooner or later will lift His providential hand and let us get our comeuppance. Or has it started already? You know, if we make it w/o a major kaboom, right here in the states, the American military will have surpassed, by far, the few who were owed so much, by so many. Nah, aint gonna happen, those Brits paid their dues and that subprime we’ve been defaulting on is about to be called back, in spades.
Jan 11, 2008 - 2:22 am 2. Letitia King:January 11, 2008
Dear Ms. Rosett,
You are mistaken to suggest that the Voice of America eliminated the word capitalism from its lexicon. VOA does use the word capitalism on air and regularly reports on the American economic system.
The Special English Word Book is a guide for the audience learning English to words that are used on air without further explanation or definition. Since the Word Book sticks to about 1,500 words, there are regular updates that include additions and deletions.
Your concerns about coverage of the American economic system are unfounded. Recent Special English reports include:
- How businesses are organized in the U.S., explaining corporations, partnerships and individual proprietorships.
- How Junior Achievement teaches American students about the American business system, including how companies develop products and sell shares.
- Explanation of the U.S. Bond Market.
- Ways that Americans invest their money, including mutual funds, community investing and socially responsible investing.
- Explanations of mergers and acquisitions among corporations.
This is just a snapshot. VOA has broadcasts in regular English and 44 other languages.
In the future, it’s easy to check with VOA to get the facts straight, and avoid inacurracies or misinterpretations. Anyone can come visit VOA to see for themselves the outstanding work our journalists and broadcasters do providing reliable news and information about the U.S. and the world to an audience of more than 115 million people.
Sincerely,
Letitia King
Jan 11, 2008 - 4:24 pm 3. Mark Ducharme:Acting Director
Office of Public Affairs
Uh oh, looks like Glassmans’ got a new shill!
Jan 11, 2008 - 10:27 pm 4. R. S. Ellis:Notice the removal of the word from the ’suggested’ vocabulary list for Third World countries is predicated on the fact VOA had already stopped using the word–which is inexcusable. Capitalism is the necessary agent of change for the corrupt economies in the Third World and perhaps the last hope that anything salvageable will come from these sinkholes of self-inflicted human misery. VOA can say all they want, but this act is a great anecdote that illustrates the problem with U.S. public diplomacy–an embarrassment of the U.S. policies that make this country great.
If I were a VOA manager and saw the report that Capitalism was not making its way into Third World broadcasts, instead of removing it from my broadcaster’s list, I would pull in the staff of these broadcasting outfits and tan their hides for not talking enough about it.
Jan 13, 2008 - 4:08 pm