U.N.O. AND EASTERN LANGUAGES
SIR,—May I suggest, through you, that the United Nations Organisation should consider the desirability and importance of establishing a section for translating into Oriental and African languages all the chief documents issued by the Organisation? It is of the utmost importance that the peoples of the Middle East, India and the Far East should be enabled to read in their own languages particulars about the deliberations of the United Nations. I should like to point out that there is ready at hand, in London, a college of the university, viz., the School of Oriental and African Studies, which can provide able and scholarly translators to do this work. During the war the fighting services made abundant use of the facilities provided by the School, with gratifying results. Commercial associations and the Post Office also asked the School to undertake translation work ; in the case of the Post Office the number of languages involved was 192.
By providing translations such as I propose, the United Nations Organisation would be showing sympathy with the aspirations of the peoples of the Orient and of Africa, who would appreciate that the Organisation is anxious to promote their interests and welfare. The goodwill and friendship of half The population of the world form too
precious-a prize to be neglected.—Yours faithfully, T. S. STERLING. Authors' Club, 2 Whitehall Court, S.W. r.
Previous page
