Berne, Switzerland: EACTS and International English
After the Stockholm meeting of EACTS I stepped down as President and took up my duties as chair of EACTS Thoracic Committee. That is my task until 2009. I write now from Berne in Switzerland where I am representing EACTS at one of the association’s dedicated Thoracic Meetings. Under the leadership of Ralph Schmid we are enjoying a three-day course on Robotics.
The Da Vinci system is delightful to drive. Light touch movements of the surgeon’s fingers translate into accurate and tremor free gyrations of elegant instruments viewed in brilliant light in a three dimensional field. If you like VATS you’ll love this.
Participants are from all over the world including Australia, Hong Kong, India and Iran and several European countries: Austria, England, Holland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey. EACTS is truly international, providing the biggest gatherings of thoracic and cardiac surgeons world wide.
The language of EACTS is International English. If that needs an explanation it is given by none better than Akira Furuse who as President of The Asian Society for Cardiovascular Surgery reminded us of the distinction to be made between International English and the English native speakers use. His essay on the subject is well worth reading again to remind ourselves of the principles of International English:
http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/newsandviews/inmyopinion/articles/article-28.html
Native speakers instinctively include allegories, sporting analogies, idiom and slang that can be hard to understand if you do not share their culture. I do not understand many American references, particularly to their native sports, even though I speak English. Native English whether American of British may be difficult to understand by the surgeon who speaks English as a second (or third, fourth or fifth) language. I know EACTS members who speak eight, nine or ten languages. That does not mean that I should expect them to understand obscure references to the game of cricket
EACTS embraced International English from the outset. The “founding fathers” came from several different countries and many EACTS members have made their careers in a country far from that of their birth. The geographical spread of surgeons attending in Berne made me grateful yet again that I can speak in my mother tongue but it reminded me that the “dialect” and vocabulary I use should be International English.
EACTS Thoracic will be in Venice next from 8th – 10th March and then at Technocollege and the Annual Meeting in Geneva in September 2007.