The Scourge of English in SPACE RACE

By Dennis D. McDonald

I've been interested in space travel since I was a kid. I still remember Sputnik and the race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to reach the moon. So I looked forward to the National Geographic Channel's Space Race documentary series. It's a great series since it presents -- frequently in a very dramatic fashion -- events that went on behind the scenes in the U.S., Germany, and the Soviet Union.

But the Germans (the series spends a lot of time with Dr. Wernher von Braun) speak English, as do the Russians. It's unnerving. The production values are quite good but the use of English is quite jarring. Otherwise the series is a terrific view behind the scenes in areas that have been quite unknown to the public.

What do you think about this use of English?