(Untitled)

[calysto]

The United States almost incorporated Canada into its fold during the U.S. Revolutionary War. If that occurred, would Quebec still predominately speak French? More than likely yes. Which leads me to wonder... if, today, the U.S. had an area as huge as Quebec speaking French... (as well as other parts of what would have been Canada) would Americans

Comments

[eracerhead]

IMO, it is simply incredibly disrespectful to come to a host country to live or work and refuse to at least learn the local language and customs. That's true for everybody.

[thelala]

I wish I could understand why English is considered sacred to Americans. The French are accused of thinking their language is overly important, but it's nothing compared to the sanctity of the English language that exists in the US.

[eracerhead]

So, say for example a language is spoken by 98% percent of a given population. Is that population supposed to accommodate people who don't speak it? If true, then why shouldn't everyone have to learn all 6,912 languages that exist in order to accommodate everyone?

[thelala]

"Is that population supposed to accommodate people who don't speak it?"

This kind of privileged view is pretty unsurprising. As is the claim that if a member of a minority class fails to accommodate you, that must mean that you are somehow accommodating them no matter what you do or don't do.

But this:

"If true, then why shouldn't everyone have to learn all 6,912 languages that exist in order to accommodate everyone?"

How on earth did you get there?

[eracerhead]

I'm not judging anyone's culture, I'm not judging anyone's race. I am judging people's personal CHOICE not to learn the language of their adopted country.

There are 6,912 active languages in the world, so you want everyone in the US the ability to have anything translated into any one of them? Do you want bank ATM machines to give you all those choices? How about "press 3123 for swahili, press 3124 for tengu." Should schools be held to having bi-lingual education in all of them? If not, then which favored languages would you choose? Why should spanish for example be held in any higher regard than farsi, or mandarin?

We use language to communicate, a personal choice to separate oneself from communication with the rest of the country is pure hubris. We cannot accommodate all languages and to separate one or two out is special pleading.

[thelala]

Have you not noticed that nobody is fooled?

I'd actually like to see you continue the completely nonsensical claim that if someone doesn't know your language, then everyone will have to learn 6,912 languages. I'm just fascinated to see if someone somewhere would be nuts enough to get fooled by that one.

The use of the word "choice" is not fooling anybody either. Most anybody on this community understands that when you are a member of an oppressed class, most of what you do is due to necessity rather than choice.

Is it not enough for you that your entire country is designed to accommodate you and your mother tongue? Can't you just enjoy that privilege without insisting that people who don't even affect you in any way whatsoever MUST learn your language, including whatever magic tricks they have to perform to get the resources to do so?

[eracerhead]

[Have you not noticed that nobody is fooled

[gentlemoose]

Have you ever been denied service because you spoke English? I don't mean "have you ever had to juggle a little translation and possibly pantomime" in order to receive service. I mean: "Have you ever been *denied* service because you spoke English?

[eracerhead]

NO. However if I chose to live in another country where the language wasn't english, I would expect to learn it or have difficulty getting services. That is because I would not have the absolute gall to demand my personal choice be accommodated.

[gentlemoose]

You've run into this expectation *where*? It makes good sense for a government, local, regional, or national to cater to its dominant populaces, and the governments I've run into, US included, have done exactly that. Furthermore, I've emigrated and lived as a non-speaker of the prevailing national language(s) twice, and have met nothing but willingness to help me to acclimate myself to my new home. Shit, of the five countries I've lived, I'm currently living in the only one where the majority of the population doesn't speak two languages at a minimum. Die in a fire, you ignorant, isolationist fuck. I'm not kidding. I'm not looking for debate. Go fuck yourself.

[eracerhead]

Get off your high horse and clean up the horseshit you leave in your wake.

[abydosangel]

ROFLMAO!!!

Pot, have you met Kettle?

Try this again when you aren't all frothy over the fact that people aren't conforming to YOUR WHITE STANDARD of approval.

[eracerhead]

Isn't it fun to cast generalizations about people after only 3 posts? You can get your nose out of the air as well.

[thelala]

Yep, me too and I've lived in three. The US is the only country I've visited in which people freak out if someone dares to step over the border into their sacred land without being fluent in their language. Not saying it's every American, by any means, but that kind of behaviour is completely unheard of in every other country I've been to.

[abydosangel]

So.

How about those Puritans? Good thing they picked up on the local lingo so well. I love the fact that First Nations languages are flourishing here in the good ol' US of A.

How privileged is your opinion? /rhetorical

At least pretend that de-constructing white privilege is the goal here.

[eracerhead]

How privileged do you have to feel to expect 90% of the population to accommodate your particular language.