Give up
- Thread starter Gonz
- Start date
catocom
Well-Known Member
Gonz said:
Now see, I know he's never been around these parts here on the east coast,
where now Spanish is being taught in grammar school, and I can hardly read
any of the company road signs.
Nope, They may start speaking English, but by then we'll be speaking an off brand of
Spanish called Mexican.
Gonz said:
Dunno.....can't even remember the source I read it from now
And gods know the internet has more than it's fair share of inaccurate info....As for Chirac.......sheesh......he's living in some kinda dreamland, there is nothing wrong with having pride in your own country/culture.....but English has been slowly been assimilated around the world since the first days of the British empire......US culture is slowly being adopted as the planet quickens it's pace in the communication and transportation fields....it's only what has happened umpteen times in history, one culture becomes dominant and other cultures adopt it/aspects of it.
catocom
Well-Known Member
Oz I believe it is probably being adopted at a faster pace now simple because
it is already the primary language on the Air-traffic-controllers, and mostly of
the internet now.
Piss on Chirac though. He's just jealous.
The reason English is like the ATC main language is because it's the most versatile,
or at least that's the excuse.
it is already the primary language on the Air-traffic-controllers, and mostly of
the internet now.
Piss on Chirac though. He's just jealous.
The reason English is like the ATC main language is because it's the most versatile,
or at least that's the excuse.
MrBishop
Well-Known Member
"Vive le Québec libre!"
Chirac isn't the only one shouting out fears about English becomming the predominant language and Anglo-Saxon-Protestant becomming the predominant culture. There are laws in Quebec where there can be no English on outdoor signs unless the font is 1/2 the size of the French and printed below it. There are laws which force kids to go to french schools (unless one of the parents was educated in english in Quebec), in which case...they have the option to send their kids to english schools. The GVT is so afraid that the french language will die off or become subjugated that all web-sites, advertising, company memos etc...MUST be in french before it's in any other language. Importers into Quebec HAVE to have french versions for everything from movies to toys for kids. It's nuts!!
Now...I'm french, but I went to english school. I personally believe that any child who cannot speak english and french is proverbailly fucked. English is the language of international business, the internet, and politics.
I will say this about Chirac though... I too am afraid that the American cultural identity is subjugating local culture all over the place. The capitalist dog-eat-dog mentality is catching. The media is being Americanized, the music, the art, dance etc... it's NOT because of some conspiracy (although i blame MTV, Walmart and McDonalds more often than not) but because it's easy to find the allure in the most powerful country on the face of the earth.
"They must be doing something different...let's emulate them and see if we get rich and powerful too " is causing it.
Chirac isn't the only one shouting out fears about English becomming the predominant language and Anglo-Saxon-Protestant becomming the predominant culture. There are laws in Quebec where there can be no English on outdoor signs unless the font is 1/2 the size of the French and printed below it. There are laws which force kids to go to french schools (unless one of the parents was educated in english in Quebec), in which case...they have the option to send their kids to english schools. The GVT is so afraid that the french language will die off or become subjugated that all web-sites, advertising, company memos etc...MUST be in french before it's in any other language. Importers into Quebec HAVE to have french versions for everything from movies to toys for kids. It's nuts!!
Now...I'm french, but I went to english school. I personally believe that any child who cannot speak english and french is proverbailly fucked. English is the language of international business, the internet, and politics.
I will say this about Chirac though... I too am afraid that the American cultural identity is subjugating local culture all over the place. The capitalist dog-eat-dog mentality is catching. The media is being Americanized, the music, the art, dance etc... it's NOT because of some conspiracy (although i blame MTV, Walmart and McDonalds more often than not) but because it's easy to find the allure in the most powerful country on the face of the earth.
"They must be doing something different...let's emulate them and see if we get rich and powerful too " is causing it.
Though we surprisingly do very well in business. I consider it the other side of the coin. If we are to succeed...we have to work harder at it...become more innovative and business-savvy.
Professur
Well-Known Member
Pratt & Whitney had their majority of production facilities and R&D right here on the south shore of Mtl. Thanks to the Office de la Langue Francaise, they have to spend an average of $100,000 more per engine to have all the documentation translated into french. Despite the fact that not even AirBus nor Aerospatiale want french manuals. P&W have sent the majority of new production to their Edmonton, and Toronto plants, and bought up the majority of the defunct Platsburg AFB for the entire development and production of a new engine line. They've been thinning the quebec herd quietly over the last years, with the intent of removing any part that can be effected by quebec separation and linguistic politics. Other companies have followed suit, including many banks. New companies have made montreal a business hub, while keeping their hq's well out.
Angry Again
Banned
Gonz said:
In the right? Imposing religion and western values upon foreign people is "in the right'?
That statement is beyond prejudice.
World Culture Resists Bowing to Commerce
Jeremy Rifkin Los Angeles Times
July 2, 2001
The advocates of globalization would argue that free and open trade and an expansion of commercial relationships and activities of all kinds are the keys to a brighter future for all. The flaw in this premise lies in the misguided assumption that commerce spurs culture when, in fact, the exact opposite is more often the case.
The new cultural activists would argue that there is not an example in history where people first create commercial relations and then establish a culture. Commerce and government are secondary, not primary, institutions. They are derivative of the culture, not the progenitors of it. People first establish a common language, agreed-upon codes of behavior and a shared sense of purpose--to wit, social capital. Only when cultures are well developed is there enough social trust to support commercial and governmental institutions.
Unfortunately, today, the cultural sector exists in a kind of neocolonial limbo between the market and government sectors. Only by making local culture a coherent, self-aware political force will it be possible to reestablish its critical role in the scheme of human society once again. Indeed, it may be time to establish a World Cultural Organization to represent diverse cultures around the globe, and give the "WCO" an equal footing with the WTO (World Trade Organization) in international affairs.
Some people worry that a resurgent interest in local cultures must inevitably lead to xenophobia and ultra-nationalist sentiment. That doesn't have to be so. If people everywhere come to think of their own cultural resources not as possessions to defend but, rather, as gifts to exchange with one another, then the great human migrations of the 21st century could spawn a cultural renaissance and create the conditions for a truly humane globalization of commerce and trade.
The ability of political leaders to identify with and promote both the interests of the civil society and cultural diversity will be critical to ensuring their relevance and viability in the coming century. This was the lesson being taught by the protesters assembling on the streets of Seattle. It's a lesson that is likely to repeat itself all over the globe.
Angry Again
Banned
Gonz said:
You can wave off original thought and forward thinking as much as you'd like but this war and others to come are imperialistic and destroy ancient cultures as if they had never existed. A 200 year old society lays waste to ancient cultures for what?
Angry Again
Banned
Gonz said:
Once again as on other forums I bring an intelligent dialogue to the table and am handed insults in return. This is the GOP agenda. No substance on issue, attack the character.
Beneath me.
Angry Again
Banned
Gonz said:
I thought I had creditted the writer. Sorry.