Monday, January 17, 2005, 18:11 GMT
Quebecs = Quebec
What are the minority language policies in your country?
Tuesday, January 18, 2005, 14:55 GMT
I don't know why we bother promoting other languages in daily use. I think it would be better if we got everyone to speak one language. That might actually lead to world peace and better global communications. You know, like on Star Trek.
Keep the other languages for historical purposes but I think everyone should learn English or maybe Japanese or Chinese.
Keep the other languages for historical purposes but I think everyone should learn English or maybe Japanese or Chinese.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005, 19:29 GMT
Thursday, January 20, 2005, 01:39 GMT
Klingon might be a better choice. From what I have heard it has a much more interesting syntax.
You wouldn't believe the amount of literature being translated into it. It's got to be more popular than Esperanto (and probably more practical too).
You wouldn't believe the amount of literature being translated into it. It's got to be more popular than Esperanto (and probably more practical too).
Thursday, January 20, 2005, 14:12 GMT
Klingon? Isn't that just a made up TV language? Surely you can't actually have a conversation in it?
Thursday, January 20, 2005, 15:19 GMT
The Klingons manage to hold conversations in it. ;) However I read somewhere that one couple (of questionable sanity) tried to teach their child Klingon, but had to give up because it lacked words for "sofa", "table", etc.
Thursday, January 20, 2005, 19:56 GMT
This is fascinating. Has anyone here actually seen a Klingon syntax or a dictionary? Is it based on any real language?
Thursday, January 20, 2005, 23:11 GMT
Friday, January 21, 2005, 00:24 GMT
That's scary.
Friday, January 21, 2005, 14:43 GMT
Scary doesn't begin to cover it.
Trekkies never fail to baffle me with their devotion to the cause.
Trekkies never fail to baffle me with their devotion to the cause.
Saturday, January 22, 2005, 06:36 GMT
Equally scary is the Vulcan Language Institute website:
http://home.teleport.com/~vli/vlif.htm
I wonder if these people realize that Star Trek is (science) fiction.
http://home.teleport.com/~vli/vlif.htm
I wonder if these people realize that Star Trek is (science) fiction.
Saturday, January 22, 2005, 06:49 GMT
How do you people even know about these sites?
Sunday, January 23, 2005, 21:34 GMT
Ah, la belle France. Liberté, fraternité, egalité!
- The CSA, based in Paris, which decides for the attribution of frequencies, decided not to give Radio Lengadoc the authorisation to have its own frequency in the Montpellier area. It must be known that this station is in Occitan mostly, so the decision is not surprising, given the antiminority policies in France. The Sète-Montpellier frequency was instead allocated to a France-wide commercial station.
- The Town Council in St Nazaire, Brittany, decided to expell the Diwan school, which teaches in Breton, after the Conseil d'Etat ruled last week that the principle of it was unconstitutional. The Mayor belongs to the Chevenementiste party, a french nationalist party. 80 school children will suffer from this decision (source: AFP www.afp.fr). It has to be noted that the unconstitutionality is based on the second article of the French constitution, which states that French is the only official language of the State; the article was added in 1992, to fight against English, on the understanding that it would never be used against minority languages.
- Seen on French TV, on France 3, a state channel, in a programme called 'On ne peut pas plaire a tout le monde': as the Bogdanov brothers were explaining they spoke 6 languages including Gascon, a dialect of Occitan. When they spoke it, the presenter (Ariane Massenet) burst out laughing and asked them: 'Is that really a language, or do you use it only to milk your cows?' Such racism is not uncommon on French television.
(www.kervarker.org)
- The CSA, based in Paris, which decides for the attribution of frequencies, decided not to give Radio Lengadoc the authorisation to have its own frequency in the Montpellier area. It must be known that this station is in Occitan mostly, so the decision is not surprising, given the antiminority policies in France. The Sète-Montpellier frequency was instead allocated to a France-wide commercial station.
- The Town Council in St Nazaire, Brittany, decided to expell the Diwan school, which teaches in Breton, after the Conseil d'Etat ruled last week that the principle of it was unconstitutional. The Mayor belongs to the Chevenementiste party, a french nationalist party. 80 school children will suffer from this decision (source: AFP www.afp.fr). It has to be noted that the unconstitutionality is based on the second article of the French constitution, which states that French is the only official language of the State; the article was added in 1992, to fight against English, on the understanding that it would never be used against minority languages.
- Seen on French TV, on France 3, a state channel, in a programme called 'On ne peut pas plaire a tout le monde': as the Bogdanov brothers were explaining they spoke 6 languages including Gascon, a dialect of Occitan. When they spoke it, the presenter (Ariane Massenet) burst out laughing and asked them: 'Is that really a language, or do you use it only to milk your cows?' Such racism is not uncommon on French television.
(www.kervarker.org)
Sunday, January 23, 2005, 21:40 GMT
Spanish is the official language in Ecuador, but different ethnic groups have different languages. In Peru there are 2 official languages: Spanish and Quechua.
Monday, January 24, 2005, 10:47 GMT
Yanick,
When I read those facts, my first reaction was anger, but the second was sadness. It is sad how a country that prides itself in being "democratic" ignores its own linguistic diversity. It is almost paranoid.
Even some East European contries are better off than that. For example, after the latest election in Romania (which pursued a hard-line anty-minority policy before 1990), the representative party of ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania (about 1,5-2 million people, taken as a whole) got important ministerial positions and also Hungarian prefects were appointed to counties with a Hungarian majority (something unimaginable even some years ago). All similar attempts are still regarded as leading to separatism by hard-line nationalists, but common opinion is changing (hard-liners who protested against the appointment of Hungarian prefects were ignored or ridiculed by passers-by in Bucharest).
When I read those facts, my first reaction was anger, but the second was sadness. It is sad how a country that prides itself in being "democratic" ignores its own linguistic diversity. It is almost paranoid.
Even some East European contries are better off than that. For example, after the latest election in Romania (which pursued a hard-line anty-minority policy before 1990), the representative party of ethnic Hungarians in Transylvania (about 1,5-2 million people, taken as a whole) got important ministerial positions and also Hungarian prefects were appointed to counties with a Hungarian majority (something unimaginable even some years ago). All similar attempts are still regarded as leading to separatism by hard-line nationalists, but common opinion is changing (hard-liners who protested against the appointment of Hungarian prefects were ignored or ridiculed by passers-by in Bucharest).