Bias Toward Multilinguals?

K. T.   Sun Aug 09, 2009 8:09 pm GMT
"When in Rome do as the Romans do". Of course I'm not saying I'll just behave and live like a Brazilian everywhere I go but I have my comfort zone and people will also like to respect that. For instance, since I'm christian I go to my son's daycare from time to time and tell the teacher I don't want my son to partake in certain Japanese "cultural" (or I should say "religious") activities such as children's day, tanabata, day of the dead, etc."

Interesting. Japanese seem to take to that expression readily. Maybe they don't want to be the nail that sticks out in any culture. Even though it is countercultural, I think having limits is wise.

Children's Day
I guess you mean the 3-5-7 day where they take kids to the shrine or temple (I forget which one; it's probably the shrine.) Do you participate in the kite/carp streamers flying in May?

Thanks for the links. I can always learn from other people. Since my profession is in another field, I appreciate the invitation to learn from others who already know a better way.

Have a great week!
K. T.   Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:15 am GMT
children's day=Kodomo no hi, right? It used to be the day for boys. Is it religious too?

Shichi-Go-San=7-5-3 Day is the religious (Shinto) day for kids. I can understand not participating in that.
Guest   Mon Aug 10, 2009 12:19 am GMT
<<For instance, since I'm christian I go to my son's daycare from time to time and tell the teacher I don't want my son to partake in certain Japanese "cultural" (or I should say "religious") activities such as children's day, tanabata, day of the dead, etc.>>

Because your imaginary friends are so much better.
K. T.   Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:45 am GMT
J. C.
<<For instance, since I'm christian I go to my son's daycare from time to time and tell the teacher I don't want my son to partake in certain Japanese "cultural" (or I should say "religious") activities such as children's day, tanabata, day of the dead, etc.>>

Because your imaginary friends are so much better.-Guest

Guest,

Perhaps you are one of the resident atheists? I'm not sure about the using a plural here. Sure, it's sardonic, but... The case for atheism has not been proven.


If you are really an atheist, it would be interesting to hear your ideas on how language developed.
K. T.   Mon Aug 10, 2009 3:48 am GMT
I'm not sure about the use of a plural here, unless you are referring to a triune God or possibly the beliefs of some Catholics toward intercession and Saints.
atheist   Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:26 am GMT
<<If you are really an atheist, it would be interesting to hear your ideas on how language developed. >>


Evolution. Monkey shrieking turned into speech over millions of years.

Meh, anyway, who cares if J.C. takes his kids out of those classes. I would take my kids out of religion (where religion is actually practised, not learning about them, that is) classes too! (Well maybe I would take them out of the 'learning about religion classes', unless atheism is presented as well and just as positively as the other belief systems.)
Guest   Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:44 am GMT
<<I'm not sure about the use of a plural here, unless you are referring to a triune God or possibly the beliefs of some Catholics toward intercession and Saints.>>

There is not only God, but his angels as well.
J.C.   Mon Aug 10, 2009 5:54 am GMT
"Interesting. Japanese seem to take to that expression readily. Maybe they don't want to be the nail that sticks out in any culture. Even though it is countercultural, I think having limits is wise."

It's also interesting that Japanese abroad (at least in Brazil) don't make so much effort to adapt to the local culture. When I went to São Paulo for a Japanese teacher training course I met a nikkei girl who didn't speak any Portuguese even though she was BORN in São Paulo. I also watched a documentary of people living in the countryside of São Paulo who are totally isolated from the rest of the country and don't accept "gaijins" when they ARE the gaijins.

It's funny the way the Japanese use this word. I remember I once took one of my students to Seattle and he would say that there were "many gaijins" when he was the only person standing out and couldn't speak any English...
Of course I told him 「外人はお前やろ?」, which he picked right away.

"Children's Day
I guess you mean the 3-5-7 day where they take kids to the shrine or temple (I forget which one; it's probably the shrine.) Do you participate in the kite/carp streamers flying in May? "

Exactly. Since it's an important part of Japanese "culture" (I'd say religion) I tell the teachers at daycare not to make my son partake such events.
It's funny that the pastor at my wife's church prays for the kids at this age so they won't have to go to shrines. I guess I let my in-laws disappointed when I said christians don't do this 七五三 thing.

"Thanks for the links. I can always learn from other people. Since my profession is in another field, I appreciate the invitation to learn from others who already know a better way. "

No problem. Don't feel offended by linguists who like to bash people who do things they don't want to do. If you can learn something from linguistics that will help you, don't hesitate to learn. I think it's always good to learn new things. I see myself having to learn more about chemistry and machinery in order to translate manuals sometimes
Do you mind if If ask what your field is?

Tenha uma ótima semana!!
J.C.   Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:04 am GMT
"Evolution. Monkey shrieking turned into speech over millions of years."

I guess you have more faith than I do for believing that. I read an interesting book called "The case for a Creator" by Lee Strobel and I believe you could profit by reading it.

"Meh, anyway, who cares if J.C. takes his kids out of those classes. I would take my kids out of religion (where religion is actually practised, not learning about them, that is) classes too! (Well maybe I would take them out of the 'learning about religion classes', unless atheism is presented as well and just as positively as the other belief systems.)"

I think you have the right not to have your kinds out of religion classes. Just like in my case my son is FORCED to partake in things I don't believe in or agree with. If people really must learn about religion I believe that all of them should be presented so that one must pick one that pleases him/her best. I studied religion in Brazil but only heard about the christian faith based on the teachings of catholicism. Maybe that's the reason why I became a protestant when I was 15 but nobody forced me to it.

Anyway, why don't we keep on talking about languages and learn from each other?

Peace!! Shalom!! Salaam!!Paix!!Paz!!
Guest   Mon Aug 10, 2009 6:56 am GMT
<<I guess you have more faith than I do for believing that.>>

What a laugh! By the way, I recommend you read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins.
J.C.   Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:34 am GMT
"What a laugh! By the way, I recommend you read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins."

Thanks for the book suggestion. I'm always willing to read and learn about other people's views.

By the way, I didn't mean to offend you with my posting. I just meant that one needs faith to believe in God or not to believe in him.

Regardless of our beliefs I am sure we have a lot to learn from each other in terms of language. By the way, which languages do you speak/study?

Have a good week!!
J.C.   Mon Aug 10, 2009 7:57 am GMT
"What a laugh! By the way, I recommend you read "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins."

I have already downloaded the book and will start reading it.

As for the book I recommended you, I found its torrent in the following link:

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4745892/The_Case_for_a_Creator

Cheers!!
Nothing's Been Proven   Sun Aug 16, 2009 2:19 pm GMT
A critique of Lee Strobel's The Case for a Creator:

http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/paul_doland/creator.html
J.C.   Sun Aug 16, 2009 8:24 pm GMT
"Further, the opinions expressed by his experts are minority opinions in their fields. Of course, minority opinions can and do become majority opinions. But if you are conducting an investigation concerning a particular field of study, you don't simply interview those with minority opinions and treat their opinions as representative of that field."

@Nothing's been proven:
Well, I guess that how it works when one tries to prove a point. One can't just agree with everybody on all subjects. Since this book talks about people who became christians it's logical that their views will be more on the christian side. Atheists will have different opinions of course.

"Before I review the key arguments of each of Strobel's experts, it is important to note that I am not an expert in any of their respective fields."

How can the author of this article criticize Lee Strobel if he's not an expert in ANY relevant field? It seems to me that he just wants to present a rebuttal as an atheist rather than a connoisseur.

I apologize for not having read the whole article but I know where it's going and that's logical: atheists X theists.

It's something that has always existed and always will. If people want to believe in evolution FINE and if they prefer creationism FINE. Why should one be so picky about choices and try to force it to other people?

One thing is for sure: we will ALL find out if there is a GOD when we die. If there's no God all people will be fine because, according to a widespread common sense most people are good if they don't steal, don't lie, have never killed a person, try to be good and care about others. However, if THERE IS a God who is HOLY and HATES SIN I wonder what might happen to people who spend their intellect and resources writing against GOD and those who believe in God. I'm not saying and can't say who's going to hell (if it exists) but if it exists I don't want to go there.

Even if I weren't a christian I could never believe that men evolved from other species since there is no evident proof for that, which is the same case for creationism. Either you believe in it or don't.
When I studied evolutionism at school I wondered about the possible "missing links" that haven't showed up yet and probably never will...

Then let's suppose we did evolve from other species. How about LIFE? How did it start? I don't think scientists have an answer for that neither have been able to create life artificially. When they get to this point I think one must consider the possibility of a "higher force" or "intelligent designer"...

I don't know much about science but have interest in it. Because of that I intend to read "the God deception" and know more about atheist views because they might help me understand people's thoughts better.

I would like to finish by saying I'm not trying to offend anybody's views on atheism and believe all people have the right to make their choices. I don't consider myself a hardcore christian trying to force my beliefs to anybody. I'm just a curious person and believe the saying "cogito ergo sum".

Cheers!!
K. T.   Sun Aug 16, 2009 9:56 pm GMT
"I don't consider myself a hardcore christian trying to force my beliefs to anybody."

Unless we are talking about the Inquisition*, I don't think many people are hardcore Christians and I don't think the people in the Inquisition were really Christian. They were terribly misled.

On the other hand, evangelizing is a key concept in Christianity. I mean, Christianity is not just the British concept of being "nice". This is what Brits mean when they someone is not very "Christian", I think.


*Whadda show! (Credit to Mel Brooks movie)