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#21
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:45:09 +0100, Padraig Breathnach
wrote: Martin Bienwald wrote: I think that would be the case in most places with more than one official or "default" language. I guess in Brussels "bilingual" would mostly refer to Dutch/French, for example. I'd expect that it refers to English/French in at least some parts of Canada. Louisiana too, I would expect. French is not a language used in Louisiana. They use a patois called "Cajun" which probably wouldn't be classified as French any longer (although much of it betrays its obvious French roots). Cajun has strayed even further from the French of Montclam's day than has Quebecoise. Still, I suppose it's arguable whether Cajun is a dialect of French or a distinct language. ************* DAVE HATUNEN ) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
#22
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 17:02:13 +0200, Mxsmanic
wrote: spamfree writes: This is somewhat of a USA rant, but Europeans will understand. In the USA, if a sign/ad includes the word bilingual, it always refers to an ability to speak English & Spanish (and not European Spanish, but Mexican / Central American Spanish). But in Europe, bilingual would simply refer to an ability to speak two languages; German & Italian, Dutch & French, etc. Many Americans don't realize that there are other non-English languages besides Spanish. I'm sure you have poll results to prove that rmarkable statemnt. In fact many Amricans are quite aware of other languages, not least because their parents or granparent spoke them. This USA policy completely annoys some of us because if we ask that question, "Which two languages?", we are immediately termed racists, but in reality we are merely literalists. Anyone who says anything politically correct in the U.S. is labeled as a racist these days. In any major city's Chinatown, bilingual would more honestly refer to English & Chinese, and there are neighborhoods in New York and Chicago where bilingual could easily refer to English & Polish or English & Russian. They aren't important. Only Spanish is important. It's all a matter of lobbying, spin, etc. What rubbish. Spanish is important in many areas. Tucson, for isntance, is 40% Hispanic so Spanich is very important here, but to say "only Spanish is important" as a general statement about the USA is ignorant, but hardly unexpected of you. ************* DAVE HATUNEN ) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
#23
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
Martin Bienwald wrote: Iceman wrote: Martin Bienwald wrote: I think that would be the case in most places with more than one official or "default" language. I guess in Brussels "bilingual" would mostly refer to Dutch/French, for example. Brussels has an annoying way of doing it where the sign for a street is in one language or the other, not both. So you are looking for "Rue de Ghent" and when you get to it the sign says "Klixpacqtynstraat." Oops? Street signs in Brussels are (almost) completely bilingual. When you can find them! When one is accustomed to findig street signs on posts at intersections, it's easy to overlook a small plate tacked up on the wall of a building, more or less parallel to the street one is crossing. They have a funny way of making bilingual signs, however; they often write the language-independent part of the name a bit bigger and use it for both languages (for example: "rue JENATZY straat"). ... Martin |
#24
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
spamfree wrote:
This is somewhat of a USA rant, but Europeans will understand. In the USA, if a sign/ad includes the word bilingual, it always refers to an ability to speak English & Spanish (and not European Spanish, but Mexican / Central American Spanish). But in Europe, bilingual would simply refer to an ability to speak two languages; German & Italian, Dutch & French, etc. A European employment ad requiring bilingual employees would always attract the query "Which two languages?" This USA policy completely annoys some of us because if we ask that question, "Which two languages?", we are immediately termed racists, but in reality we are merely literalists. In any major city's Chinatown, bilingual would more honestly refer to English & Chinese, and there are neighborhoods in New York and Chicago where bilingual could easily refer to English & Polish or English & Russian. In Canada, if a job posting calls for applicants to be bilingual, it means French and English. |
#25
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
Giovanni Drogo wrote in
oengr.vans.vg: Swizerland it might mean any two of the four official languages. And as any good Swiss could tell you that would be a learning imparied person. -- Joseph Coulter Cruises and Vacations http://www.josephcoulter.com/ |
#26
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 13:24:53 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote: spamfree wrote: This is somewhat of a USA rant, but Europeans will understand. In the USA, if a sign/ad includes the word bilingual, it always refers to an ability to speak English & Spanish (and not European Spanish, but Mexican / Central American Spanish). But in Europe, bilingual would simply refer to an ability to speak two languages; German & Italian, Dutch & French, etc. A European employment ad requiring bilingual employees would always attract the query "Which two languages?" This USA policy completely annoys some of us because if we ask that question, "Which two languages?", we are immediately termed racists, but in reality we are merely literalists. In any major city's Chinatown, bilingual would more honestly refer to English & Chinese, and there are neighborhoods in New York and Chicago where bilingual could easily refer to English & Polish or English & Russian. In Canada, if a job posting calls for applicants to be bilingual, it means French and English. You mean Quebecoise and English. ************* DAVE HATUNEN ) ************* * Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow * * My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps * |
#27
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:03:57 +0200, Giovanni Drogo
wrote: Outside of such context bilingual may mean "any two parental tongues" (for instance my god-daughter is bilingual in German by father and Italian by mother ... she used to speak also some Swedish when she lived there, but maybe she forgot growing up), or generally "any two languages". An American friend has a 2-year-old grandson whose father is Spanish. They're trying to raise this little boy to be bilingual. He generally speaks English to his mother and Spanish to his father. My friend once heard him ask his mother for "agua" and then correct it to "water". -- Barbara Vaughan My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup |
#28
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
On Wed, 23 Aug 2006 09:48:06 -0700, Hatunen wrote:
He's not whining about bilingualism, he's whining about signs that literally say "Bilingual". They seem to confuse him. No, he's complaining that bilingual in the US always means English/Spanish while in Europe the two languages have to be specified. In fact, neither statement is true, as many others have pointed out. -- Barbara Vaughan My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup |
#29
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
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#30
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Bilingual in Europe versus USA
tell us more about the usa
"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" a écrit dans le message de news: ... Padraig Breathnach wrote: Martin Bienwald wrote: I think that would be the case in most places with more than one official or "default" language. I guess in Brussels "bilingual" would mostly refer to Dutch/French, for example. I'd expect that it refers to English/French in at least some parts of Canada. Louisiana too, I would expect. Not any more, if ever! Louisiana also has its own "Creole" which is a combination of English, French and Spanish - possibly with a few Africanisms thrown in. |
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