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The dark side of language dominance | ||
Tags: Language Map/Atlas | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion | ( Topic Closed) |  |
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4071 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes  Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 41 of 176 29 May 2014 at 11:23pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
BBC is "popular" because of BBC News. American news channels are trash. Yes, English was forced upon India by the british. But why has it continued to grow after the british left (it is not spoken natively)? Edited by Gemuse on 29 May 2014 at 11:23pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| tastyonions Triglot Senior Member United States goo.gl/UIdChYRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4654 days ago 1044 posts - 1823 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: Italian | Message 42 of 176 29 May 2014 at 11:26pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I can understand the hunger of someone from a developing country to learn English in the hope of pulling himself out of a precarious situation, but have to admit that the ardor with which some people from highly developed economies where plenty of opportunities already exist pursue the same goal, and sometimes in the process deprecate their own culture and country in favor of cottoning onto all things "America," kind of boggles my mind. Edited by tastyonions on 29 May 2014 at 11:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4279 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 43 of 176 29 May 2014 at 11:27pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Perhaps education, i.e. the language of instruction is mandated to be English? Half of my family are from British Empire colonies and I know all too well that English was taught in schools whether the students wanted it or not. If one is educated from primary school past univiersity into post-doctorate level, how can one not be fluent in English? Whether or not they be native speakers, people are educated in English in Singapore, Malaya, British Africa, the British West Indies (i.e. Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana), Hong Kong (before handover and still even now), Belize/British Honduras, etc. That is why many of my classmates who are not native speakers are Indian, Pakistani, Malayans, Singaporeans, Sri Lankans... Also, the UK gave passports and citizenship to citizens of its colonies. That is one reason why many of my family had British passports from just living in colonies without ever having entered the UK. The dream of emigrating from the third world to the UK, knowing already the language as a native speaker, and having citizenship and a passport, is one reason for English to have its status without even knowing about the USA. Edited by 1e4e6 on 29 May 2014 at 11:33pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4071 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 44 of 176 29 May 2014 at 11:32pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
You would be correct if those were even close to the best of the Anglophone media. They are not. "The Wire", "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ... these are shows to watch. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4071 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 45 of 176 29 May 2014 at 11:47pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Um, NO. Education is not mandated to be in English. None of my family members (close or distant) were taught in English. My science and math texts were however in English (but taught in Hindi) because English is the dominant language of science/math.
Yes, but it's not forced on us. It is a choice that the country keeps making, based upon the economic realities.
That citizenship AFAIK cannot be inherited. It was a one time deal. Presently, When Indians get EU Schengen visas, authorizing us to travel anywhere inside the Schengen block, we cannot travel by British Airways. Why? Because the BA hub is Heathrow, and Britain does not allow us to *even airport transit* via UK with a Schengen visa. Edited by Gemuse on 29 May 2014 at 11:55pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4071 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 46 of 176 29 May 2014 at 11:49pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
Which developed countries would these be? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4878 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 47 of 176 29 May 2014 at 11:56pm | IP Logged | ||||||||
I was about to object ... but then I saw you were talking about news. And yeah, our news channels are an embarrassment to the country. The best American source now, and I wish I were kidding, is Comedy Central. But otherwise, American tv is having a new golden age. It started with a small handful of great series (The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under), and now the quality has just sky rocketed. I've gone from not even having a tv to having a watch-list that includes great dramas like Game of Thrones, Justified, Nurse Jackie, The Americans, True Detective, Sons of Anarchy, and Orange is the New Black. And then there are trashy fun shows like Archer, American Horror Story, Vikings, and Spartacus. I don't think we've ever had so many quality shows before. I don't know how many of these have gone international, but they are all better than 99% of Hollywood's movies. And that includes Titanic.
Technically, Mayan writing was lost, but it's still very much a living language (or languages) in parts of Mexico and most of Guatemala. Edited by kanewai on 30 May 2014 at 12:05am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Gemuse Senior Member Germany Joined 4071 days ago 818 posts - 1189 votes Speaks: English Studies: German | Message 48 of 176 30 May 2014 at 12:04am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I do not like some of those shows. Like Orange..Black. Whiney protagonist. A better replacement would be House of Cards. Or, The Good Wife (seriously, give this show a try despite its title). 1 person has voted this message useful |
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