Being forced to learn a minority language (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Being forced to learn a minority language
Tags: Russia \| Language Politics \| Rare Languages
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

42 messages over 6 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

leosmith
Senior Member
United States
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Message 9 of 42

26 May 2011 at 3:27am | IP Logged

hribecek wrote:

I have a new Russian acquaintance and I've been relishing the opportunity to plough
her

I supposed this will get censored, but c'mon man. If you're a native English speaker, that was intentional. For non
native English speakers, if you're not talking about farm work or car wrecks, avoid this word.
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nway
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United States
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Message 10 of 42

26 May 2011 at 3:45am | IP Logged

^ He has a right to be candid about his desires. ^.^
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dragon32
Newbie
United Kingdom
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Speaks: English*

Message 11 of 42

26 May 2011 at 11:40am | IP Logged

It's good that the Komi authorities are promoting their native language through the education system but compulsion for all students is a dangerous route to go down.

Look at the situation in Ireland where all children are required to spend 12 years learning Irish despite the fact that the language is spoken natively by just 2% of the population, confined mainly to remote areas.

This has bred resentment among the masses and many young people regard the language as useless and leave school barely able to construct a sentence. What a waste of time, money and effort.

You can't force a language down someone's throat, they need to be encouraged to use it. Komi is never going to displace Russian as the main language of commerce but there is no reason why it can't be sustained as a local community language. Of course this requires patience,effort and understanding on both sides.

Edited by dragon32 on 26 May 2011 at 11:42am
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Chung
Diglot
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Message 12 of 42

26 May 2011 at 2:29pm | IP Logged

leosmith wrote:

hribecek wrote:

I have a new Russian acquaintance and I've been relishing the opportunity to plough
her

Oh man. I didn't even notice that. Now I can't read the original post without snickering.
1 person has voted this message useful

Levi
Pentaglot
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United States
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Message 13 of 42

26 May 2011 at 3:04pm | IP Logged

nway wrote:

It's indeed a fair tradeoff, given that one linguistically distinct cultural group (in this case, Russian) doesn't have much legitimacy to rule over the homeland of another linguistically distinct cultural group (in this case, Komi). It's the "price to pay" for Russia's geographic magnitude, so to speak.

So how about the U.S.? Would you support the same policy here with regard to Native American languages?
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akprocks
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United States
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Studies: German

Message 14 of 42

26 May 2011 at 5:02pm | IP Logged

I wouldn't say that the situation with the Russian minority languages is at all comparable to the Native American ones. I'd say that it comes closer to Welsh in terms of native speakers and government sponsorship.
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hribecek
Triglot
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Czech Republic
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Message 15 of 42

26 May 2011 at 6:15pm | IP Logged

leosmith wrote:

So I've edited the original post. I've never heard that word used in the way you're suggesting. Maybe it's just an American meaning but in my area (Kent, England) it's a new one for me, but I can see how it would be funny for you.

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Chung
Diglot
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Message 16 of 42

26 May 2011 at 6:34pm | IP Logged

Its colloquial meaning does seem common in North America (see 2. which refers to Toronto and one of its nightclubs on the waterfront (which is now apparently closed down) as evidenced by the following from Urban Dictionary:

UrbanDictionary.com wrote:

1. Plow
[...]
To have sex with someone. Often used as a verb. Often used by males referring to having sex with a female.
"I plowed her field!"

UrbanDictionary.com wrote:

2. Plow
[...]
v. t. To sexually penetrate, esp. in a firm or forceful manner.

1. -How was your date with Phyllis? -I plowed her.
2. He's going to Toronto to see a DJ at a fashionable waterfront nightclub and plow the sweet merciful crap out of Julia.

Indeed the Oxford dictionary doesn't show any sexually-laden meaning for "plough" thus supporting what you said about this meaning being new to you.

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