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Chinatown Street Signs

theowne said:
Now you know why Quebec hates us and will hate us even more if this keeps going on.
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I'd prefer English only, -but if we can have french, than we should also be able to have any language displayed too.

And I couldnt give a crap with how they feel about us. We dont owe them a damn thing.
 
How many people passing through the area have no understanding of how to read english? Maybe less than 1 percent? I say they should be exclusively in Chinese. That way us dumbass locals might learn something. Expand your mind.
 
TrickyRicky said:
How many people passing through the area have no understanding of how to read english? Maybe less than 1 percent? I say they should be exclusively in Chinese. That way us dumbass locals might learn something. Expand your mind.
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i don't wanna learn. learnin's heard. i'll get a chinese girlfriend instead. :D
 
I like the idea of the street signs reflecting the community, like Greek in Greektown street signs, Chinese in Chinatown. What's wrong with that?
 
I think it's suppose to show the culture of the Area. Like little Italy probably has street signs with Italian/English, Greek area has Greek/English, etc. That way when you walk into an area you know what area that belongs to.
 
theowne said:
Kind of a cheap shot. I don't see what's so bad about wanting less fragmentation in society, not more.
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It's not like taking Chinese off the street signs will force people to learn English. There will always be communities in Canada that prefer their ancesteral language over the official languages. Look at how long Scottish Gaelic was (and still is to a very small degree) spoken out in Cape Breton. And why shouldn't they keep their language? They pay taxes, contribute to the culture of the city, vote, etc. They have their own radio stations, newspapers, television stations, etc. They are integrated into Canadian society. I think it's a bit narrow minded to assume that Canadian society is comprised of English and French speakers on the inside and others on the outside.

The way it works now is for the most part functional. There are many multilingual countries and cities around the world that work just fine.

I guess it all comes down to perspective. I think putting Chinese on the street signs reduces fragmentation. Instead of saying "here we speak English and you are still foreigners" they say "here we can have homes together." Plus it adds character to the neighbourhood. I don't think it would be Chinatown anymore if everyone spoke/all the signs were in English.
 
Sorry if that felt like a cheap shot, theowne, but it's a pretty condensending attitude you have. It reminds me of how another forumer complained about a Chinese name on a Chinese nursing home out in Agincourt, and said that everything should only be in English and French. I am not personally offended, but I think it comes close to the line of being offensive.

Guess what? I was just in China, and saw a lot of English signs (most of which were near correct or actually correct, if not slightly awkward). China has extremely few people who speak English as a first language, but it's on road signs, business signs, public notices in transportation terminals, on TV. It's to help people out who can not comprehend Chinese characters (I only know about 20, but I've used pinyin to learn some phrases). In the US, transport terminals and many public facilities have Spanish, and this only increases in the southwest and in very large cities, even though the US is less known for linguistic and cultural acceptance. Whining about Chinese script in Chinatown seems very ridiculous indeed.
 
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It is not offensive at all. Canada is English and French. It's our official languages. I'm not sure why anyone would take it personal. Facts are facts.
 
Quebec signs are in french. Ontario's and the rest of Canada's signs should be kept in english.
 
khristopher said:
It is not offensive at all. Canada is English and French. It's our official languages. I'm not sure why anyone would take it personal. Facts are facts.
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Canada is not English and French. We're a nation made up of all manner of different cultures and languages - from Aboriginals to Zimbabweans.
 
If we restrict everything to English and French, you might as well force everyone to speak only English and French. Any other language spoken would be offensive and should be against the law. Then people would leave Canada :p
 
TKTKTK said:
Canada is not English and French. We're a nation made up of all manner of different cultures and languages - from Aboriginals to Zimbabweans.
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Yes, it is English and French. It's our culture. That's Canada.
MegaMax said:
Dude, don't you realize you were just mentioned in the post right before yours about Mon Sheong Court?
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Yes I realize that.
AKS said:
If we restrict everything to English and French, you might as well force everyone to speak only English and French. Any other language spoken would be offensive and should be against the law. Then people would leave Canada :p
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Well they didn't have to come here in the first place ;) I certainly wouldn't move to China, if I couldn't speak a Chinese language. I wouldn't go to Russia, unless I could speak Russian. I wouldn't go to Japan, unless I could speak Japanese, etc. etc. etc.
And actually I believe it is the law to provide public services in the official languages of our country.
 
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You people are ridiculous. Only the signs in Chinatown have Chinese on them, it's part of the fun. Why don't you all bitch about the Greek writing on signs in Greektown? I can't believe something like this sparked such an ludicrous argument. 'Dem Asian signs is unlearnin' are kids 'n' stuff.
 
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