-
forgetting your roots
Quote:
MILLERSVILLE, Md. -- A ninth-grader is protesting his school's decision to broadcast the Pledge of Allegiance in foreign languages as part of National Foreign Language Week.
Patrick Linton said he and other students at Old Mill High School sat down rather than stand Wednesday when the Pledge was read over the school's public address system in Russian. Linton's teacher told him if he had a problem he should leave the room.
He did, and did not plan to return this week.
"This is America, and we got soldiers at war," the 15-year-old said. "When you're saying the Pledge in a different language which nobody understands, that's not OK."
Charles Linton, Patrick's father, said the use of other languages is disrespectful to the country. "It's like wearing a cross upside down in a church," he said.
The pledge was to be read in Spanish, French, Latin, Russian and German. School officials said the activity will continue, with the English version of the Pledge being read first for the rest of the week.
"This is just a way to connect what's going on in the classroom and this daily activity where we say the Pledge of Allegiance," said Jonathan Brice, a spokesman for Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
This story caught my eye for a couple of reasons. I think this boy and his father are being foolish in the reasons they gave.
The USA was founded on immigration, people came from all parts of the world, voluntarily or by force. Our army comprises of soldiers of many races including many that speak the languages listed.
This boy and his father are being disrespectful to the origins of their countries forefathers.
source
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Hmmm... that Patrick's a real chip off the old block(head).
-
Re: forgetting your roots
What a nob.....
He forgets his own country's history in favour of knee jerk bigotry......
-
Re: forgetting your roots
There are those who gain some form of identity through outrage. They need this sense of outrage to define their own beliefs and views.
The idea that a pledge of allegiance becomes Satanic if spoken in Spanish must go down a bundle in the Hispanic neigbourhood. :dry:
I thought the Aryan Brotherhood had set up their own schools in some bunker in Montana anyhoo.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
They got the publicity they wanted. Dont publicize it and it will disappear.
@Biggles. :ph34r: See me before tomorrow nights meeting. :lol: :lol:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Biggles
There are those who gain some form of identity through outrage. They need this sense of outrage to define their own beliefs and views.
i wonder how these fellas react when a colored uses their drinking fountain.
okay. that was cheap. just because the kid announces his disdain for foreign languages to his teacher and classmates, skips school for an entire week in protest, and has his dad blab to the newspapers with an equation of foreign languages to satan... that doesn't necessarily mean it's racism. perhaps their love of sacred cows just gives them an unintentionally foul case of xenophobia-flavored tourette's syndrome. :P
-
Re: forgetting your roots
repost...sort of.
Today is Saint Patrick's day...a day when we see so many Americans calling themselves "Irish".... this happens all the time. Go to New York and people will say "I'm Italian", even though the last member of their family to set foot in these lands was probably their great great grandfather.
These people are showing pride in their roots...and that is not un-American
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
repost...sort of.
Today is Saint Patrick's day...a day when we see so many Americans calling themselves "Irish".... this happens all the time. Go to New York and people will say "I'm Italian", even though the last member of their family to set foot in these lands was probably their great great grandfather.
These people are showing pride in their roots...and that is not un-American
If it is not un-American, British etc why were these people interred during the second world war?
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigboab
If it is not un-American, British etc why were these people interred during the second world war?
I guess they had to be dead first :blink:
However i know what you are asking. :D
The best i can come up with is that this boys grandfather worked in government at the time :unsure:
I can't give any kind of justification for them being interned. If an idividual is an immigrant, especially non citizen or immediate offspring then there may be a case to justify "investigations or observations" however the wholescale actions that took place certainly in hindsight were wrong. I have never excused the actions of any nation.
It is not un-American to show pride in your roots but it is un-American and indeed un-any nation to fight for the other side if you have chosen to become a citizen...... that would be treason surely.
There is a distance still to travel but hopefully one day we will see the light.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Sorry Vid :( Late night spelling mistake. :(
Same thing happened here during the war. Respected citizens locked up because of their or their Fathers/Mothers nationality. I was put behind bars too at that time. Cot bars. :lol: Only for the first year of the war I may add. :P
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigboab
I was put behind bars too at that time.
rumour has it you have been propping them up since...especially during happy hour :shifty:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
rumour has it you have been propping them up since...especially during happy hour :shifty:
Bad quoting, bad quoting.. :1eye:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
I thought this was going to be something about blondes and bleaching. :huh:
Mind you, people who forget that are probably the ones spending too much time chatting in the happy hour bar. :rolleyes:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Busyman
Bad quoting, bad quoting.. :1eye:
I was fixing it as you posted.
What do you think on the subject though? (It would be nice to get more American views)
Does this boy and his father have a point (with the reasons he gave) or do you think I have one?
Even if you believe this boy has a point should he get away with boycotting school?
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
(It would be nice to get more American views)
I posted my view yesterday but it vanished after the board update.
Ignorance is bliss I guess. If the family would look into their family origin they would probably be surprised.
My family originated from Nova Scotia way back when. They along with all the other Cajun’s were kicked out of the country and settled in Louisiana.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBank_Hank
I posted my view yesterday but it vanished after the board update.
Ignorance is bliss I guess. If the family would look into their family origin they would probably be surprised.
Yes i read it. You added more this time.
Quote:
My family originated from Nova Scotia way back when. They along with all the other Cajun’s were kicked out of the country and settled in Louisiana.
Seems you have something in common with the Aussies :ohmy:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
I was fixing it as you posted.
What do you think on the subject though? (It would be nice to get more American views)
Does this boy and his father have a point (with the reasons he gave) or do you think I have one?
Even if you believe this boy has a point should he get away with boycotting school?
I was just joshing around. I usually stay away from threads that don't interest me.
It is rather simple to me. It's just like the neighbor that moves next door and plays music you dislike. The boy and father are used to America being synonymous with the English language. Another language smacks of "theyare taking over" mentality.
Tbh it is a little weird. I don't like when I go to McDonald's (among other places) that the workers there barely understand English. I've always thought we should have had English as an official language regardless of immigration. I understand folks being pissed off. Some folks are here just to use America to send "money home." It discourages interaction and intergration into the greater populous. I have observed this mainly in the Hispanic community.
Nevertheless, I think the boy should be punished for truancy and any work he missed be counted against him (no make-up).
Boycotting is one thing...missing school for that is entirely another. :dry:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
@ busy
I agree...English is the official language and a reasonable standard of vocabulary should be part of becoming a citizen.....There would be no excuse for anything other than English saying the pledge when becoming a citizen.
Having worked in a few places worldwide I appreciate the difficulties of accents
However accents are a different matter altogether.... I'm sure if you travelled to many states you would have a great deal of difficulty understanding people that have US ancestry as far back as the pilgrims.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
@ busy
I agree...English is the official language and a reasonable standard of vocabulary should be part of becoming a citizen.....There would be no excuse for anything other than English saying the pledge when becoming a citizen.
Having worked in a few places worldwide I appreciate the difficulties of accents
However accents are a different matter altogether.... I'm sure if you travelled to many states you would have a great deal of difficulty understanding people that have US ancestry as far back as the pilgrims.
Shit I have a problem understanding some Scottish accents....
Congress votes everything else on majority (like their raises). Why don't they go ahead a knock this official English thang out?
-
Re: forgetting your roots
In our house English isn’t the primary language that’s spoken. My parent’s speak French most of the time and when relatives come over that’s all they speak in. My grandparents couldn’t speak much English and could only say the words that they needed to know. All of my relatives and my parents speak well in English but they all prefer to talk to each other in French.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBank_Hank
In our house English isn’t the primary language that’s spoken. My parent’s speak French most of the time and when relatives come over that’s all they speak in. My grandparents couldn’t speak much English and could only say the words that they needed to know. All of my relatives and my parents speak well in English but they all prefer to talk to each other in French.
That's understandable (pun intended). :ph34r:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBank_Hank
In our house English isn’t the primary language that’s spoken. My parent’s speak French most of the time and when relatives come over that’s all they speak in. My grandparents couldn’t speak much English and could only say the words that they needed to know. All of my relatives and my parents speak well in English but they all prefer to talk to each other in French.
Have you ever seen the British TV show "Allo Allo"?... the British secret agent pretending to ba a french policeman is hilarious.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Can’t say that I have.
The French that we all speak is different from the one in France. It’s kind of a mixed blend.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Busyman
Shit I have a problem understanding some Scottish accents....
Congress votes everything else on majority (like their raises). Why don't they go ahead a knock this official English thang out?
English is the official language of the United States except for New Mexico which is English and Spanish.
By official though, that simply means that all state documents, road signs, etc are published or produced in English.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by hobbes
English is the official language of the United States except for New Mexico which is English and Spanish.
By official though, that simply means that all state documents, road signs, etc are published or produced in English.
:ohmy:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Busyman
Shit I have a problem understanding some Scottish accents....
Congress votes everything else on majority (like their raises). Why don't they go ahead a knock this official English thang out?
Could some wan tell me whit he said.:whistling
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigBank_Hank
.
The French that we all speak is different from the one in France. It’s kind of a mixed blend.
I appreciate that.... in your posting absence i tried to point out that Americans speak "American" and not "English"... very very close but different none the less.
check this link hank....see if you can understand them :D
Allo Allo... officer crabtree
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigboab
Could some wan tell me whit he said.:whistling
http://www.hebborn.btinternet.co.uk/rab_c_nesbitt.jpg
Ar wel tel ye das....AR WEL TEL YE DAS !!!
awar wi ya :unsure:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
I appreciate that.... in your posting absence i tried to point out that Americans speak "American" and not "English"... very very close but different none the less.
check this link hank....see if you can understand them :D
Allo Allo... officer crabtree
We speak English. Accents are just that.
Akcayents are jest thayat.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Busyman
We speak English. Accents are just that.
Not so.
An accent does not encompass different spelling. Vid is right, American English is not English.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
American English is not English.
Oxymoron. :blink:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by lynx
Oxymoron. :blink:
Good point :lol:
Busyman's distinct lack of logic must be affecting me ;)
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
Not so.
An accent does not encompass different spelling. Vid is right, American English is not English.
Theater or theatre...big deal.
No one was talking about spelling except you.
We speak English.
wanker logic....an oxymoron. :dry:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
You just said talking when you meant writing. Ironic that, as it partially disproves your point.
The two are inextricably linked. If you spoke English then everytime you wrote something you'd spell it in English.
Spelling is not the only difference between American English and English, there are also totally different words for things. Like lemonade. (also; trunk/boot, hood/bonnet)
Prepositions are different, I'm on a team/I'm in a team.
Loads of other stuff too, I shouldn't wonder.
You don't speak English, muthafucka.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
This brings back memories of UKMan. He once typed a message with an English accent. He typed lock instead of loch. :lol: :lol:
Wonder how he is getting on? :(
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
You just said talking when you meant writing. Ironic that, as it partially disproves your point.
The two are inextricably linked. If you spoke English then everytime you wrote something you'd spell it in English.
Spelling is not the only difference between American English and English, there are also totally different words for things. Like lemonade. (also; trunk/boot, hood/bonnet)
Prepositions are different, I'm on a team/I'm in a team.
Loads of other stuff too, I shouldn't wonder.
You don't speak English, muthafucka.
My use of the word talking was on purpose hence the italics whether it was written or not.
You wanted to point out vid was right about something that he didn't bring up.
The spoken word versus the written.
I could ask a Georgian in America to write something down and I get it but if he tells me out loud then I might not understand it.
Accents. What you point out exists in your own country and all over Europe ffs.
We all speak English....bitch ass nitpicker.
Did you understand that or should I send voicemail? :huh:
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by Busyman
My use of the word talking was on purpose hence the italics whether it was written or not.
You wanted to point out vid was right about something that he didn't bring up.
The spoken word versus the written.
I could ask a Georgian in America to write something down and I get it but if he tells me out loud then I might not understand it.
Accents. What you point out exists in your own country and all over Europe ffs.
We all speak English....bitch ass nitpicker.
Did you understand that or should I send voicemail? :huh:
Who knows where you're going with the rest of the irrelevance but what I point out only exists in colloquialisms in the UK, not in the dictionary.
I call a sink a bosh, but that isn't in the dictionary. You call a boot a trunk and it's in the American-English dictionary.
That's the point. You officially don't speak English.
Sorry to break it to you so bluntly, old chap.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
No busy you speak a variation of English. You also write a variatation of English. As I said the difference is very small, often unoticable.....but there is a difference.
There is an old saying about two countries separated by a common language.... It wasn't said without justification
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by vidcc
I was fixing it as you posted.
What do you think on the subject though? (It would be nice to get more American views)
For myself, Vidcc, I am fascinated with other languages. The only other language I know other than my American/English is sign language. I find myself having to force my hands to my sides when around those speaking other languages, because it is the sign language that I try first to communicate with them with. I have read with interest the American/English discussion in the rest of this thread and wanted to share with you that it is no different in sign language. In learning sign language, my step son's education seem to vary year by year. One year they would try to teach him Standard English Sign Language. The next year American Sign Language. Back and forth we went. The amazing thing that transpired with my strong willed step son was that even though he learned and knows both now, if you really want to communicate with him, you have to learn Joshua's Sign Language...........kind of his own language, which turned out to be his favorites of both languages. :)
Does this boy and his father have a point (with the reasons he gave) or do you think I have one?
I pity this boy and his father, and it is their loss, by the way. Why do people limit their world so? This was Foreign National Language Week, a time to learn and grow. They chose to stagnate.
Even if you believe this boy has a point should he get away with boycotting school?
If the boy chooses to not attend school, school policy should be enforced, regardless of his reasons. He made the choice knowing school policy.
-
Re: forgetting your roots
Quote:
Originally Posted by manker
I call a sink a bosh, but that isn't in the dictionary.
Yes it is. In your statement it would come under the Trough definition of Bosh.
Websters Third International Dictionary.Volume 1.
