Re: 200,000 native english speakers in Brussels....

«Pas de deux» wrote:
> The Yankee boy in "Pçteris Cedriòð (Peteris Cedrins)"
> <cedrins@xxxxxxxxx> sure came out when he wrote in message
> news:1125955381.587110.126220@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > My more recent experiences in Lithuania including meeting a lot of
> > people who've either not learned or have forgotten Russian... but
> > haven't learned English, either -- not too cool, sorry.
>
> Cool, shmool. How many Yankees know another language? If you take US
> ethnics out of the equation, then I'd wager that less than 1% of native
> anglo Yanks have even a smattering of any other language.

What does that have to do with anything? I speak Latvian, English,
French, and German, and rudimentary Russian -- the point is that it's
pretty fucking difficult to find your way around a country that speaks
a language known only to itself.

> Yankee-at-heart Cedrins cannot bring himself to chide anglos who live
> all their lives in Québec without learning one word of French, but he
> feels free to chide a Lithuanians for being monolingual in their native
> language in their native land. Is that a right reserved only for
> Yankees, Russians, Germans, etc? Are they all 'uncool'? Or is it only
> uncool not to learn el puto inglés?

How am I a "Yankee-at-heart," you little Australo-Germanic=Candian
slob? I live in Latvia, and my heart happens to be here.

Yes, I feel free to chide Lithuanians for being monolingual. Yes,
people who speak languages little known outside their countries are
compelled to speak major languages.



> > I've met Estonians who _refused_ to speak Russian even though they
> > spoke English
> > very badly
>
> Good for them!

Um, how so? I thought it utterly idiotic. I speak Russian very, very
badly -- but meeting Estonians in Sweden who spoke English that was
worse than my Russian, yet refused to speak Russian, was... well,
enlightening?

> > I'm afraid I mostly agree with Eugene, however -- whilst I
> > think he overemphasizes the importance of Russian, it _is_ a valuable
> > resource and anybody who doesn't see that their kids are taught it --
> > is verging upon ultranationalism as idiocy.
>
> Well, well. Hug a russky today.

Hug a Canadian, big boy.

> > You think of the possible uses -- it is, for instance, not possible to
> > study history with any
> > seriousness unless one knows Russian.
>
> Maybe you mean Latvian history. Lithuania has no such problem.

You have a rather different history. It would be impossible to study
Lithuanian history seriously without Polish, Gintai! Does that make you
seethe?

> > It's not possible to take a nice trip eastward.
>
> What would be 'nice' about it? Especially if the uncool Russians don't
> speak English. Suddenly it's OK for them to be monolingual?

What's nice about it? Have you ever set foot in it? Has Henry? Has Hui?

> > I think most people here at least try to step out of viewing
> > languages as lethal weapons.
>
> If that's true for Latvia, then it's a recipe for disaster. Russian is
> a lethal weapon and it needs to be strictly controlled.

Pfft.

> > Being little peevish baby chauvinists in emulation of Great Russian
> > chauvinists is a black hole,
> > and we're supposedly civilized countries in which individuals speak
> > languages and
> > have mother tongues -- you don't need to drive the Russian out to
> > change the linguistic environment; you need to add Latvian and a
> > modicum of respect -- and that includes respect for Russian and
> > Russians, y'know.
>
> Respect needs to be earned. Russia, Russians and therefore their
> language haven't earned it yet. Maybe next century after countless
> apologies and megabuck compensation. If that was good enough to force
> on Germany for its decade of misdemeanours, then it sure as hell should
> be forced on Russia for its five decades. Until that happens, "being
> nice" to Russians and "honouring" their language is out, because it
> would mean saying "it's OK what you did to us".

I see. So everybody needs to apologize. For what? Being born? Having a
mother with a tongue? And speaking a language means apologizing for
what somebody else did in that language?

You are so fucked up it's not even funny, you pathetic loser.

/P

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