'Police' in Arabic angers Public

[aztek]

whatever you say mister BSer,  i'm sorry if your degree is hot air. but age has nothing to do with language learning.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2014/04/22/the-best-way-to-learn-a-foreign-language-is-the-opposite-of-the-usual-way/#c1b262140fb0.

In a previous article I discussed the myth that young children are the best second language learners. In fact, studies have shown that adolescents and adults are in many ways better at learning a new language than children, except in the area of pronunciation. This is probably because they are already literate in their first language and can use some of their knowledge about language and language learning when learning the second language.

http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/myth2.htm

 

kids learn to understand and speak, yet they can not read\write, and have no concept of grammar, adults are taught in completely opposite way, thus it is a lot harder, and take longer, another thing, adults always translate words in their mind, kids do not. since they know no other language. 

Edited June 7, 2016 by aztek

[aztek]

Some specialists in language acquisition claim that the sooner a child starts to learn a second language the better. It certainly seems to make sense that the earlier you start, the longer you will have to learn, and the more progress you will make compared with someone who started later. However, there is evidence that this is not the case, particularly if the second language comes to take the place of the first language, which has never been allowed to develop properly. One researcher* talks of the dangers of double semi-lingualism for early learners of a second language; i.e. the child does not develop full proficiency in either of the two languages. And as mentioned above, it has been found that older learners of a language are more efficient learners, so they may need less time to reach the same level of proficiency as younger learners. Also, of course, if more time is spent learning a second language during the school day, then some other subject must be cut or reduced to make way for it. This may not be desirable.

[RavenHawk]

Let me try this again, now that ChaosRose has had her ignorant fun.  There are roughly 6,500 spoken languages in the world today.  Are we to expect to put decals for all 6,500 on all police cars?  Or is there a reasonable expectation that immigrants should at the very least, understand a minimal set of words and their meaning?  There are far fewer representations of “police” around the world.  When we were in Italy, it didn’t take long to discern between the Polizia di Stato and the Arma dei Carabinieri.

http://www.indifferentlanguages.com/words/police

Most people understand this.  As I said before, a police car in itself is universal such that I doubt that anyone would mistake it for an ice cream truck.  There are other areas of life that multi-lingual public signage is important.  A police car is not one of them.  A police car is an official icon of the state, it is not a cluttered billboard.  This constitutes pandering to PC which doesn’t present the host nation in a good light.

In most nations, there might be several recognized languages but usually only one or two used for official State business and that usually runs along indigenous/cultural lines.  I would have little expectation that if the entire nation of Iceland immigrates to India, that the Official Indian language should be established as Icelandic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_official_languages_by_country_and_territory

As you see, Canada recognizes many native languages, but I don’t see any of them on police cars.  Further, many nations accept neighboring country’s languages.  So given that, one should expect to see Mandarin, Japanese, Russian, or Vietnamese on Canadian police cars.  They don’t make it but Arabic does?  Arabic is neither indigenous nor cultural.  With all that I have said, there is no logic to this.  Arabic should be one of the last languages to have special status, even if there is a large Arabic immigrant population.  Immigrants are supposed to leave their old loyalties behind and assimilate into their new adaptive nation.  That is the main reason I have a problem with this.  Not because it is Arabic.  There is nothing wrong in speaking your native language when it makes sense (i.e. in family or neighborhood surroundings).  I am all for that.  However, the obvious issue is evident with the Hijrah going on right now.  Muslims are immigrating to all parts of the globe (that part in itself is not the problem) but the majority are not intent on assimilation.  And those that do try, their offspring find no obligation to remain (assimilated) because they rediscover their faith.  Acknowledging that is not racist.  Hijrah itself is racism because it shows how xenophobic Islam really is.

What is the purpose of putting the Arabic ‘police’ on the back end?  As Gingitsune has shown, in Tunisia, French is equal to the Arabic.  It’s more cultural identity than anything else.  So is it on the back of London police cars so that Arabs will know who hit them or those trying to get as far away as fast as possible?  I’m being facetious for those that don’t realize it.

[clare256]

On June 4, 2016 at 0:46 PM, ChaosRose said:

Sometimes people in other countries do not have the same aversion to being bilingual. They might even see it as an asset. And they also might be more welcoming to immigrants or visitors by posting things in different languages. I doubt any American would squawk in French-speaking Canada if they saw signs in both English and French. 

Your statement is just plain ignorant. I'm an American, working at an American Sign company, and I can to you quite honestly that at least 75% of the signs that we produce are bilingual (Spanish & English). What makes you think Americans are so adverse to bilingualism? Not certain, but we are one of the few (if not the only) country in the world that does NOT have an official national language.

[aztek]

in Brooklyn half the businesses signs are bilingual, english-spanish, poish, chinise, hebrew,  indian, arabic, russian,.......

in mahnatten there are china town and koreatown ,there even city street signs are bilingual, never mind business signs.

 

Edited June 7, 2016 by aztek

[Modochi]

On Sunday, June 05, 2016 at 3:41 PM, questionmark said:

And because they are on welfare they can afford prime property all over the city...we know, we know...

Actually no, most muslims live in ghettos where prices have been driven down thanks to crime and rasicm by muslims towards non muslims. The most extreme areas are called sharia zones and if you're not a muslim you face being killed if you enter them.

Expensive housing owned by muslims are purchased by rich muslims living in the MENA region of the world and are provided as homes for family members and friends by said rich muslims who don't pay taxes. 

[Arbenol]

What is a Sharia Zone? Can you give a few examples?

How many non-Muslims have been killed in these zones by the Sharia Police? Did the Police arrest anyone?

Do the laws of these zones override the nation's law?

[Modochi]

On Sunday, June 05, 2016 at 4:50 PM, Otto von Pickelhaube said:

I can see you're going to really bring insight and wisdom to the discussions here.

Whoo.

 

I'm sorry,  did my islamaphobia trigger you? Am I not allowed to voice my discontent with Muslims who practice a religion that allows rape and pedophilia. A group that only does all it can to avoid paying taxes to their host nations while robbing them blind through crime and welfare programs. 

We got a muslim immigrant here with three wives and twenty kids who don't have to ****ing work because his kids draw so much welfare that he gets more cash out it than most working class people earn in year.

On top of that, they keep demanding more special treatment because of their violent religion.

[Likely Guy]

15 hours ago, Modochi said:

I'm sorry,  did my islamaphobia trigger you?

That's all you really needed to say as the rest was largely unfounded and anecdotal.

[Podo]

I have no problem with Arabic being written on police cars, along with a whole pack of other languages, provided those languages reflect the demographics of the area the police cars are located in and that English and French are displayed prominently. And, really, why do we care what Americans think of our police cars? This isn't even a national issue, let alone an international one. They can't affect the situation, so if they want to rage at the border, let them.

[lightly]

  i don't see any point in putting the word   POLICE  in any other language , than English, In England.  How hard is it for a speaker of another language to learn the word   POLICE  and then recognize it on one of those , you know,  POLICE cars ?  

      Knowing how to pronounce the word  POLICE  could also come in handy if someone wanted to call for help...  as in,  POLICE!

     ... you could call for a cop in Arabic or Gaelic or Chinese,  but ,  in England,  yelling  POLICE!  might work better?

 

    

     

Edited June 11, 2016 by lightly
secret

[Likely Guy]

2 hours ago, lightly said:

  i don't see any point in putting the word   POLICE  in any other language , than English, In England.  How hard is it for a speaker of another language to learn the word   POLICE  and then recognize it on one of those , you know,  POLICE cars ?  

      Knowing how to pronounce the word  POLICE  could also come in handy if someone wanted to call for help...  as in,  POLICE!

     ... you could call for a cop in Arabic or Gaelic or Chinese,  but ,  in England,  yelling  POLICE!  might work better?

 

    

     

It's London, Ontario, Canada.

No one here is worked up about it,

[Only_]

I don't think it was necessery. 'Police' is 'Police'. Everyone knows that. If some canadians can't understand that word, then there is a problem. There is no need to have it written in 30 languages. English, the common language, should suffices to unite the people.

Edited June 11, 2016 by TruthSeeker_

[Only_]

On 2016-06-04 at 2:03 PM, ChaosRose said:

People expect tourists and immigrants will just be able to "learn the language" overnight. It just doesn't happen like that. It takes years of immersion. In the mean time, it's nice if countries are courteous enough to offer information (at least very important information) in multiple languages. Especially with police. The police need people to know who they are, and there have been unfortunate incidents when people were visiting or newly arrived, that might have been avoided.

When you travel to another country, it is expected that you should at least carry a little book with the most useful words and sentences. Especially for english, which is pretty much the 'common tongue' for international dealings. There is no excuse not to know what 'Police' means.

Edited June 11, 2016 by TruthSeeker_

[+Hammerclaw]

Never thought of other languages being a problem. About one out of every five or six English words is French pronounced badly. If you removed all the foreign words from English there would be only  a small fraction of the language left. I think the problem is that Arabic script has taken on all the sinister connotations once reserved for the Swastika, the Confederate flag or the Hammer and Sickle. Xenophobia often becomes not unlike mass hysteria. 

Edited June 11, 2016 by Hammerclaw