Chavez tackles the English language, way to be a f***in idiot, Hugo - Political Forum

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 02-26-2008, 11:31 AM

Chavez fights use of English words - Venezuela - MSNBC.com

Quote:

Venezuela's Chavez fights use of English words
Banners exhort Venezuelans: 'Say it in Spanish. Say it with pride.'

CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez’s government is taking its battle against U.S. “imperialism” into Venezuelans’ dictionaries, urging state phone company workers to avoid English-language business and tech terms.

Through a campaign launched Monday, newly nationalized CANTV hopes to wean employees and others from words like “staff” (“equipo” is preferred), “marketing” (“mercadeo”) and “password” (“contrasena”). Stickers and banners printed up by the company exhort Venezuelans to “Say it in Spanish. Say it with pride.”

The Communications and Information Ministry said in a statement that Venezuelans must recover Spanish words that are “threatened by sectors that have started a battle for the cultural domination of our nations.” Other English words targeted include “mouse” (the company prefers “raton”), “meeting” (“reunion”) and “sponsor” (“patrocinador”) — all of which have become common in Latin American countries.

The leftist president has sought to counter what he calls U.S. cultural imperialism on all fronts, financing Venezuelan cinema as an alternative to the “dictatorship of Hollywood” and forcing radio stations to play more Venezuelan music. English is still taught in schools alongside other languages, however. And Chavez himself often breaks playfully into English during speeches, sometimes to salute his close friend, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, saying: “How are you, Fidel?”

You moron.

I shall have to change my profile to "cultural imperialist" someday.

The average Venezuelan thinks, we have so many problems today, oil infrastructure in tatters, serious inflation, widespread poverty, capital flight, border tensions with Colombia....I know! Let's go after English!

(sarcasm)

Brother Oz · 02-26-2008, 11:36 AM

This happens in a lot of countries. They try and reassert their own pride by making sure everyone speaks their language and not any other. It's stupid, it just hinders conversation.

Voland · 02-26-2008, 11:50 AM

The french have been doing this for many years already

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 02-26-2008, 12:08 PM

We all know what a wonderful country France is.

lol

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 02-26-2008, 12:11 PM

French weather forecast:

Voland · 02-26-2008, 12:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by W.E.B. Du Bois

We all know what a wonderful country France is.

lol

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 02-26-2008, 12:36 PM

They do have sarcasm in Europe, right?

Voland · 02-26-2008, 12:39 PM

In France or in Europe ?

Or are you rather searching for self-irony ?

Sebelius for VP, not Hillary · 02-26-2008, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Voland

In France or in Europe ?

Or are you rather searching for self-irony ?

You don't know what country you're in? My comment could not be ironic unless I lived in a country that was so petty and had such an inferiority complex that it has to block another country's language, or that it got chopped up due to countless wars of aggression.

Voland · 02-26-2008, 01:40 PM

[quote=W.E.B. Du Bois;148074]You don't know what country you're in?
(Quote)

I think i know, thanks, but its not France.

(Quote): /My comment could not be ironic unless I lived in a country that was so petty and had such an inferiority complex that it has to block another country's language, (Quote)

I don´t think this is about having an inferiority complex, it is a kind of cultural conservatism and maybe a mild form of nationalism. We had similar kinds of attempts to preserve the "original" language of a country at various times in european history (for example also in Germany and Austria), and all ,everywhere, miserably failed. People trying to sound more sophisticated by "enriching" their own tongue with a sort of crappy french were mocked by eighteenth and nineteenth century german writers. In the late middle ages and the Renaissance people "latinized" their names, turning a "merchant" into a "Mercator" and today we are coping with the influx of english vocabulary.

But after all it´s a normal development that should be seen relaxed. The french will still understand you, even if you do not refer to your computer as "ordinateur" for example.

Quote : / or that it got chopped up due to countless wars of aggression.

What exactly are we discussing here ?