Language ban in Slovakia

[Moros]

AND I AM NOT STALKING YOU, MOROS! JUST BECAUSE I AM WRITING THIS ON MY LAPTOP PARKED IN THAT RED RENAULT OUTSIDE OF YOUR HOUSE IN PILSEN DOES NOT MEAN I STALK YOU, ALLRIGHT!?

I do not even think you can see me from where you're sitting now on the second floor in the back of your house...

So that means it wasn't lightning I saw when putting on my pyjama's?

[Centurion1]

Surely the rule is that you have to be another Balkan state/prinicpality/ethnic group before bashing your fellow Balkan?

Well as a member of the croatian nationality i would like to mention the utter absurdity of this. It makes sense to have everyone speaking the same language, but everyone knows that you start off by indoctrinating the immigrants children. Gosh, does anyone study the 1900's immigration to America.........

[Tribesman]

It makes sense to have everyone speaking the same language, but everyone knows that you start off by indoctrinating the immigrants children. Gosh, does anyone study the 1900's immigration to America.........

Is that the immigration episode where they found English was too hard a language so they had to invent their own local version?

[Kadagar_AV]

Sweden has done the same thing, so has Spain... And so has... ... ...

*yawn*

One country, one language... It helps nation building...

For americans arguing, do you think the president should hold all speaches in english aswell as spanish, italian, portugeese, swedish, irish.... Or are you satisfied if he speaks english only

[Gregoshi]

For americans arguing, do you think the resident should hold all speaches in english aswell as spanish, italian, portugeese, swedish, irish.... Or are you satisfied if he speaks english only

"Press 1 for English. Press 2 for Spanish."

[Papewaio]

Kennedy was a hit for trying to speak German.

There is a huge difference between having a single language for road signs, textbooks, government administration and fining someone a years salary for speaking another language at a public institution.

That it is aimed squarely at a resident minority and not tourism also reeks of racism. There are far worse things then terrorism, one of which is governments creating racist institutions.

[Beskar]

Kennedy was a hit for trying to speak German.

There is a huge difference between having a single language for road signs, textbooks, government administration and fining someone a years salary for speaking another language at a public institution.

That it is aimed squarely at a resident minority and not tourism also reeks of racism. There are far worse things then terrorism, one of which is governments creating racist institutions.

I know what you mean, all you need to be is "dark skinned" and running late for a train and pow. You get shot.

[Incongruous]

I can't believe people axtually think this is a good idea.

Not only is it illegal, racist and stupid, but it will stir up nationaly hatreds across eastern Europe. Oh and the Hungarians there have een around for a long, long time.

[Sarmatian]

.
Slovakia pass an act banning any language but Slovakian in public places and restricting the use of minority languages elsewhere too. Practically it's the Hungarians with their 10% population who will be effected most severely, and Gypsies. Those are details in my POV and any ban against any language I cannot regard human-like.

Even Turkey is getting ahead of this Incompatible language steadily. It is really hard for me to restrain myself within the rules and find suitable words for this kind of zombie fascism.

One article here, more can be looked up.
.

I think this is incorrectly represented by BBC.
This is really without reading anything on the issue, just a gut feeling that someone didn't do his homework properly before writing an article

Why am I not surprised...

Irish Times

About 7,000 people marched in the town of Dunajska Streda, close to Slovakia’s border with Hungary, in opposition to a law which stipulates that only the Slovak language can be used in most public offices and institutions, with repeat offenders threatened with a €5,000 fine.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe has said the law respects minority rights, but Hungarians denounced it as the latest act of discrimination from a ruling coalition that includes the far-right Slovak National Party. Its leader, Jan Slota, is known for his fiery rhetoric against Budapest, which ruled the territory of modern-day Slovakia until Austria-Hungary was broken up after the first World War.

Euro News

The new law has stoked already heated tensions between the two countries – only last week the Slovaks told Hungary’s president he was not welcome to enter the country on a personal trip to unveil a statute of a Hungarian hero.

Although both languages are recognised in in some areas of Slovak life,

[HoreTore]

Mutual intelligability exists on multiple levels, the level at various periods between Scandanavia and England is instructive, as is the level within England. In both cases, I believe it depended on how far and often you traveled, but unity only comes with a written standard. When that was achieved in Norway I'm not sure, but it can't be before Cnut started using English missionaries to convert the populace.

HAH!

We don't have that either!

We have a total of three official written languages; bokmål(the norwegian version of danish), nynorsk(a mix of all the dialects, to make that it's unreadable for everyone) and sami.

Anyway, the fact is that there is just as much "huh?" going on when a norwegian and a swede talks to each other as it is when someone from Bergen and Trøndelag(or heaven forbid - western Telemark...) talks to each other.

Except that the swedes are idiots and don't understand anything. But that was kinda implied, methinks...

[Andres]

I also wonder what they're going to do about the tourists. Imo, they don't qualify as a minority or a language minority, so they are not protected by European legislation

[HoreTore]

I also wonder what they're going to do about the tourists. Imo, they don't qualify as a minority or a language minority, so they are not protected by European legislation

Well, as a potential tourist, I'm not more likely to go on a trip to Slovakia now... I prefer visiting states where they treat each other as humans, not animals.

[LeftEyeNine]

Well, still, being a tourist in Slovakia seems utterly troublesome from now on.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Why are some people talking about Slovakia and others about Slovenia?

[Meneldil]

https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/fr.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/as.html

Life Expectancy: Australia 81.63 years, France 80.98. Points 1 : 0
Olympics... do we even need to look this up, let alone adjust per capita. 1 points to Aus, 1 to France for inventing it. 2: 1
Economy:
Unemployment Australia Unemployment half that of France 3:1
GDP per Capita: Australia $38k US, France $32k 4:1
Public Debt: Australia 14% of GDP, France 68% 5:1
Industrial Growth Rate: Australia 3%, France - 2% 7:1 (shrinkage is never sexy).

Japan life expectancy is over 82 and I can eat turkish and chinese food in France. What's your point? If you think the whole 'multicultural state' concept means eating french bakery and turkish kebabs, then I guess we have a definition issue.

It wouldn't sound bad to a frenchman! Your nation was built on destroying minority languages and doggedly defending modern french. At the time of the revolution only 10% of french people spoke french I believe.

You believe wrong. Most people spoke some form of french, even in the most remote areas, and sometimes even outside of officially french lands (Alsacian free states) most of the time with another local language. French had been the only language usable in official acts since the 16th (17th?) century. That's OOT though.


As for the main topic. Well, sad to say, but I don't give a crap. French is the only language usable in the french administration, yet tourists don't have huge problems getting their papers (not anymore than your usual frenchman). People working there can switch to english without being sued or sent to death camps by the state secret police. Get over it.

[Strike For The South]

Sweden has done the same thing, so has Spain... And so has... ... ...

*yawn*

One country, one language... It helps nation building...

For americans arguing, do you think the president should hold all speaches in english aswell as spanish, italian, portugeese, swedish, irish.... Or are you satisfied if he speaks english only

The whole point is immagrants learn english anyway. Forcing them to do so would be counterproductive. You win people over with soft cultural not draconion measures on there speech.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I'll take multicultural failure above zero-culture success of those who believe in mono-culture any day of the week.

Yes, but between France and Australia its the latter that is by far the more monocultural country.

France has twice the number of non-Westerners. France's white immigrant population is far more diverse than Australia's too, owing to more diverse immigration. And the French of French stock are among the most diverse of Europe too.

It always seems to come as a surprise to people, but France has been a major immigration country for two centuries now. White French are more easily compared to a diverse population like the US than to countries that were mostly etnically homogenous up until around 1970, like Denmark, Portugal or Australia. The people that lived in France in 1800 are a minority nowadays.


In Australia, your mixed marriage is an exception. Consider this:

Brenus - English spouse
TristusKhan - Egyptian girlfriend
Meneldil - native American Canadian girlfriend, who mercilessly bosses him around
Louis - Spanish soon-to-be-girlfriend

See?

[Louis VI the Fat]

There are some notable differences, based on historical experience and political outlook, between France and the Germanic world. (Usually 'Germany' is mentioned, but I think it can be expanded to describe entire Northern Europe and its colonial off-shoots):

French nationalism: not the race, but the language and the Republican values are the focal point.
Germanic: the Volk is central. Race is the focal point.

France: linguistic and legal equality is seen as a progressive force, against the particularism of old. In the Germanic world, the demand for uniformity is reactionary.

French unification is inclusive. As the famous example goes, in Senegal, the children would read in history class: 'our ancestors, the Gauls...'
Germanic unification is exclusive.


There is a third Western world: Eastern Europe. The Slovakian measures fit in neither scheme above. They must be regarded in the context of Hungarian / Slovakian difficulties, and ferocious nationalism.

[Gregoshi]

Why are some people talking about Slovakia and others about Slovenia?

They should Czech their posts more carefully.

[Adrian II]

It always seems to come as a surprise to people, but France has been a major immigration country for two centuries now.

I keep repeating the same thing about the Netherlands, referring to the influx of Germans, Italians, Spaniards, Sephardim, French Huguenots, Scottish Puritans in the seventeenth century and to the (historically) recent influx of over three million immigrants from all over the world.

In my lifetime I count 300.000 immigrants from the former Indonesia, 370.000 from the former colony of Surinam, 372.000 Turks, 325.000 Moroccans, 183.000 Africans, 110.000 Latino's, to name but a few major groups.

Together, recent immigrants make up almost one-fifth of the Dutch population.

Yet we have no major riots, no explosive banlieus, no urban guerillas.

We're a team. We're doing fine, comparatively.

Oops, sorry. Wrong rhetoric. We stink to high heaven, of course. We're the beachhead of Eurabia! Our streets are teaming with gangs that speak a thousand languages, whole cities have been taken over by foreign forces, we keep our women and children in the home and barricade our doors at night. Soon the last living Dutchman will turn our the lights and emigrate to Canada.

[Adrian II]

They should Czech their posts more carefully.

Slovenes are just as power-Hungary.

[Furunculus]

There are some notable differences, based on historical experience and political outlook, between France and the Germanic world. (Usually 'Germany' is mentioned, but I think it can be expanded to describe entire Northern Europe and its colonial off-shoots):

French nationalism: not the race, but the language and the Republican values are the focal point.
Germanic: the Volk is central. Race is the focal point.

France: linguistic and legal equality is seen as a progressive force, against the particularism of old. In the Germanic world, the demand for uniformity is reactionary.

French unification is inclusive. As the famous example goes, in Senegal, the children would read in history class: 'our ancestors, the Gauls...'
Germanic unification is exclusive.


There is a third Western world: Eastern Europe. The Slovakian measures fit in neither scheme above. They must be regarded in the context of Hungarian / Slovakian difficulties, and ferocious nationalism.

how broad is your definition of germanic, arguably anglo-saxon britain might be included, but i wouldn't say britain was charachterised by ethnic nationalism, civic nationalism would be closer to the mark.

which definition of particularism are you branding countries with?

[Rhyfelwyr]

They should Czech their posts more carefully.

Brilliant.

Scottish Puritans

You mean Scottish Presbyterians!

[Mithrandir]

They should Czech their posts more carefully.

Before they Finnish them?

So... W.A.T.T. ?

[Louis VI the Fat]

Furunculus, yes, I meant for the UK to be in the Northern Europe camp on this one. What with those dreams of populating the earth with members of the Anglosaxon race and all that.

Cecil Rhodes - there he is again-: 'Wouldn't it be a blessing to the world if those areas that are currently populated by the most wretched members of the human species were settled by members of the Anglo-Saxon race?'

Then two entire continents were genocided.

Together, recent immigrants make up almost one-fifth of the Dutch population.

Yet we have no major riots, no explosive banlieus, no urban guerillas.

We're a team. We're doing fine, comparatively.

That's great, Adrian!

You take a Switzerland. You let wanton mass immigration turn it into some sort of Brazil. And then you thumb your chest that you are not as completely run into the ground as South Africa yet.


Bless those rose-coloured multi-cultural sunglasses! Nothing to see here, move along!

[Louis VI the Fat]

Slovenes are just as power-Hungary.

Ah, a bit of the old Punnonia...

[Banquo's Ghost]

Gentlemen,

Enough of the "tourist" and variant spam please. Point and joke is made.

Thank you kindly.

[Adrian II]

That's great, Adrian!

You take a Switzerland. You let wanton mass immigration turn it into some sort of Brazil. And then you thumb your chest that you are not as completely run into the ground as South Africa yet.

I like the comparison. Swiss money, Brazilian style, Dutch courage. What's not to like, you jealous frog?

Seriously, why would you not recognize that we're doing well comparatively? Around the corner where I live some people speak languages that I have never heard of, yet when our national team play they wear orange caps and live inside their tv.

[Rhyfelwyr]

Together, recent immigrants make up almost one-fifth of the Dutch population.

Yet we have no major riots, no explosive banlieus, no urban guerillas.

No, you have Fragony.

[Adrian II]

No, you have Fragony.

He's from Czechoslovenia.