Re: a discussion on OIT: attention moderator

--- Andrew Jarrette <anjarrette@...> wrote:

> --- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Rick McCallister
> <gabaroo6958@...>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> > --- tgpedersen <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
> >
> > . . .
> > > Unfortunately, that ideology might be what
> upholds
> > > the group of the
> > > proponent in question, and giving up the belief
> will
> > > make it crash.
> > > Look what happened in the socialist block after
> they
> > > gave up the
> > > doctrine. It's all more complicated than you
> would
> > > like to believe.
> > > Linguistics is a dangerous thing. Most East
> European
> > > nations owe their
> > > existence to it.
> > > Torsten
> >
> >
> > Look at how Third World dictatorship create
> enemies
> > through linguistic differences and thereby prop up
> > their regimes. On the other hand, Latin America is
> a
> > failure because linguistics was not strong enough
> to
> > hold it together. Geography defeated it. North
> America
> > was defeated by ideology: Tories vs. Yankees. If
> > linguistics had triumphed, the US would include
> Canada
> > and Quebec would probably be another Louisiana.
> Yet
> > the historical moment seemed to dictate whether or
> not
> > linguistics, geography or ideology would prevail.
>
>
> Again, I'm not sure what you and Torsten mean by
> "linguistics" in
> these statements. In regard to Latin America and
> North America, I
> think you're referring to shared language, language
> identity as
> opposed to political identity. But I don't see why
> Quebec should
> become another Louisiana just because it would be
> surrounded by U.S.
> English speakers rather than Canadian English
> speakers ("if
> linguistics had triumphed"). Or maybe I'm being too
> critical.
>
> Andrew

As a significant part of Canada, Quebec was able to
maintain its language and culture. Louisiana, as a
miniscule part of the US, was completely swamped and
forced to adopt English. The Quebecois often complain
about their fate in Canada. Whatever the merits of
that argument, their fate would have been
significantly worse as part of the US --in cultural
and linguisitc terms. Millions of New Englanders and
others are of Quebecois ancestry but the French
language AFAIK, doesn't even make it across the
border. I lived for a year in NY on the Quebecois
border where almost everyone was of Quebecois ancestry
and none of them spoke a word of French, although
Quebec was right next to them.