Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2011 15:41:41 GMT -5
Old tex,
I wish I could say that I penned that wonderfully droll comment myself, but it was from a movie, Austin Powers. It was the first thing that popped into my head when I read the subject line and I thought that it was a fitting comment for the OP. I totally missed the reference Archie. I'm getting slow in my old age. Me too, and some might not yet consider me old.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Jul 7, 2011 16:48:33 GMT -5
I still don't get it about the Dutch. I lived there 4.5 years. The Dutch (as a people) are one of the few countries in the world that actually love Americans. If they found out that your American they actually did more for you. They look at Americans as saviors of their country. (Their plan was to blow up the dikes to kill Germans in WWII. The estimate was that 40% of the Dutch people would die & they were only about a month away from doing that when American forces landed in Europe. They are also the only country that I know about that paid back debt from WWII). Oh & while I was there they were draining a dike. They uncovered an American WWII plane. They found 1 knuckle bone in that plane. They turned out the Dutch honor guard with a casket & transported that knuckle bone (in an American flag covered coffin) to our government representatives. (& being in the military I can say for sure that every person in that honor guard had to replace the uniforms that they were wearing). So....Please explain your dislike of the Dutch. You have to know something that I don't know. Oh, I don't really have animosity for the Dutch. I just give the inlaws a hard time.
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Jul 7, 2011 16:48:36 GMT -5
This message has been deleted. Dup. Sorry.
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humok
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Post by humok on Jul 7, 2011 20:03:13 GMT -5
that is the way it use to be here and should still be that way. Liberals...
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AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP
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Post by AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP on Jul 9, 2011 8:31:13 GMT -5
The "liberal" Dutch are much more protective of their national culture than we are. A friend of mine followed her beau to Holland. She was unable to stick it out and returned to America. In Holland, the signs are in Dutch, PERIOD and you are expected to speak Dutch if you want to live there. Language lessons are very costly and they are on you. There is no such thing as "Dutch as a second language." It is their first and only language (although many of them speak English, they are aware they are DUTCH and don't kowtow to foreigners and their whining so don't expect bilingual nuthin') English is the national language of India. It is NOT however our national language. It should be. That isn't to say you have to speak English- but it is to say that all your official government business WILL be conducted in English.
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safeharbor37
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Post by safeharbor37 on Jul 9, 2011 13:48:22 GMT -5
I think that the question here is not so much how much more "protective" the Dutch are than the US, but the relative attitudes toward immigration. The US has always welcomed immigrants who accepted the general culture of the US. Some of course were discriminated against until they conformed adequately to the local culture. The idea of immigration strengthening the culture by providing new energy and some new ideas is what made the US the "melting pot" it took pride in being. It is when a immigrant culture threatens to undermine or attempts to take over the culture that reasonable people object. The Dutch, The Netherlands being a relatively small country, may be reacting because they realize that their culture is fragile, being surrounded by a much larger international community on their borders. The US tends to feel that they [us] are large enough to absorb whatever immigration there is. It is only recently that Americans have begun to realize that when there are sufficiently large numbers of immigrants who refuse to assimilate, the culture is threatened with destruction. Most Americans don't wish to become either Mexican or Muslim.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Jul 9, 2011 16:26:12 GMT -5
There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch
I hate people who live in Connecticut.
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Tigerwife3
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Post by Tigerwife3 on Jul 9, 2011 23:08:47 GMT -5
The "liberal" Dutch are much more protective of their national culture than we are. A friend of mine followed her beau to Holland. She was unable to stick it out and returned to America. In Holland, the signs are in Dutch, PERIOD and you are expected to speak Dutch if you want to live there. Language lessons are very costly and they are on you. There is no such thing as "Dutch as a second language." It is their first and only language (although many of them speak English, they are aware they are DUTCH and don't kowtow to foreigners and their whining so don't expect bilingual nuthin') English is the national language of India. It is NOT however our national language. It should be. That isn't to say you have to speak English- but it is to say that all your official government business WILL be conducted in English. India does not have a national language. India does have an official language and it is Hindi.
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Jul 9, 2011 23:16:54 GMT -5
The principal official language of the Republic of India is Standard Hindi, while English is the secondary official language.[3] The constitution of India states that "The official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagari script."[4] Neither the Constitution of India nor Indian law specifies a national language, a position supported by a High Court ruling.[5] However, languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian constitution are sometimes referred to, without legal standing, as the national languages of India.
1. Schwartzberg, Joseph E., 2007. Encyclopedia Britannica, India—Linguistic Composition. Quote: "By far the most widely spoken is Hindi, the country's official language, with more than 300 million speakers." 2. Oldenburg, Phillip. (1997-2007) Encarta Encyclopedia "India: Official Languages." Quote: "Hindi is the main language of more than 40 percent of the population. No single language other than Hindi can claim speakers among even 10 percent of the total population. Hindi was therefore made India’s official language in 1965. English, which was associated with British rule, was retained as an option for official use because some non-Hindi speakers, particularly in Tamil Nâdu, opposed the official use of Hindi." 3. United Kingdom, Foreign and Commonwealth Office: India—Country Profile. Quote: "The official language of India is Hindi written in the Devanagari script and spoken by some 30% of the population as a first language. Since 1965 English has been recognised as an 'associated language'." 4. UNESCO: Education for All—The Nine Largest Countries Quote: "Hindi is the language of 30% of the population and the official language of India." 5. United States Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Country Profile: India Quote: "Languages: Hindi is the official language and the most commonly spoken, but not all dialects are mutually comprehensible. English also has official status and is widely used in business and politics, although knowledge of English varies widely from fluency to knowledge of just a few words." 6 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Country Profile: India Quote: "Hindi is constitutionally designated as the official language of India, with English as an associate official language."
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