June 2011
55 posts
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What's to be done about 'native speaker' bias? →
…National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has recently issued an important opinion finding “unreasonable discrimination” where a Korean-American English teacher was paid less by his employer because of his race.
Being raised in the U.S. and speaking English as his native language wasn’t enough to overcome being perceived as “incomplete” and “deficient” ― in the...
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What can you see?
via lianghh, kahokarl
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Dutch calls for ban on religious slaughter methods →
In the Netherlands, an animal rights party and the far-right Freedom Party are pushing for a ban on kosher and halal slaughter methods which critics say inflict unacceptable suffering on animals. The parties say ritual slaughter should only be allowed on the proviso that Jewish and Muslim groups can prove the process is humane.
Click to watch the newscast then share your thoughts below.
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If the world were a village of 100 people
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How I was treated on the subway when I was doing...
Tricia Wang is doing ethnographic research in China and here’s an excerpt of her story when she rode the subway dressed as a migrant worker.
When we sat down on the empty seat, I accidentally lightly brushed my backpack against the man sitting to my left. I immediately apologized. But he didn’t respond, he just looked alarmed that I had touched him and gave me a glaring look that...
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What Bilingualism Is NOT
Currently, only 17% of the [U.S.] population is bilingual as compared to much higher percentages in many other countries of the world. This is not due to the fact that new immigrants are not learning English. The reason, rather, is that bilingualism is basically short-lived and transitional in this country. For generations and generations of Americans, bilingualism has covered a brief...
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Integration into society now takes decades →
When Amanjot Bhardwaj’s new husband asked her to join him in Hamilton, she knew it would be hard to find a job here. Word has trickled across the globe to India about foreign doctors driving cabs and engineers scooping fries. Bhardwaj packed lowered expectations with all her belongings.
A year later, she realizes she didn’t go low enough. Bhardwaj, 26, was a receptionist having just...
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St. Jean Baptiste Day or la Fête nationale?
June 24 is St. Jean Baptiste Day or la Fête nationale in Québec (…hmm Canada) and I am having a Québec moment.
Hannah Brais, 20, grew up in Pointe Claire and attended St. Thomas High School and Dawson College. She was taking a course to become a welder this year when she pulled out in favour of enrolling this fall in environmental design at the Université du Québec à Montréal.
“I...
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Urdu vs English: Are we ashamed of our language? →
Most Pakistanis have been brought up speaking our national language Urdu and English. Instead of conversing in Urdu, many of us lapse into English during everyday conversation. Even people who do not speak English very well try their best to sneak in a sentence or two, considering it pertinent for their acceptance in the ‘cooler’ crowd.
I’ve noticed this trend in various parts of...
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“Undocumented immigrant is trending! Pledge to Drop the I-Word today!...”
– @droptheiword
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National Aboriginal Day
It’s National Aboriginal Day in Canada and when I read the following American article, I couldn’t help but think about the history of residential schools. The purpose of residential schools in Canada was to “educate” and “civilize” the First Nation peoples in order that they adopt a more western lifestyle and customs - children were separated from their...
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“Most of the dandelions had changed from suns into moons.”
– Vladimir Nabokov (via loveyourchaos)
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So excited about Bollywood's IIFA Awards
I got inspired by Ms. Kitty’s Manish Malhotra post.
Yet I am really conflicted because of the contrast with Kim Longinotto’s Pink Saris.
When It Comes to Scandal, Girls Won’t Be Boys →
femme-o-files:
(Read bolded lines for the main points)
WASHINGTON — There was a collective rolling of the eyes and a distinct sense of “Here we go again” among the women of the House of Representatives last week when yet another male politician, Representative Anthony D. Weiner, confessed his “terrible mistakes” and declared himself “deeply sorry for the pain” he had caused in sexual escapades...
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Accents cause unfair perceptions? →
“Am I understanding correctly that he has been here since 1988?” Harris asked Aguirre’s translator.
Aguirre himself responded in nearly unaccented English, “Yes, sir, that’s correct.”
Harris then asked Aguirre: “Why aren’t you speaking in English, then? You’ve been here for 23 years?”
According to the video of his testimony, Aguirre began to say, in very clear English,...
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Most inclusive spaces, linguistically least... →
By far the most inclusive space described in the pages of that special issue is an evangelical church in Canada catering mostly to Chinese migrants. As the researcher, Huamei Han, describes it, language choice was a non-issue in that context. Where migrants in other contexts, well-documented in research from around the globe, often find themselves condemned to silence because of their lack of...
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#EndSH →
Using the hashtag #EndSH on Twitter, bloggers from Egypt, Sudan, Syria and Lebanon are encouraging people to take part in speaking out against harassment and gender violence.
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“Part of the kookiness I’m talking about is that multiculturalism has been...”
– Irshad Manji author of Allah, Liberty & Love: The Courage to Reconcile Faith and Freedom
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Canada still has yet to figure out how exactly to... →
If truth be told, India has become a favoured partner to some politicians precisely because it is not China, and does not have China’s baggage on issues such as [blank blank blank] And it seems easier to translate Indo-Canadians into votes than Canadians of Chinese ancestry.
Canadians’ feelings towards Asian countries are decidedly cool. Only 9% viewed China warmly and only 12%...
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#GoCanucksGobouger la rondelle, rapatrier la coupe #BringItHome捧盃 !! We Believe
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#GoCanucksGodomine 贏盡! 捧盃!
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Which Country Could Make You Happiest?
Wonder how the index applies to minority groups.
The Organisation of Economic Development (basically the most developed countries in Europe and Asia) has a new interactive chart of its Better Life Index that lets you compare countries based on more bourgeoisie-friendly statistics than the usual GDP or maternal mortality.
Where’s the best life? It really depends on what you want.
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Bilingual brains are more healthy. So if you speak... →
There are hints of evidence supporting the idea that three languages are better than two. But here’s the problem. The vast majority of bilinguals did not choose to become bilingual because they had a talent for languages: they became bilingual because life required them to. Trilingualism is usually more of a choice, a luxury option associated with intelligence, language talent and...
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L’heure de vérité #GoCanucksGo #BringItHome空群出擊!
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“Woah, a clip on Wang Fei? It turned out to be 王妃 rather than 王菲. Sigh.”
– @ffeimo
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Education facing ‘tyranny of language’ →
‘Be not the slave of words’ was the advice given by Scottish literary Thomas Carlyle over a century ago, and can be applied to Pakistan today with respect to language in education.
Senior journalist and writer Zubeida said that education essentially played the role of equaliser in terms of opportunities, but in Pakistan it was reinforcing the division of society.
Kishwar Hameed observed that the...
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UC Berkeley study shows affluence dominates the... →
“Having Internet access is not enough. Even among people online, those who are digital producers are much more likely to have higher incomes and educational levels,” said Jen Schradie, a doctoral candidate in sociology at UC Berkeley.
“Conventional wisdom tells us that the Internet is leveling the playing field and broadening the diversity of voices being heard…But my findings show the Internet...
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“每次坐电梯，听到“叮”的一声开门声，都觉得自己在微波炉里。有时候里面还会有熟人。”
– @sylarc
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Oh, Behave: The Word 'Gay' Does Not Equal 'Stupid' →
…people who use “that’s so gay” or “that’s retarded” as a generic insult really get under my skin. In conversation one day with someone on this very subject, I said I was deeply offended when I hear “gay” as a replacement for “stupid” or “lame.” My companion laughed at my own use of the word “lame” to mean...
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“…If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. ”
– -George Orwell (via embracethemystery)
Hehe…no wonder multilinguals are most corrupt.
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Refusing to speak a language →
While growing up, I recall whenever I spoke my heritage language in public, it drew even more attention to me, an already stigmatised minority. Visible minority AND audible minority, Yikes! So I recoiled from speaking it outside the house and even then, only with my parents. It went on forever until I eventually reclaimed the language as an adult, nevertheless there are times when the perilous...
