Succesfully Multi-lingual Nations

[SonicX]

Flanders can join us, then we just invade Brussels, so that problem is also fixed.

Just making a small effort to unite Europe, one step at a time

Ok, that's a deal... although I'm not so sure about orange as a national color though.
Anyway, if you invade, please stop after conquering Brussels ... Wallonia is region you don't want to annex so it's not worth the trouble

 

[Sims2789]

When I was in Bavaria I had to learn that I do live in a multi-lingual nation myself. The successful part is debatable.

As a northern German (either Prussian or Hannovarian is my guess), how hard was it to understand Bavarian? It is easy for me to understand a Southerner but accents in the United States are not nearly as distinguishable as they are in Europe.

 

[Stapel]

Ok, that's a deal... although I'm not so sure about orange as a national color though.
Anyway, if you invade, please stop after conquering Brussels ... Wallonia is region you don't want to annex so it's not worth the trouble

Hmmm, The colour Orange..... Linked to the north only???
William of Orange (William of Nassau, a german prince who inhereted the French city of Orange in 1544) left nowadays Belgium (Antwerp) in 1583 (he saw Alexander Farnese, the duke of Parma coming). He was murdered in 1584. Only the last year of his life, he lived in nowadays Netherlands.

The province of Holland was nothing, until almost every single important merchant from Flanders and Brabant moved to the north (especially Amsterdam, which was nothing but a backward fishermen's village until then), after Parma took Antwerpen in 1585.

 

[Sims2789]

IIRC about 20% of the US speaks Spanish as their native language, so it qualifies as bilingual under this thread's definition despite having no official language.

The United States has no official language, though only one state, New Mexico, has recognized Spanish as an official language. though many states do not have official languages, even California, where only 60% of the population speaks English at home, has adopted English as its sole official language (though ballots are in at least English, Spanish, and Chinese and almost all health information is in English as well as Spanish). Plus, one must know English in order to advance substantially in American society. I must note, though, that where I live being billingual is very important to employment, at least for blue-collar and high entry-level jobs (a big reason why I'm learning Spanish).

 

[SonicX]

Historically, he might have lived in Antwerp, but orange is not a colour used in Belgium and Willem van Oranje is not considered as a Belgian historical figure but a Dutch one
Our national colours are yellow and black, yours is orange ... we have problems with orange (must be a soccer-related trauma)

 

[Sims2789]

I see Canada heading this way. While orginally designed with a stronge central goverment, the provinces, (especially Quebec) have wrested more and more power out of the federal goverments hands.

Interesting. The opposite is true in the US. What will all the conservative welfare-provinces that advocate unregulated capitalism do when they aren't able to mooch off of the liberal provinces' tax dollars?

 

[Stapel]

Historically, he might have lived in Antwerp, but orange is not a colour used in Belgium and Willem van Oranje is not considered as a Belgian historical figure but a Dutch one

Of course! However, he himself never accepted this idea.

Our national colours are yellow and black, yours is orange ... we have problems with orange (must be a soccer-related trauma)

You mean football...... .

 

[SonicX]

Interesting. The opposite is true in the US.

That's the difference between an exofugal federation and an endofugal federation

 

[SonicX]

Of course! However, he himself never accepted this idea.

You mean football...... .

1. Then you're correct, if he wouldn't have accepted that, he was too smart to be a Dutchman

2. Ok, football then. I speak US English anyway Probably gonna move there after graduation

 

[Stapel]

Now that I come to think of it. There are two Belgians that are realy Belgians:
-Jacques Brel (who considered himself a french-speaking Flemmish)
-Eddy Merckx (ok, debatable, but he does (and did) speak French a bit too fluently

 

[SonicX]

Merckx is francophone
Those are people from Brussels, who have been brought up in one language and went to school in another language. There are ofcourse people who're perfectly bilingual.
But the problems are far greater than the successes ... like the lack of Dutch knowledge in Brusselian Hospitals which ofcourse is a large problem.

 

[Stapel]

Merckx considers himself Flemmish, right? Francophone or not.


Mon Dieu, je vous pris sans rancune
Ayez pitie avec le Vlaming et le Waal

 

[SonicX]

He considers himself to be a true Brusseloix, which is neither Walloon or Flemish ... or both of them, depending how you look at it.

 

[AceChilla]

Historically, he might have lived in Antwerp, but orange is not a colour used in Belgium and Willem van Oranje is not considered as a Belgian historical figure but a Dutch one
Our national colours are yellow and black, yours is orange ... we have problems with orange (must be a soccer-related trauma)

Just be glad you can finally cheer a winning football team

No seriouslly, I would applaud the liberation of Flanders. But we are not going to make a federation, we'll just make it one single country. The name will be what it is now, The Kingdom of The Netherlands covers te meaning well enough.

And of course we stop at the Wallonian border.

 

[SonicX]

175 years of being split up ofcourse makes us a bit different than you guys But on the upside, Limburg will be reunited once again ! Very important for any Limburgian

 

[kronic]

Well, while you're at it...don't forget to give us Eupen back.

 

[SonicX]

Well, while you're at it...don't forget to give us Eupen back.

That's a Walloon matter, it's not Flemish.
If it was though, we'd make a nice deal ... no land is free you know

 

[Stapel]

175 years of being split up ofcourse makes us a bit different than you guys But on the upside, Limburg will be reunited once again ! Very important for any Limburgian

No, we will give both Limburgs to Germany, just to get rid of it. The Dutch think their Limburgians are weird. The Flemmish think their Limburgians are weird.

 

[Stapel]

Just be glad you can finally cheer a winning football team

No seriouslly, I would applaud the liberation of Flanders. But we are not going to make a federation, we'll just make it one single country. The name will be what it is now, The Kingdom of The Netherlands covers te meaning well enough.

And of course we stop at the Wallonian border.

The Union of Utrecht borders of 1579 seem better!

We'ld drop Limburg automatically!

 

[The Last Conformist]

I think it's time we give the NL back to Germany.