Succesfully Multi-lingual Nations

[kronic]

Yeah, we want more land all the time but when we make our attempts we always end up with less land than before.

 

[Stapel]

Actually, considering the numerous Dutchmen buying land on the German side of the border, the opposite is more relevant.

 

[The Last Conformist]

The Germans, meanwhile, are buying up southern Sweden piece by piece.

The town where my paternal grandmother lives used to be pure Swedish. Then a bunch of Italians and Greeks showed up, and started pizzerias. Then a bunch of wars broke out in the Middle East and the Balkans, and a minor horde of Kurds, Arabs, and Bosnians turned up. These days, the Swedes, Italians, Kurds, et al. are moving to Stockholm, and 80% of all house-buyers are Germans.

 

[AceChilla]

Yeah, we want more land all the time but when we make our attempts we always end up with less land than before.

I think you don't really ask it nicely enough, your always so rude when you try to get land. Try it in a more gentle way next time

Has anyone seen Indonesia anywhere? We lost that country a couple years back. If anyone sees it return it please to the proper owner

 

[kronic]

Actually, considering the numerous Dutchmen buying land on the German side of the border, the opposite is more relevant.

Yeah, so do the Poles.

 

[SonicX]

Yeah, we want more land all the time but when we make our attempts we always end up with less land than before.

Hehe, good one
Oh well, I'd prefer with the Netherlands and Germany over a union with Wallonia. Despite historical disputes to use a nice euphemism, the cultural differences between us are smaller than those between us and the Walloons, because we're all Germanic cultures ...
The religious differences there existed in the past which lead to the split from Holland (catholic Flanders, protestant Holland) have become irrelevant these days to due atheism, agnosticism and religious apathy growing.
So personally, I wouldn't mind a large Germanic union ... as long as I ain't forced to learn German because it's an ugly language

 

[The Last Conformist]

Nah. The Dutch are for all practical purposes French.

 

[SonicX]

Nah. The Dutch are for all practical purposes French.

You seem more of a controvertionalist than a conformist.

 

[The Last Conformist]

You seem more of a controvertionalist than a conformist.

I only seem controversial because you bunch are non-conformists.

 

[SonicX]

Oh well, every forum needs it's village idiot I guess

 

[The Last Conformist]

I'm actually the smartest person 'round here.

I belive we've drifted somewhat from the alleged topic of this thread, viz. successfully multilingual nations. We've 'stablished, tho, that Belgium isn't such a nation; it's hardly even a nation state.

Depending on definitions, I guess Belarus could be considered successfully bilingual.

 

[SonicX]

Belarus might be succesful in bilinguality yes. I knew a Belorussian last year, and he said that's just because Belorussians consider Russian to be the official language and Belorussian their dialect. The differences between the 2 languages would also be very small.
But the language situation might be the only succesful thing about Belarus

 

[The Last Conformist]

But the language situation might be the only succesful thing about Belarus

I was thinking the same! Tho I hear they make excellent vodka.

 

[SonicX]

I prefer Svensk Vodka, Absolut

 

[The Last Conformist]

The greatness of Absolut is a matter of marketing more than anything else.

 

[SonicX]

The greatness of Absolut is a matter of marketing more than anything else.

Perhaps, but over here they only sell Absolut, Shmiroff and Eristoff in the supermarkets. Of those three, I prefer Absolut ...

Btw, is it just me, or is starting a country's name with "Bel" a bad idea ? Belgium, Belarus, Belize ... they all suck

 

[Marla_Singer]

Tragically, yes you can. It happened to the hundreds of Native American languages. They were forced to send their children to public schools where the children were not allowed to speak their native tounge for fear of punishment. This policy was in place for generations. It was more than enough to wipe out all but some of the most remote people's languages, and even those are facing certain extinction.

Any efforts to 'revive' these languages today are token. I believe the government is quite satisfied with the results.

I'm not sure those languages have disappeared by force. Of course native Americans didn't ask to learn english at school but the thing remains that if they didn't consider it as useful to be learnt, they wouldn't have learnt it. As I see it, I hardly see a difference between native American languages and African languages. Mainly languages are tools of communication. You'll learn one only if you find it useful to communicate... and more importantly, you'll forget a language only once you consider it as not useful anymore.

 

[Tank_Guy#3]

I think Canada, eh? or . I don't really know if "eh" at the end of a statement makes it a question.

 

[wit>trope]

I think what should be asked is not whether there are any successful nations where more than one language is widely spoken, but whether there are any succesful nations where there are two or more sizeable portions of the nation which do not share a common language and thus are not able to communicate with each other except via a translator. I don't think any such nations exist or have ever existed.

 

[Savage Discipil]

I think Canada, eh? or . I don't really know if "eh" at the end of a statement makes it a question.

Since when is Canada Successful.