Don’t Oppress My People With Your Departmental Acronyms
In the clown-shoe world of San Francisco public schools, honking ensues:
The director of the district’s arts department told local ABC7 news that a decision has been made to change the name of their department, “VAPA,” which is short for visual and performing arts. The new name will be SFUSD Arts Department. “We are prioritising antiracist arts instruction in our work,” the director, Sam Bass, told the network.
I’ll give you a moment to process the notion of “antiracist arts instruction” and how one might prioritise this feat over more mundane matters. Say, encouraging competence. To say nothing of students of the visual and performing arts who apparently struggle with the words visual, performing and arts.
“The use of so many acronyms within the educational field often tends to alienate those who may not speak English to understand the acronym.”
At which point, readers unmoved by wokeness may be inclined to point out that a way to overcome alienation – here, it seems, a euphemism for ignorance – is via students learning things, perhaps even words. Which is, I gather, what takes place in schools, theoretically, even those in San Francisco.
However, the fretful and enlightened educators wish us to know that unremarkable terms that are not “proactively chosen” by minority students – including departmental acronyms – are “damaging” and “oppressive,” and actually a symptom of “white supremacy culture” and “white supremacy thinking.” Albeit in ways not entirely obvious, and in an environment where the imagined feelings of non-white students, or those who claim to speak on their behalf, seemingly trump those of everyone else.
And if a punchline seems in order:
It was not clear whether SFUSD was also considered a racist acronym.
Via Darleen.
Speaking of leftists who deserve our hatred and contempt…
Snow-shoveling carjacking victim refuses to press charges — “they probably need a car”
Aren’t Canadians the folks who say ‘aboot’ instead of ‘about’?
To me the interesting thing about accents is if they are constantly different, like twixt American and Oz or UK and US, for the most part people find them amusing and somewhat fun to play around with. Where they get especially annoying is in the regional differences. As an American, you’re listening to say, Jordan Peterson and you’re not noticing anything odd in his pronouncing and then he says “aboot” and somewhere in your head a WTF goes off. When the whole conversation is going on in a constantly noticeable accent it’s no big deal. Same applies to say, speaking with my Pittsburgh relatives, even my own mother, GRHS, especially after I left for college. I’m listening to what is being said and then something comes out about “gotta go dahntahn” or “dry those dishes with this tahl” my jaw drops a bit.
As an American, you’re listening to say, Jordan Peterson…
Speaking of which, it appears that the Times of London has published a malicious hit piece.
WTP: “To me the interesting thing about accents is if they are constantly different, …”
I thought I was developing some mastery of spoken German years ago until I met an Austrian who claimed to speak German. I couldn’t understand a thing he said. Later I mentioned my difficulty to a native German speaker who said he had the same problem to a lesser degree so I didn’t feel quite so inept.
Where they get especially annoying is in the regional differences.
Hard to understand how these differences came to be. You can drive through a state like Ohio (some in the state say ohiya or ohia) from north to south and east to west and hear 3 different accents from a flat nasal midwest sound along the Erie shoreline to an almost southern drawl around Cincinnati.
Here in Canada people in Windsor sound more like they’re from across the river in Detroit than Southern Ontario. Meanwhile folks in Fort Erie Ontario wear sawks on their feet while across the bridge in Buffalo they wear sacks.
As Daniel pointed out upstream these differences are disappearing in urban centres in Canada due to immigration and the uniculture of the media.
I thought I was developing some mastery of spoken German years ago until I met an Austrian who claimed to speak German.
You should see someone from France try to carry on a conversation with a French-Canadian in French. If you think the French are rude to English speakers you should see how they treat the Quebecois.
Hard to understand how these differences came to be.
Population isolation leads to linguistic drift. The more populations mix, the more homogeneous their speech becomes. With Internet globalization and a shift to video and audio over text as the primary mode of communication it’s going to accelerate.
you should see how they treat the Quebecois
To the European French, French-Canadians sound like Appalachian hicks.
When I was 13 my parents took me and my brother on a summer holiday to Quebec. We always stayed at campgrounds in a tent trailer we pulled behind the car. We were getting close to Montreal and we’re trying to find the campgrounds my mother had pre-scouted.
My father was hopeless with a map and mom finally made him eat his pride long enough to stop at a gas station for directions. The park’s name was Point de Cascades which my dad pronounced as Poynt dee Casskaydes to the station attendant. The polite teen started explaining the directions. My flustered father said “I’m sorry I don’t speak French.” The young man replied, “Sir, I’m speaking English.”
Snow-shoveling carjacking victim refuses to press charges — “they probably need a car”
And so, because of this clown’s self-imagined altruism – which is to say, his preening and moral cowardice – the armed carjackers will learn a perverse lesson about violating people, at gunpoint, and getting away with it. They will be emboldened further. And their next victims, whether of carjacking or something else, something worse, will not have figured in this man’s lofty theatre of forgiveness.
it appears that the Times of London has published a malicious hit piece.
Ah yes. The unlovely Decca Aitkenhead, formerly of the Guardian, and of whom we’ve spoken before,
Note that she and her editor did this knowing that a full, unedited recording of the interview, made by Peterson, would emerge. Presumably, they didn’t care that their dishonesty, and intent, would subsequently be revealed to a great many people.
Rather speaks to who they are.
You can always tell someone from Newfoundland or Quebec
Everywhere we go-ho-ho-ho … from Vancouver to Toronto, people want to know…
“they probably need a car”
So much for a conservative being a liberal who’s been mugged. Such adjustments to reality can no longer be expected even in cases of “robbery gone wrong”.
To the European French, French-Canadians sound like Appalachian hicks.
If my memory is correct the French born US equestrian team coach for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada refused to speak French to French Canadians.
Thoughtful response to wokeists: You’re black? Blame your parents, it’s their fault.
Snow-shoveling carjacking victim refuses to press charges — “they probably need a car”
I think we’ll give that one a post of its own.
Aren’t Canadians the folks who say ‘aboot’ instead of ‘about’?
People claim Canadians say “aboot” but it’s more like “a boat” (as opposed to the American “a bawt”) to my ears. “Aboot” is more Scottish.
Later I mentioned my difficulty to a native German speaker who said he had the same problem to a lesser degree
So the United States and Great Britain are not the only “two countries separated by a common language.” 🙂
Population isolation leads to linguistic drift.
Yes. Also, different regions of the United States were settled by people from different parts of the UK. For example, Southern speech patterns (and culture) can be traced back to certain parts of England.
To the European French, French-Canadians sound like Appalachian hicks.
To the Quebec French, French-speaking Acadian-Canadians sound like Appalachian hicks.
To the Quebec French, French-speaking Acadian-Canadians sound like Appalachian hicks.
How about all those Francophone nations in the Southern Hemisphere? Where do they fit on the hierarchy of snobbery? For that matter, I have no idea how their pronunciation compares to the people of France.
Presumably, they didn’t care that their dishonesty, and intent, would subsequently be revealed to a great many people.
No. They knew that they can get away with defining the Narrative without any serious consequences, and thus they do it. Their “truth” is now the established fact that JP is a drug addict and mentally ill. That cannot and will not be undone without a serious revolution in our culture. And who is going to take on that effort? “Never go to war with people who buy ink by the barrel” has been the “wisdom” of the right for decades now. no one lifts a finger to refute that either. See “Streisand Effect”.
“People claim Canadians say “aboot” but it’s more like “a boat” (as opposed to the American “a bawt”) to my ears. “Aboot” is more Scottish.”
Yep. We Jocks very definitely pronounce it “aboot” (also “broon”, “aroond”, etc.).* But while the Canuck pronunciation is clearly distinct from the American, it sounds nothing like “aboot” to our ears. “A boat” is closer, but still not it. I think you’d probably have to resort to those weird hieroglyphs they use on Wikipedia.
“To the European French, French-Canadians sound like Appalachian hicks.”
Same with Latin Americans and the Spanish, Brazilians and the Portuguese.
*I mean, sometimes. Some of us talk proper like.
We Jocks
The Hill People are among us. Hide your valuables.
I have no idea how their pronunciation compares to the people of France.
In my experience, the French speakers in the Caribbean sound closer to “standard” French when speaking formally but there are still regional differences. Most of the islands have their own patois which expresses their unique pronunciation which they use amongst themselves. Now Louisiana Cajuns to my ear are very difficult to understand because I haven’t been exposed to it for any length of time. Others would probably say the same thing about French-Canadian joual, which I can understand and affect because I’ve been exposed to it.
I’m listening to what is being said and then something comes out about “gotta go dahntahn” or “dry those dishes with this tahl” my jaw drops a bit.
The Lovely Bride is originally from Agony County, and while she’s worked hard to lose her accent, it still pops out at unexpected times. Last time was a big family dinner at my niece’s house. Niece had two new kittens who were fearless and curious and definitely causing trouble. When they jumped up on the kitchen counter to see what the women were cooking, the Lovely Bride scooped them up and sent them scooting across the floor, shouting “Get ahtta here, bohtha yinz!” We all just stopped and stared for a moment.
If you’re curious what it sounds like, I highly recommend Pittsburgh Dad on YouTube. The linked example is a particular favorite of mine, not least for the startlingly familiar environment of Gram’s kitchen.
while she’s worked hard to lose her accent, it still pops out at unexpected times
My maternal grandparents were of German descent and had the misfortune to live in a town named “Berlin” during WWI. The local German community made a concerted effort to “go native” so as to avoid being seen as potentially having loyalties to the Fatherland. Not once in my life did I ever hear either of my grandparents speak a word of German.
My mother, on the other hand, knows a handful of German words and phrases, all of them the kind of thing young mothers shout at their children when they are very angry.
she’s worked hard to lose her accent, it still pops out at unexpected times
I think I’ve related here but as a youngster (we left The ‘Bergh when I was six) I had something of an accent. My best friend’s family, who were from Chicago and themselves had a thick accent, used to make fun of my pronouncing ‘out’ as ‘aht’, which I worked so hard to break such that when I got to college, one of my fellow dorm rats, one with a mid-Florida accent, would call me out on my very slightly now-Canadianish ‘owt’. You just can’t win.
My mother, on the other hand, knows a handful of German words and phrases, all of them the kind of thing young mothers shout at their children when they are very angry.
Similar here but never knew my grandparents. Did have German toilet training via a German aunt, for which I blame….well, I digress…but via dear ole Mom and Aunt Lucy I know (phonetically as I’ve never really studied the language) Sitz-de-hint, schluphunnas, dumkopf, schvinekopf…a few others. Which I now suffer upon my dog.
For a very long time, I thought that “scheisskopf” was a term of endearment…
…you can usually hear Northern Ontario or the rest of the Maritimes
In southern Ontario, Ottawa Valley accents are hard to miss. There is also the nearly-extinct “Old Ontario” which you’re actually more likely to hear among older people in rural parts of the West, not in ‘ntario. Watch for any initial vowel followed by a nasal consonant…nope, you missed it that time. Try agayne.
The Acadians (when speaking English) have a very distinctive accent, which differs from a French-speaking Quebecer’s English. There are also identifiable regional accents through the English-speaking parts of the Maritimes (St. John Valley, Cape Breton, southwestern Nova Scotia). English-assimilated Acadians are different again.
The Newfoundland Baymen (as distinct from the Townies) often have very local dialects. A friend that worked near Grand Bruit in the southwest recalled how mainlanders were sometimes pressed into service to translate for one Bayman to another from a different outport.
Labradorian (“Settler”) English is distinguishable from Newfoundland English too (watch Last Stop Garage). I know it by its punctuation:
Interrogative, “er what?” (“You goin’ fer a coffee er what?”)
Simple declarative, “I s’pose” (“Well, I’ll go find another boulder, I s’pose.”)
Emphatic, “I daresay” (“Some mail fer you, I daresay.”)
Exclamatory, “I say” (“Oh, shit on it, I say!”)
To the European French, French-Canadians sound like Appalachian hicks.
Quebec Joual and Acadian French both descend from Norman langue d’oil, which is also preserved in the Channel Island dialects. Jerseyish for “horse” is “joual”…sound familiar?
I have no idea how their pronunciation compares to the people of France.
My limited experience of francophone Africa is that French-speaking Africans talk as though they’re presenting a paper at the Academie Francaise. It’s the only place I’ve been able to make my school French work, which I turned into a cliche: “Il marche en Afrique, mon francais.”
My limited experience of francophone Africa is that French-speaking Africans talk as though they’re presenting a paper at the Academie Francaise.
I wonder if that indicates a different attitude towards the French language and towards higher education.
I too thought for a while that “pendejo” was a similar endearment from a Mexican girlfriend.