[Sca-cooks] OT OOP "Official Language" was Seville orange substitutions

[Huette von Ahrens]

--- "Phil Troy / G. Tacitus Adamantius"
<adamantius.magister at verizon.net> wrote:

> This is interesting because, if you pick up,
> say, a Chinese or 
> Chinese-American newspaper, while most of the
> text may be Chinese 
> ideographs, numbers are almost invariably in
> Arabic numerals,  and I 
> assume street signs are in the Roman alphabet.

Having worked in a library that got international
publications, especially legal journals from
Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China, some
publications do use Arabic numerals but not
all.  Having had to deal with figuring out
what we received sometimes was an interesting
challenge.  Fortunately, we employed quite a
few Chinese and they helped us immensely.

In Monteray Park, the street signs are now in
Roman and Chinese alphabets.  As are many of the
surrounding cities.  But from the newspaper
articles on the subject, very few stores used
Arabic numberals.  And while a building on fire
was very obvious, a store being robbed or had a
client having a heart attack, this was the big
problem.  There was a big to-do because the
store owners had started the problem by
complaining that they weren't getting good 
service from the FD and the PD.  The FD and
the PD countered with the argument that they
were having problems finding the stores and
backed up their counter with photos proving
their points.  


> So while I can see 
> some difficulty in theory, in practice, I
> suspect it's not all that 
> difficult. I'd be extremely surprised if there
> were really nothing at 
> all on their signs comprehensible to the
> average English-reader.

You really need to come to California.  I can
show you places where they have nothing
comprehensible to anyone not Asian.  These are
in smaller areas and are not anywhere near the
tourist areas, where multilanguage signs abound.
In Chinatown, you can find signs in every 
language imaginable.  But Chinatown is a tourist
area that thrives on tourist business.
> 
> I mean, it _may_ be as much of a problem as has
> been reported, but 
> then, it could also be an excuse for
> "English-as-official-language" 
> arguments.
> 
> I guess it's also conceivable that more recent
> immigrants have less 
> of a clue than those who've been here a while,
> or for more than a 
> generation...

I think that this is probably true.  I went to
school with Cindy Wong, who ancestors came to
California in the 1860's to help build the
railroads.  She and her parents run a Chinese
restaurant that has been family run for many
generations.  She doesn't speak Chinese.  Her
parents speak broken Chinese.  They are just
as American as you and I.  A while back ago,
they had to hire someone to revise the Chinese
on their menus as it had been pointed out that
what was written was archaic and wrong.  My
pharmacist is Sam Fong, who practices Western
Pharmacy and has a multiracial clientel who all
love him because he cares for his customers and
goes an extra mile for them.  I have found that
it takes only one generation for any immigrant
group to want to embrace some of the American
way of life. 

On the other hand, we have a big problem here 
in Temple City with Chinese Bridal Shops.  In
the one mile strip of stores that is downtown
Temple City, there are 20 Chinese bridal shops.
They cater only to Chinese brides and bridal
parties.  They only have English on their signs
because Temple City requires it.  However, they
do not want or appreciate anyone who is not
Chinese.  

Two young ladies from my church both are engaged
to be married.  They are best friends, one is
5'2", Hispanic, and wears a petite size 4.  The
other is 5'4", Anglo-Saxon, and wears a petite
size 6.  Both decided to go shopping for gowns
together, as they both were going to be each
others maid of honor.  They both told me that
they went into 10 different shops and were told
that the shop didn't have anything in their
size or anything that they would like!  And if
they persisted in looking around the store, the
clerk would follow then around and would check
everything they touched, seemingly for damage or
dirty fingerprints.  The two young ladies were
most offended.  Several of the American Chinese
business owners here in Temple City have tried to
talk to these people, but they have tacitly said
that they aren't interested in Americans or doing
things in an American way.  And then they wonder
why there are rumors floating around that these
shops are fronts for drugs or prostitution.

I went to a really good Hong Kong style
restaurant the other day.  The food was great.
However, the menu was entirely in Chinese and
had no pictures.  The wait staff didn't speak
English, so the manager had to wait on us. We
were the only non-Asians in the place.  But at
least he didn't tell us to take our business
elsewhere. 

I have nothing against Chinese people as a whole.
I have worked with and I live next to some very
nice, caring, generous people.  I count many of
them to be my friends.  On the other hand,
I have met some who have told me that the group
of communities in which I live, i.e. the San
Gabriel Valley, were going to be all Chinese
within the next 20 years so I might as well sell
my property and move because non-Chinese weren't
going to be wanted.

Huette


  

=====
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they 
shall never cease to be amused.


		
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