From: twm27@isuvax.iastate.edu
Subject: Re: On Languages and Asian Americans
Reply-To: twm27@isuvax.iastate.edu
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 21:10:51 GMT

In article <1992Dec25.000616.818@leland.Stanford.EDU>, underdog@leland.Stanford.EDU (Dwight Joe) writes:
>In article <1992Dec24.193436.11900@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
>yu@physun.physics.mcmaster.ca (Frank F. Yu) writes:
>>In article <1992Dec24.023937.18253@leland.Stanford.EDU>
>>>underdog@leland.Stanford.EDU (Dwight Joe) writes:
>>>However, there are many bozos (and they know who they are) who claim that
>>>Ms. Covington is committing a grave sin for not teaching her children
>>>the language "of her ethnicity" (quotes intended).  For example, suppose that
>>>Ms. Covington were ethnically German-ge.  Then, the bozos claim that the
>>>heritage of Ms. Covington's children is German-cu and that the language
>>>which she should teach her children is German-cu, in addition to the English
>>>that is taught in the public schools.
>>>This view is extremely bigotted and racist.
>
>By the way, Mr. Yu's views are typical of Chinese-cu people.
>
>Note that in my entire response to Ms. Covington, I never once mentioned
>the word "Chinese".  The reason that Mr. Yu thinks that I'm talking
>about Chinese-cu is that he knows (as we all do) that Chinese-cu people
>are guilty of precisely what I noted in the above paragraph.
>
>That _is_ pretty damning, isn't it?
>
>>The reason why Ms. Covington does not have to teach her kids German while
>>the Chinese have to teach their kids the Chinese language is obvious and
>
>It is not obvious to anyone but a Chinese-cu.
>
>>Why don't we take a more practical viewpoint. No matter your ancestors are
>>German, Irish, or Dutch, you are white, and you mingle well, physically or
>>culturally. How important is it for a white person to know the origin of
>>another white person and does it greatly enhance the chance of a meaningful
>>conversation or even a lasting friendship? I suppose you don't have to know
>>German to talk to one of 53% of your compatriots who have German origin?
>
>53%?  Mr. Yu must mean the statistics which indicate that 53% of Americans
>have German-ge ancestry of some sort.
>
>What makes this paragraph incredibly asinine is Mr. Yu's query of "I suppose
>you don't have to know German to talk to one of 53% of your compatriots who
>have German origin?"  Sure, the German(-ge)-Americans don't need to
>learn the German-cu language to speak to 53% of other Americans.
>Of course not.  They all speak English.
>
>But how the hell does that support why Chinese-ge need to learn the
>Chinese-cu language?
>
>Note.  "The Chinese(-ge)-Americans don't need to learn the Chinese-cu
>language to speak to 53% of other Americans", either.   Why?  Because 
>those 53% of Americans speak English, not Chinese-cu.
>
>>Then we look at the Chinese people in America. Teaching the next generation
>>Chinese(Mandarin or Cantonese) has a justifiable high priority. Just think
>>about if these kids want to talk to their grandma, or a lot of sales people
>>in China town.
>
>This is typical Chinese-cu thinking, which I adequately highlight in the
>paragraph below.
>
>"Then we look at the Chinese-ge people in America.  Teaching the next
>generation Korean-cu has a justifiable high priority.  Just think about if
>these kids want to talk to other Korean-cus, or a lot of sales people in
>Korea town."
>
>Chinese-cu, like Mr. Yu, claim that there is some kind of inherent loss that
>cannot be made up by learning another foreign language other than Chinese-cu.
>They over look the gains another foreign language has to offer.
>
>(Why the hell do Chinese-(ge-)Americans have to shop in China town?
> They can shop in Korean town if they learn the Korean-cu foreign language.
> Even if they don't learn any foreign language, then they can shop there.)
>
><Above comments deal with stuff that Mr. Yu conjures up himself,
> having nothing to do with what Ms. Covington and I pointed out.
> I answered it just for fun.  Stuff below is what our main point was.>
>
>Given that ignorant thinking, Mr. Yu has completely overlooked what Ms.
>Covington and I both point out.  Namely, it is perfectly acceptable
>for a Thai-(ge-)American mother to encourge exactly 1 of the following options:
>
>(1) learning English and Korean-cu
>(2) learning English and Swahili-cu
>(3) learning English and Japanese-cu
>(4) learning English and Chinese-cu (ugh!)
>(5) learning English and Thai-cu
>
>No one is saying that there is anything wrong with encouraging the learning
>of a foreign language that "matches" (quotes intended) the ethnic group.
>What we are saying is that there is _nothing_ wrong with encouraging the
>learning of a foreign language that "_does_ _not_" match the ethnic group
>of the mother or the rest of the family even if such an action means
>that the "matching" foreign language is never learned.
>
>There is _nothing_ with this.  Only bozos think that there is something
>wrong with this.
>
>I see everything wrong with a jerk who condemns a Thai-ge mother because
>(1) she does not encourage her kids to learn Thai-cu but
>(2) instead encourages her kids to learn Korean-cu as the foreign language.
>And we _know_ who those bozos are.
>
><End of main point.  The rest of the replies is just for fun.>
>
>>The reason why Chinese people have not become members of this society in
>>a sense is the long existing racial discrimination in this country. So please
>
>How bizarre.  Only a Chinese-cu would say this.
>
>There are thousands of Oriental-Americans who do not know (i.e. cannot speak)
>the foreign language that "matches" their ethnic background.  Why hasn't
>racial discrimination forced them to learn their "matching" foreign language?
>
>Why is it, according Mr. Fu (the Chinese-cu), that this so-called
>racial discrimination seems to justify only the Chinese-ge learning
>their "matching" foreign language?  Why?
>
>I know.   I know.  Chinese-cu Chinese-ge jerks think that knowing the
>Chinese-cu language is driven by something in the genes.  Curious.  That
>sounds just like what Nazis and Klansmen and rednecks say.
>
>>don't blame Chinese for being different and not fitting in.
>>
>>I don't really belong here because I am not an American. But when there is
>>no soc.culture.chinese.canadian, I find this group to be quite interesting.
>>[chronilogically out of order]
>>one does not have to resort to silly words such as "bozo", "cu" or "ge"
>>to demonstrate their point.
>>Frank
>
>On the contrary, I have just demonstrated (yet again) that another 
>Chinese-cu Chinese-ge believes that the state of being Chinese-ge
>compels one to be Chinese-cu.  This is a view shared by rednecks,
>Klansmen, and Nazis.
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------+------------
>Jinsei no imi wa nan desu ka.                Sister, can you      |   \|  |`
>Shitte itara oshiete kuremasen ka.           spare a coin?        |    | -+-
>                                                                  |   /| / \
>Copyright 1992.  Disclaimer:  1 + 1 = 3                           |
>------------------------------------------------------------------+------------


	Ahh, the bastard dwight joe is here. I thought he's dead already
when somebody kicked him in the face out of s.c.asean.

	I always hate his -cu, -ge stuff. Who is this pariah anyway?