Which 2nd language would you choose to have implemented on skytrain if need be?

[Alex Mackinnon]

Braille.

[DKaz]

Originally Posted by Alex Mackinnon

Braille.

I'm going to smack someone if they put Braille in the overhead signs. Besides Braille isn't so much another language but just another means of communicating in the English (or any other) language.

[Metro-One]

What is "Braille?"

[CLC]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

English over.
I don't expect English pasted over the Hong Kong Metro.

Hong kong is a bilingual "city-state" too, English is always an official language of hong kong.

[agrant]

Originally Posted by DKaz

I voted French, simply because it is the official language and I know over a dozen people who speaks it including my wife who handles French language insurance claims for work.

Then again I know people who speak Japanese, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Polish, Spanish, Punjabi, Hindi, German, Korean, Portugese, Russian, and more, I say for the sake of unification that we just stick with English only.

And there's the right answer!

[flight_from_kamakura]

if anything, french is the only one that makes any sense (being an official language).

there are loads of cantonese speakers in the region, but it won't be long before they're outnumbered by mandarin speakers (if it's not already the case) and maybe even speakers of punjabi. adding all those languages to skytrain would be sort of absurd.

[agrant]

And sends the message that you don't need to learn english. It just ends up dividing the city.

[Architype]

The ATM's I use usually have a Chinese option.
But I would chose Italian because it sounds nicer.

[windscar]

None.

[usog]

If i had to choose, then Mandarin on the Canada at least due to running in Richmond. And please no French, I've never met anyone from BC who actually uses French in daily use, and It would just make the Quebec nationalists happier which would be bad(But thats a whole 'nother topic >_>).

Buuuut if we got LCD displays on our trains like on the Yamanote Line, then displaying multiple languages is definitely feasible.

[Kwik-E-Mart]

Klingon wouldn't be too bad... (though I am not a Trekkie myself)

[cabotp]

English Only.

But if I had the choose french would have my support due to it being our other official language.

The way I see it is if someone from Asia comes here and can't understand what is being said that is there problem. They are the ones who came here and so it is there job to learn the language that is spoken here.

[nova9]

Originally Posted by go_leafs_go02

English over.

I don't expect English pasted over the Hong Kong Metro.

Oh but English is found everywhere. And in English is an official language in Hong Kong and in Singapore.

Though I would like to see French announcements. But French from France, not the redneck sounding French they speak in Quebec. I would fool around and do closing announcements at the store I use to work at in English and then in French, I always found that when you do it in more than 1 language, it just sounds more official and people respond more quickly to leaving or paying.

[Millennium2002]

I know that many people here wish that immigrants who come here get integrated into the "Canadian" way of life and therefore only English should be used on all signs. But learning a second language isn't as simple as reading a few books and then declaring you learned it (although Bart Simpson did that on his trip to Brazil).

I faintly remember some studies done way back which were describing how effective you could learn a language vs age. The best time to learn according to some sources is around ages 11 to 13. Certainly people could learn another language regardless of age but that requires strong motivation and lots of practice. However, I doubt that older immigrants can commit themselves to learning and practicing a language while attempting to find employment and earn money, which can be somewhat difficult to do. (And if you don't have money then you can't get the resources to learn!) Also, they will probably be more accustomed (even after learning English) to speaking to others with the same first language in their workplace. For younger immigrants there are more support services available (ESL comes to mind) but even then it takes a few years to speak somewhat fluently in English. (I know this because I'm in secondary school and there's a few friends that I have who immigrated here in later years of schooling.)

For those who say that immigrants came here by choice and therefore should take the burden in learning English, this may not always be the case. Some come here as refugees who were forced to escape conflict or persecution. What do you say to those people? What do you say also to people who aren't here long-term, like tourists and migrant workers?

In the end, we either have to gather more resources to allow immigrants to learn and understand English and therefore the signage in the system, or we provide some directions to them in their own language. The second method is easier to do and much more cost-effective in giving directions, especially considering the # of tourists and recent immigrants from Asia that come here every year. It's also proven to work, as the airport has recently continued to expand its system of multilingual signs and displays.

[cabotp]

I do realize the a lot of people who come here can not speak a word of english when they arrive.

But lets say they start speaking Mandarin on the Canada Line. Next thing we know someone else will want Cantonese. And then we will have Punjab and Sikh, and Spanish, and well the list goes on. I just don't want to be sitting on the train and listening to 15 minutes worth of what the next station is in every language. Meanwhile we've passed that station already cause it took to long to say what station it was.

[ozonemania]

An alternative way to embrace the linguistic diversity along the Canada/Skytrain Lines, would be through the utilization of the LCD monitors in the stations. It could easily translate and scroll through arrivals, safety, notices, announcements, warnings, etc. into multiple languages. Apparently these monitors are all centrally controlled and can be updated on the fly.

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During the Olympics, announcements should be bilingual English/French. It's the Canadian Winter Games, Canada is officially a bilingual country, the Olympics is officially a bilingual event.

Outside of the Olympics, there's no reason it should be other than English only. However, if there were to be a 2nd language, Mandarin Chinese would be a logical choice. Why? First, Vancouver has a large population that either speak Mandarin Chinese, or associate themselves with the official Chinese language. Mandarin Chinese is increasingly becoming the lingua franca of east and south-east asia. And increasingly is becoming a language of influence. Second, it acknowledges that we are a Pacific Rim city, and in many ways have more in common with these neighbours than their Euro-centric counterparts.

I could make a compelling argument for French, but relatively speaking, very few people in Vancouver speak French.

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Some people have said that using these 'ghetto' languages will only divide the city... that's rubbish. This is a transit system, designed to move people around. Making it harder for non-English speakers to navigate a transit system will not somehow force them to conform and learn good English. They would more likely just opt out of the transit system altogether and stay where they are. Accessible transit means more integration, not less.

And I think we have to be careful here. English may be our official and most important language in Vancouver, but it is certainly not our only one. Historically, English is among many founding languages of this city. Chinese and Punjabi have been spoken in Vancouver as long as English and German have been. Well maybe not German anymore.

I believe that most immigrants coming to Canada generally DO want to integrate with Canadian society, adopt Canadian values, enjoy the Canadian way of life, otherwise they would not have taken the effort to get here. What often happens, however, is that when they get here, they feel excluded, they are made to feel like foreigners and strangers, so in the end, they just end up recreating versions of their homeland. So when people say 'when you come to my country, you use my language' it's that attitude that actually creates the conditions that makes ghettos possible.

[Pinion]

Why not have each line speak a different language? Mandarin for Canada line, Punjabi for the Expo line, Cantonese for the Millennium line, Persian on the Seabus, Greek on the UBC line, BC Ferries will announce with a British accent...

[Hed Kandi]

I nominate the African Zulu clucking language!

[nova9]

Originally Posted by Hed Kandi

I nominate the African Zulu clucking language!

I don't even care if this was sarcastic but that is a very inappropriate comment. Show some respect for the language of other people.

[Canadian Mind]

Originally Posted by nova9

I don't even care if this was sarcastic but that is a very inappropriate comment. Show some respect for the language of other people.

How else does one describe it?