Quote:
Originally Posted by Sliver
Is it racist to not want to try to learn a new language to read road and building names? I think using indigenous names for public roads and buildings is a bit goofy. Like, I kind of want to be able to say and spell them if needed.
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I don't see it as racist. That said, the conscious elimination of indigenous language and culture that took place in Canada was definitely racist, and established racist conditions, including the ongoing treatment of indigenous languages. So, I don't see it as racist, but I think it's fair to say that it's unintentionally aligned with the continuation of conditions created by and perpetuating racism.
Also, it's not really learning a new language. Nobody considers someone an Italian speaker because they can use Napoli and Firenze instead of just Naples and Florence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
There are tons of Indigenous place names in Canada and the United States - we just spell them phonetically so people can properly pronounce them.
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Just making things easy for English speakers to read doesn't equate to proper pronunciation. It's just using English names instead of the Indigenous names. Local languages here have a bunch of sounds that simply don't exist in English, so there is no proper pronunciation of them that only uses English sounds.