Petition Tag - language

The Macedonian-speaking population in Greece is indigenous to the land, and their Macedonian language holds an vital place in their hearts and minds. However, the people cannot defend themselves from the Greek government's assimilation policies alone. For over 100 years, the Greek language has been forcibly imposed on us, and the state has tried to bring our ancestral linguistic heritage to extinction.

Linguistic diversity is an important part of the diversity of life. When a language is threatened, it also threatens the cultural traditions and social fabric of local communities, making the world more fragile, more vulnerable, and less hopeful for the future.

Article 22 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states that “The Union shall respect cultural, religious and linguistic diversity”.
The Charter was proclaimed in 2000 and has become legally binding on the EU with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, in December 2009.

Article 3.3 of the Treaty of the European Union stipulates that “(…) The Union shall respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity and shall ensure that Europe’s cultural heritage is safeguarded and enhanced.”

Επικύρωση του Ευρωπαϊκού Χάρτη για της Περιφερειακές η Μειονοτικές Γλώσσες στην Ελλάδα

Οι μακεδονόφωνοι Μακεδόνες στην Ελλάδα είναι γηγενής πληθυσμός στη γη του, και η μακεδονική γλώσσα κατέχει μια ζωτικής σημασίας θέση στις καρδιές και το μυαλό τους. Ωστόσο, οι άνθρωποι αυτοί δεν μπορούν μόνοι τους να υπερασπιστούν τους εαυτούς τους από τις πολιτικές αφομοίωσης της ελληνικής κυβέρνησης. Για πάνω από 100 χρόνια, η ελληνική γλώσσα έχει επιβληθεί δια της βίας σε εμάς, και το κράτος προσπάθησε να φέρει την προγονική γλωσσική μας κληρονομιά να απειλείται με εξαφάνιση.

Η γλωσσική πολυμορφία είναι ένα σημαντικό μέρος της πολυμορφίας της ζωής. Όταν μια γλώσσα απειλείται, απειλούνται επίσης οι πολιτιστικές παραδόσεις και ο κοινωνικός ιστός των τοπικών κοινωνιών, κάνοντας τον κόσμο πιο εύθραυστο, πιο ευάλωτο, και λιγότερο αισιόδοξο για το μέλλον.

Το άρθρο 22 του Χάρτη των Θεμελιωδών Δικαιωμάτων της Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης ορίζει ότι «Η Ένωση σέβεται την πολιτιστική, θρησκευτική και γλωσσική πολυμορφία». Ο Χάρτης διακηρύχθηκε το 2000 και έχει καταστεί νομικά δεσμευτικός για την ΕΕ με την έναρξη ισχύος της Συνθήκης της Λισαβόνας, τον Δεκέμβριο του 2009.

Το άρθρο 3.3 της Συνθήκης για την Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση ορίζει ότι «(...) Η Ένωση σέβεται τον πλούτο της πολιτιστικής και γλωσσικής της πολυμορφίας και μεριμνά για την προστασία και την ανάπτυξη της πολιτιστικής κληρονομιάς της Ευρώπης."

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With the imminent passage of Bill 14 in Quebec, democracy is being legislated away along with our fundamental rights and freedoms. And there seems to be no way to stop it. UNLESS we do something that makes international headlines and draws the spotlight to us.

Imagine 10,000 Quebecers/Canadians applying for asylum to the United States - you can't buy optics like that.

Help us fight back!

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Several weeks ago, when 2K launched Borderlands 2 pre-order, there was no regional or language restrictions. But today we found, that now you cannot install Borderlands 2 in a different language rather than language of country you are currently in.

But that's not all. Now we also have a regional limit, which means, that we cannot play multiplayer with gamers from other regions.

And, finally, it looks like CIS region won't be able to buy and play Borderlands 2 DLC because of these limitation.

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The Official Languages Act 1969 has never been submitted to the Canadian people for approval. By way of a national referendum, I would like to have a petition circulated that would gather support for such a referendum.

THIS PETITION'S SIGNATURE LIST IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC VIEWING. ONLY THE CREATOR OF THE PETITION WILL BE ABLE TO SEE YOUR NAME & YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION.

THIS CHANGE WAS MADE NECESSARY BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO REVEAL THEIR IDENTITY TO THE PUBLIC FOR FEAR OF REPERCUSSIONS FROM THOSE WHO SUPPORT THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGES ACT.

WE HOPE THAT THIS CHANGE MIGHT ENCOURAGE MORE SIGNATORIES.

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The Official Languages Act was passed in 1969 by the Liberal government under P.E. Trudeau with the expressed purpose of making French-speaking Quebecers feel more a part of Canada.

It has failed in this primary objective because French Quebecers feel even less a part of Canada now leading to the widespread belief that we are now two separate entities, a French-speaking Quebec and an English-speaking Rest (Most) of Canada.

While outside Quebec, English-speakers are discriminated against in jobs which are clearly in favour of French-speakers, the opposite is true in Quebec where many anti-English laws have been passed in Quebec, resulting in the exodus of more than half a million English-speakers from Quebec.

If Quebec is allowed to be French-speaking, then the Rest (Most) of Canada should be allowed to be English-speaking without being discriminated against for not being able to function in French.

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The Witcher 2 is a Polish game, created by Polish writers, performed by Polish Voice Actors and played by the world. Sadly many countries are unable to experience the Xbox 360 version of the game as it was meant to be played; in Polish.

This is not to suggest that people shouldn't have the option to play The Witcher 2 in English.

We just want the Polish option as well.

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One third of the NT population are indigenous and hold the linguistic future of Australia’s Indigenous Languages in their hearts and minds. But cannot alone control of the policies of assimilation to English only imposed on them promoting the death of our 50,000 year old Indigenous language heritage.

Linguistic diversity is part of the diversity of life and the loss of these languages threatens the cultural traditions and the fabric of local knowledge linguistic and biological diversity, making the world more fragile, more vulnerable, with less to hope for in the future.

Article 14.1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, to which Australia is a signatory, says:

“Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.”

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Iranian schools should allow education where languages such as Azerbaijani are taught in school.

Azerbaijani or Azeri or Turki (Azərbaycanca, Azərbaycan türkcəsi, Azərbaycan dili) is a dialect belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran.

Azerbaijani is member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages and is closely related to Turkish, Qashqai and Turkmen.

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Demand that the Canadian government protect Michif, the language of the historic Metis people of Canada, and other endangered native languages in Canada. The Metis were historically the children of French fur trappers and Cree native women, they developed their own unique culture and language that was a hybrid of French and Cree.

In modern day Canada Metis is also defined by being of mixed European and Aboriginal ancestory. There is a desperately strong need for more resources for people who wish to learn Michif, such as teachers, courses, classes, Resource Centres, books, magazines, websites & audio files such as CD's and MP3 files. Very tragically, this language is so endangered that only an estimated 500 people speak it.

The language Michif and other native languages are in serious threat of extinction due to horrible moves by the Canadian Government including Residential Schools.

The Metis were a valuable culture in Canadian history must be protected!

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Ar y we-fan AVON Connects, lle rydw i yn aelod ac hefyd yn gweithio i AVON mae yna lle ar eich proffil i dewis pa iaith hoffech chi siarad. Mae yna pop iaith OND Cymraeg. Rydw i wedi bod mewn cyswllt a AVON dros y wythnos dwethaf yn ofyn yddyn nhw adio Cymraeg at y tab ac hefyd yn rhoi gwybod yddyn nhw fod yna Deddf yr Iaith Cymraeg sydd yn rhoi ein iaith ni ar hawliau cyfartal yn Prydain. Serch hynny mae AVON newydd anfon e-bost atai yn dweud eu fod nhw methu helpu fi rhagor ac eu fod nhw yn WRTHOD newyd yr tab i adio Cymraeg at eu we-fan.

Helpwch fi i ddangos AVON fod Cymraeg yn Iaith Cymru ac yn Iaith swyddogol ym Mrhydain, ac i adio Cymraeg at eu we-fan.

Diolch.

On the AVON connects website, of which I am a Member and also work for AVON, under the preferred spoken language bar in members profile there is no tab for WELSH. I have been in contact with AVON over the last week or so stating that Welsh is an official language in the UK and that there is a Welsh Language Act . However I have recently received an e-mail from there administration team stating that they can NOT help me further and will not add Welsh to the language tab.

Please join me in showing AVON that Welsh is an official language and get them to add it to there language bar.

Thank You.

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We want 'Google Translate' to create a Gurmukhi language.

Gurmukhi (Punjabi: ਗੁਰਮੁਖੀ, Gurmukhī) is the most common script used for writing the Punjabi language. An abugida derived from the Laṇḍā script and ultimately descended from Brahmi, Gurmukhi was standardized by the second Sikh guru, Guru Angad Dev Ji, in the 16th century. The whole of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji's 1430 pages are written in this script. The name Gurmukhi is derived from the Old Punjabi term "guramukhī", meaning "from the mouth of the Guru".

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Members of the Homeowner’s Association of Oak Landing:

We would like to point your attention to a pressing issue facing our community. In the last year, multiple neighbors have been plagued by an aggressive canine, loud and obnoxious party-goers, and loud and vulgar language all originating at 340 Oak Landing Drive. Even though some of us may have avoided these unpleasant occurrences, we all suffer from their negative affect upon our neighborhood.

The homeowners at 340 Oak Landing Drive have been contacted numerous times by the Oak Landing HOA with no compliance or regard for their neighbors. This petition seeks a fair and equitable solution to the above mentioned conflicts and strengthens the actions being taken by the Oak Landing HOA.

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Currently proposed curriculum reform leaves no space for a language or criticism paper. We believe this move to be regressive, and lacking in proper student consultation.

Dropping Paper 1 would be detrimental to the University. Narrowing the course would limit the extent to which Oxford can attract and maintain the most capable and aspirational students and faculty.

Whilst aspects of the curriculum may warrant reform, losing Paper 1 in favour of maintaining space for the period papers is misguided. Learning how to analyse a text and to understand how a language can be unstable and changing brings you the confidence to approach even the hardest texts by actually beginning with the words on the page. Moreover, these skills enhance studies for the period papers.

There would be no literature without language. Scrutiny and investigation of the language we use, its history, and modes of application can only be worthwhile study.

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OJSC Pavlohradzhytlobud construction company in the town of Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk region of South East Ukraine dismissed ten managers for speaking Ukrainian.

This petition is aimed at residents/citizens of Canada only. If you are a resident of the UK you can sign the following petition: http://www.gopetition.com/online/34261.html.

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After submitting a complaint to Kmart through their website on 21/09/2009 and receiving no response, I figured a petition may have a more effective impact.

The transport vehicles currently being used by Kmart (at least in the South East QLD region) are adorned with a slogan reading "Lets go!", notice the lack of apostrophe in between the word 'let' and the letter 's' which would imply the use of the term 'let us', as opposed to an inflected verb form of ‘let’, a third person observation in present tense, which is how it currently reads.

Whether this error was made out of laziness or stupidity, it simply needs to be amended if Kmart are to maintain their wholesome ‘family store’ demeanor. The use of this blatant error is, in a way, encouraging the destruction of the English language and the use of further lazy alterations to accurate grammar - ‘text language’ for example.

If large companies such as Kmart are able to get away with inappropriate grammar on such a gross scale (proving the inefficiency of their marketing team, but that’s another story), how can we expect children (or anyone, for that matter) to abide by the rules of the English language?

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The City of Dieppe, New Brunswick has proposed a “Quebec Style” Commercial Signage Bylaw that all commercial signage must be in “ FRENCH ONLY “ or Bilingual while banning English only signage with fines for non compliance.

English and French are both the Official languages in Canada and both Language have Equal Rights and Privileges.

This is clearly DISCRIMINATION against the English language and against our Canadian Constitutional Rights to freedom of expression.

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As of November 1st, 2009 WMBC ended its broadcast of KBS World on digital channel 63.5. This service was free and only required a digital tuner connected to a television to be viewed within the metro NY/NJ area.

Two local cable companies-- Time Warner and Cablevision both offer a channel called MKtv which broadcasts many KBS World programs which are entertaining, educational, and family-friendly most of which offer english subtitles for non-Korean speakers.

A list of programs available on MK:
http://www.mediakoreatv.com/program/program_main.php?G_Language=Eng

The MK coverage area includes:
http://www.mediakoreatv.com/intro/mk_coverage_area.php?G_Language=Eng

Both of these providers are not offered in my town of residence. I am within the Comcast coverage area and I am sure that I am not the only one that want MKtv to be added to Comcast.

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At Virgin Radio we are proudly Canadian.

We believe everyone deserves a chance, innocent til proven guilty and all that!

So we're gonna play Heidi Montag's song Body Language until we get 500 names on our "Please Never Play Heidi Montag Again" online petition. Until then...enjoy!

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The government bailed out many business places against the will of the people. We as Americans have been abused by congress as they go against the voices of Americans, congress has caused a great part of this recession and why should we allow these people to take our future and monies from our children especially when the congress has decided to give banks the run and say to create mortgages for the lower income people to have homes , but also have the fed banks write loans like 80/20 loans with no money down yet the loans were either compromised to go either way especially when a family wanted a thirty year fix rate they would get one but the trick was either on the regular primary note or the junior loan which was set at a high rate locked in for 30 years at 13%.

Then told with two mortgages once you were signed into it later you wouldn`t be able to refinance because you have one loan even though you have two mortgages, then they gave you a two year arm at 7.0250% nthen after two years up it went. They used language to make you feel as though you had a good mortgage fix for thirty years, but no where to be found on the primary note. The language was the killer and people trusted the lender and they took millions for the money,and now the bail out money is buying the mortgages back.

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Education for All: Building Strong Learning Foundations thru the Mother Tongue

Philippine basic education is now at a critical crossroad.

It now calls for the revisiting of our commitment to Education for All (EFA) 2015. All stakeholders have to be vigilant and involved. Otherwise, education will just be a weak transformative power in our society. Instead of education for all, it will be education for the few; instead of seeing Filipino youth become critical thinkers, coherent communicators, and productive citizens; we will see a generation of unreflective and mediocre mouthpieces of languages not their own.

We affirm the need to improve learning competencies in all subject areas, including English. Our educational system has to move forward following a roadmap drawn by experts in language and education based on empirical proofs. Experiences of other multilingual countries all point to the mother tongue as the best language of learning, especially in the early grades. The mother tongue is the most effective bridge to and foundation for the learning of other languages like English.

At this stage, however, many of our lawmakers and national leaders still hold on to the unfounded but long-held belief that an English-dominated initial basic education will produce superior learners. We submit that such educational strategy will only benefit a very small number of Filipinos—those who belong to families where English is the home language. But the truth is that the majority of our school children come from homes where the mother tongue is the predominant language. This explains their marginalization in the classroom.

Such marginalized learners, as pointed out by scientific evidences face the double burden of learning. They are struggling to learn the 3Rs on top of the big burden of learning an alien language in which they are taught. This predicament is one of the major culprits of poor performance and high drop-out rates. All of these imply the needed approach-- teach the yet unknown 3Rs through the already familiar local language and culture, build the learner’s capacity to learn and introduce a second language with the correct phasing. With such mother tongue-based multi-lingual education (MLE) framework, the mastery of all the learning areas including English is effectively attained.

It is a basic truth that language embodies a person's cultural identity and heritage. To uphold this truth, even international law guarantees and directs states’ educational system to develop respect for the child’s own cultural identity and language (Article 29-c Convention on the Rights of the Child). Thus, we reject any assertion that a local language may be inferior, inadequate and poses an obstacle to learning.

We also reject the usual argument that MLE is costly and, therefore, very hard to implement in the face of limited financial resources. Papua New Guinea, a poor Asian country of more than 800 languages, has demonstrated that reliance on local initiatives and resources for MLE is highly feasible and substantially saves on much costs of developing and producing learning materials. Recently, our own DepEd’s Agusan Pilot MLE Study corroborated the practicality and merits of local self-reliance and initiatives. Thus, we submit that ultimately, to insist on teaching with an alien language is more costly and inefficient when children do not become functionally literate and hardly develop higher order thinking skills and whose English competencies are mediocre.

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Eunoia comes from the Greek word εύνοια and it’s the shortest English word containing all five main vowel graphemes. It’s defined in medical dictionaries as ‘well mind’ or a state of normal mental health.

However an alternative translation from the Greek is ‘beautiful thinking’ and that’s the definition Christian Bok is referring to with the title of his book of univocalic poetry. Eunoia contains five chapters of poetry, each of which uses only one vowel – it truly is a masterpiece of ‘beautiful thinking’.

We’re asking Scrabble fans and wordsmiths the world over to sign this petition in an attempt to get the word eunoia listed in The Chambers Dictionary with the definition it deserves.

Just think of how handy it would be next time you’re faced with a Scrabble rack full of vowels…

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German speaking people were among the earliest settlers in Ontario; throughout the 19th century, tens of thousands of Germans immigrated to Ontario, and a large and industrious community emerged in the province.

While many wished to retain the language and cultural heritage, they came to Ontario to escape hardship and injustice in central Europe. They became proud and prosperous citizens of the province, but unfortunately there was always pressure to assimilate and give up their language.

When the First World War started, draconian measures were undertaken to eliminate German culture in Ontario, even though most German-Ontarians remained loyal citizens and even served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

By the end of the war, German culture in Ontario was effectively destroyed, and has never recovered.

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Medway Council are making DEAF people pay to learn British Sign Language.

"ESOL (English for Speakers of other Languages) courses are FREE to people from minority ethnic groups who are permanently resident in the area" Medway Adult Service Learner Handbook 2006/07

I am deaf and I have had to pay £150 to learn sign language. Sign Language is a basic communication method.

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For years, only two foreign languages have been obtainable at the Corning-Painted Post School District, while in other districts in New York, as many as four may be offered. This is much to the dissent of the student populace.

Because of this, many of the students, only being able to choose French and Spanish, never get the chance to take a language they want so they quickly lose interest in it all together and many drop out after taking the Proficiency Exam that is required by New York State.

If a student were offered a language they would like, instead of being required to pick between two they do not like at all, they are more likely to stay in the class and therefore would have a higher chance of staying in the class and would lead to better understand among the younger generation of the United States and the world.

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Many people want to the learn the Chinese language. Having a Chinese-Language TV station will help people to train in listening comprehension in Chinese.

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We feel the World Language Department at Milton High School failed to properly hire a Spanish teacher for the 2006-2007 school year. The originally hired teacher, Ms. Burnett, did not properly teach the required information during her one-term teaching career at Milton High thus leaving Ms. Barron in a difficult place when she came and took over through December 22, 2006. During her short teaching career, Ms. Barron was able to instruct us in the book Ven Conmigo through Chapter 3, Section 2.

On January 4, 2006, we received a review sheet stating what was going to be covered on the exam. It states Chapter 4 will also be included in the exam. Yes, we have a new teacher on the way, however, until he comes, we will have substitute teachers in the classroom. There is no way we will be able to learn everything we have to learn in time for the exam.

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I believe the US should have and official language, that being English. I do not believe that businesses should be catering to other languages.

Businesses putting their product language in spanish is just catering to Spanish speaking people. If a person comes to America to live, they should learn the official language of America - America should not cater to them. If I went to Mexico to live, I would learn Spanish.

In Mexico, it is a given that everyone speaks spanish, why is it not a given here that everyone speak English? I am an American, not a Mexican or Asian, I speak English and so should everyone who lives here.

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Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voting the same truths!!

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August 8, 2006

QIS-UAW Union Members request that the Union demand the company (QIS) to abide by the language of Union contract which entitles employees reimbursursement for their gas when peforming work for the Company when required to drive beyond a 60 mile radius of their facility.

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July 27, 2006

To: UK School Boards

Petition to start Hindi in Schools

To the school boards of the United Kingdom:

This petition is to solicit worldwide support to help start Hindi in Middle and High schools as an elective subject.

1. Hindi is the second most spoken language in the world and the national language of India, but hasn't achieved a wider popularity compared to other languages because of our lukewarm approach towards it. Hindi is also a much scientific and advanced language sharing the same devnagiri script as Sanskrit and is fundamentally strong in phonetic and grammar.

2. United Kingdom and India has come more closer in the last decade and economic and cultural collaborations between these 2 countries have also increased. Many jobs from Fortune 200 companies have been outsourced to India and the joint ventures in the field of information technology have virtually bonded these 2 largest democracies in the world. Further human resources and technology exchange are expected to continue for many decades to come. Many travellers and students from UKare visiting India for their internship and higher studies. So, learning Hindi will only help in cementing close bonds these 2 countries are forming.

3. Hindi is also a part of our Indian culture and our kids as well as kids of other cultural background will be better able to know the most ancient culture of the world.

4. Hindi education in Middle and High schools will help bridge missing link between schools and universities. It is difficult to teach primary Hindi alphabets to the University students and because of extreme study pressure they can get 'burned out' and become uninterested in learning Hindi. With a strong Hindi foundation acquired in High school, the student will enjoy learning advanced Hindi in university without any undue pressure.

It is high time that we demand all school boards to offer Hindi as an elective language in their school curriculum.

Hindi will help bring us and our kids closer to India as well as help United Kingdom to better understand and utilize the cultural and economic opportunities in Bharat.

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