I’m sure you’ll agree that this is rather surprising.
In Spain and France, the Jacobin centralists, especially on the far right, roar against any sign of protection, respect, or recognition of national languages that are not considered suprior and “unique,” namely, Spanish and French.
That’s why the Basques, the Galicians, the Catalans, the Bretons, the Occitans, etc. have had to fight to defend their own language, the main sign of their own culture, against those who consider that speaking a language other than Spanish or French is a sign of being a hillbilly or a traitor. After all, the idea that was sown, or harvested, by the elites of the capital in the Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des sarts et des métiers, published 1751–1772 in France under the direction of Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d’Alembert, makes it clear what they think of “patois.”
PATOIS, (Gramm.) langage corrompu tel qu’il se parle presque dans toutes les provinces : chacune a son patois ; ainsi nous avons le patois bourguignon, le patois normand, le patois champenois, le patois gascon, le patois provençal, &c. On ne parle la langue que dans la capitale…
PATOIS, (Gramm.) corrupt language as it is spoken in almost all the provinces: each has its patois; thus we have the Burgundian patois, the Norman patois, the Champagne patois, the Gascon patois, the Provençal patois, etc. We only speak the language in the capital…
This is still the line of thinking shared by the centralizing Jacobins in France and their poor cousins in Spain. Anything from outside the capital, from outside the center of power and decision-making, are the “provinces,” where no one can expect any culture or knowledge, and which can only be improved by learning from and copying the capital (and them, of course).
So, while we have to live with that, about 4,500 mi from our country, the designers for the websites of North Dakota’s Job Service and Health Department have decided to make said websites available in 16 different languages, including Basque.
Honestly, we’re shocked, especially bearing in mind the explanation given by those who are leading this pilot project:
“The ability for residents who either speak English as a second language or do not speak English to be able to easily access public health information that they understand is an important breakthrough for our website.”
We might imagine that the “associates” of the Spanish or French far right in the US might have a heart attack, especially given that the governor, Douglas J. Burgum, a Republican, won 66% of the vote in the last election. Those extremists, like the ones on this side of the Atlantic, would prefer to apply the same maxims: “if you live in Spain/France/America, speak Spanish/French/English.”
This is what we call working for the common good. Chapeau!
KFYR – 15/6/2022 – USA
16 languages added to North Dakota Job Service and Department of Health websites
Job Service North Dakota and the North Dakota Department of Health officials announced Tuesday that they’ve added 16 language options to their websites as part of a pilot program. “Both our agency and the department of health had many requests during the pandemic come from people that didn’t speak English or spoke English as a second language. It will help us serve all our customers better because more people will be able to get information online, versus calling and having to either be on hold on the telephone or waiting for an interpreter service,” said Sarah Arntson, communications officer for Job Service North Dakota.
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North Dakota Health Service website
North Dakota Job Service website
Last Updated on Dec 3, 2023 by About Basque Country