I just got back from Paris, and the Paris metro is based on the honor system. There is, however, a hefty fine if you get caught riding with a ticket. Police enforce this.
I saw many signs in three languages: French, English, and German. ALL of the menus were at least in French and English, or all three languages. People spoke English as long as I made an attempt at French (and I can read French much better than I speak it). I also conversed in with a couple from Germany, in German. (I speak German and have a degree in English.) In contrast to all the horror stories I was told about the arrogance of the French, I found them to be kind, helpful, and willingly multilingual. Expand your mind. Globalization goes both ways. It won't kill you to be exposed to signs in another language--it certainly isn't worth punching anything over. At the very least, imagine how "our American country" would be different today if more people spoke Arabic and could have translated that phrase "Tomorrow is our day of glory" received by our government on September 10. Kristine Harley Sheridan _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
