And anyone who votes for him is delusional. Really. Seriously.
Layton replied in the affirmative when asked whether he would support demands that Punjabi, which the latest census says is the fastest growing language in Canada, be given official status.
“We are aware of the growing number of Punjabi-speaking Canadians and appreciate their rich legacy to Canadian history. We are committed to having their valuable contribution recognized by Canada.
“This includes ensuring services in Punjabi, recognizing it as being the fourth most spoken language in Canada. Already, we have seen some cities and municipalities putting up street signs and store signs in Punjabi.
There is also a rise in the number of public schools and universities offering courses in Punjabi. We welcome it and will encourage more such initiatives,” Layton said.
5 comments
Comments feed for this article
October 5, 2008 at 6:39 pm
jay
This is a problem with translation. Layton DID NOT call for Punjabi to be an official language and other blogging tories have noted that it was a mistake. I hope you will too. Thnx
http://www.stephentaylor.ca/2008/10/english-french-and-punjabi/
Subject: from Gurmukh Singh, Indo-Asian News Service (IANS), New Delhi
Clarification: Since the word ‘official’ in my report has caused confusion, let me explain it from our Indian perspective.
In India, an “official’” language does not become a “national” language. The acceptance of a language by the government makes it “official”, not a national language.
So Hindi and English are link languages (but never mentioned as national languages in the Indian Constitution), and 21 other languages are our official languages (but not national languages).
So my use of the word “official” might have been confused with the word “national” by some people. But that was not my intention.
All I wanted to know from Jack Layton was whether he will give some kind of recognition to the Punjabi language as it has been here for about a hundred years. Not the status of a national language.
Jack also didn’t promise anything except say that he will support any idea of such a recognition if his party is voted into power.
October 5, 2008 at 6:54 pm
crazybengal
Thank-you for the clarification. However, what does it mean to “recognize” a language – everyone recognizes that there are different languages, and many languages are spoken by the people of Canada. Official recognition of a language seems sort of redundant and silly.
October 5, 2008 at 6:58 pm
crazybengal
In addition, I hope that this does not mean that the federal and provincial governments would be expected to provide service in punjabi. This would be expensive.
October 5, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Michele
The quote includes Layton as “ensuring services in Punjabi.” Is the quote completely wrong? Should the reporter have a remedial course in the use of quotation marks? Or has Layton just been caught out pandering to a minority group when he thought no one else was paying attention?
October 6, 2008 at 11:38 am
What’s the third?
[...] Tip of the hat to Because No One Asked. [...]