Taking a break from their essential celebrity coverage, the Vancouver Sun’s website returned to hard news today with a terrifying story on how many people in Vancouver don’t speak English. The interactive map is especially helpful. I shit you not: “the darker the colour, the more people there are in that place who can’t speak English”. Derp.
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I would say your online magazine would be grown up if you didn’t use slang words in your editorials. Also, I thought I would throw this in: maybe you would be more mature if you took the time to understand how GIS works and the powerful tool that it is to inform public policy. Tool.
Silly person. This is not about furthering any understanding of public policy but making your Grandma mad about the number of people who “don’t bother to learn English” in our neighbourhoods. If this piece wasn’t sandwiched in between stories about which celebrity did what and what a “dream home” looks like from the inside your outrage at my immaturity would be a lot more interesting. Thanks for reading just the same.
Silly Scout “looking for a right-wing conspiracy wherever I can” Writer. This series of data maps is interesting and informative for the general public. Information should be freely available to all; people can draw their own conclusions.
If Grandma notices that areas in Richmond with lots of non-English speakers also show low incomes, she might wonder. She always sees expensive houses and cars there. So she might conclude that there’s a lot of improper reporting of income and tax avoidance in those areas. This might sadden her as her and her friends paid taxes all their lives but now face a deteriorating heath care system.
The graphic’s title illustrates your point well. It doesn’t show numbers who don’t speak English, it illustrates the numbers who “can’t” connoting as you point out, a weakness, inability, or inferiority.
Slang words? This may not be the site for you. I appreciate the insight into a younger and more liberal world this magazine provides. Some foul language and dismissive attitude is part of it’s charm.
“Based on data from the 2006 census, five per cent of Metro Vancouver residents have no knowledge of English, meaning they can’t carry on a conversation in the language.”
there is a substantial difference between ‘having no knowledge of English’ and being able to ‘carry on a conversation in the language’.
just off the top of my head, I can name 10 languages that I have a ‘knowledge’ of, none of which I can speak more than a few words, let alone carry on a conversation in …
It’s a contentious issue, sure. The wording could use some work, but the information is pretty fascinating.They mapped a ton of data from the census:
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/metro-mapped/index.html
OTOH, if you use the ‘don’t’, that doesn’t mean they can’t actually speak it, it might mean they do all their daily communication in another language. ‘Can’t’ might be a loaded word, I’ve never really thought of it as such, but I think it’s clearer than ‘don’t’.
Back to the maps and data. This is interesting: “In some suburban neighbourhoods, apartments as common as in the West End”
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/vanmap/5194531/story.html
And others just state the obvious “West Vancouver has Metro’s priciest rents”.
I’d say about 95% of the population doesn’t speak English, regardless (or is that irregardless!) if they can or not.
Canada has two official languages English and French pick one and speak it. Im tired of people who move here and don’t absorb Canadian culture or try to fit in. Move back to where you came from if you want to be exactly the same here as the country you came from. ~ Thanks!
G$