ENGLISH IS THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THIS FORUM

[JP Venturi]

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum i know, but for the love of god, can we please use full words? This is something i've noticed happening in the last few weeks.

It makes it really hard to understand what you are asking if i first have to decode a whole sentence.

just a thought

[JP Venturi]

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum i know, but for the love of god, can we please use full words? This is something i've noticed happening in the last few weeks.

It makes it really hard to understand what you are asking if i first have to decode a whole sentence.

just a thought

[billywight]

what do u meen?

[Answerforsomeguy]

This coming from a Canadian who lives in Quebec. In order for your post to be accepted it must comply with Quebec law. You must make all posts first in French using a larger font that dwarfs the English version by a least a factor of 10.

[drivetrainUW-Platt]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Answerforsomeguy:
This coming from a Canadian who lives in Quebec. In order for your post to be accepted it must comply with Quebec law. You must make all posts first in French using a larger font that dwarfs the English version by a least a factor of 10. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

your kidding right? if not thats fuggin retarded...

[Matt Gignac]

Nope, it's true.

We've got Bill 101, which means french lettering on signs has to be bigger than english, immigrants automatically go to french school unless they go to a private school, yada yada yada.

We've even got the Office de la Langue Francaise going around with rulers enforcing the sign rule.

Sure it's shitty for anglos and immigrants, but I comfort myself in the fact that our drinking age is the lowest in North America, and is more of a suggestion anyways, so our law system isn't completely messed up.

Matt Gignac
McGill Racing Team

[Jersey Tom]

No one should be alienated due to language difficulties. However, there have been some posts that have been almost unintelligible due to lack of effort in translation or just because the post is on the order of "how do I design X"

[Bill Kunst]

Tom-
Mbe u -udstd wht ppl r tlkn abt
Translated: Maybe you don't understand what people are talking about.

punctuation, vowels, symbols for words, unintelligible BS (I think this one is okay to abreviate), and other random crap that you have to decipher to figure out what design the person would like you to do for them. Maybe we are old, so here is a link to help decipher...

http://www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/textmessageabbreviations.asp

Hope this helps,
Bill

[repeatoffender]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Matt Gignac:
Nope, it's true.

We've got Bill 101, which means french lettering on signs has to be bigger than english, immigrants automatically go to french school unless they go to a private school, yada yada yada.

We've even got the Office de la Langue Francaise going around with rulers enforcing the sign rule.

Sure it's shitty for anglos and immigrants, but I comfort myself in the fact that our drinking age is the lowest in North America, and is more of a suggestion anyways, so our law system isn't completely messed up.

Matt Gignac
McGill Racing Team </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Stupid french thinking they are better than everyone else.

[Jersey Tom]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Stupid french thinking they are better than everyone else. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Renault! http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_cool.gif

[BryanH]

weird, Aussie comedian Will Anderson is at Montreal comedy festival right now, was chatting to the boys on triple J this afternoon.
While out shopping he found that if the shop assistant greets him with "Bonjour" it's best to just walk back out, muttering stuff like rainbow warrior just doesn't cut it....
The other weird thing he has found is that the homeless can speak two languages, a skill that would guarantee you a job in OZ
Cheers

RMIT fan club

[billywight]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">punctuation, vowels, symbols for words, unintelligible BS (I think this one is okay to abreviate), and other random crap that you have to decipher to figure out what design the person would like you to do for them. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's a pretty accurate description.

[John Valerio]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jersey Tom:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Stupid french thinking they are better than everyone else. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Renault! http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_cool.gif </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

wrong kind of french

John Valerio
Queen's FSAE
http://engsoc.queensu.ca/formulacar/

[Answerforsomeguy]

Ha Ha Ha

"wrong kind of french"

The ignorance of some people is truly amazing. John, your comment made my day. Thank you.

One of my favourite is the American boycott of French's Mustard and the change to the name Freedom Fries. French was the last name of the company's founder, an American.

Vive le Quebec.

[Chuck Maddocks]

they only speak french in quebec right? so does bill 101 apply to the rest of the country?

the drinking age is lower in canada. but so is the temperature. the difference is that americans drink to cool off, while the canadians drink to stay warm. ever been to montreal on new year's eve?

[Answerforsomeguy]

Bill 101 applies only in Quebec and can be law as Quebec never signed Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms (equivalent to the American Constitution). This gives Quecbec the ability to veto most of the Rights and Freedoms provisions made by Canada. From what I read on the international news websites Canada allows this because of Quebec's continued threats to seperate which runs in cycles of support and dissapproval every 10 years.

The drinking age may be lower in Canada than America but I've never had ID checked in Europe.

[Alexandre D.]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">This gives Quecbec the ability to veto most of the Rights and Freedoms provisions made by Canada. From what I read on the international news websites Canada allows this because of Quebec's continued threats to seperate which runs in cycles of support and dissapproval every 10 years.

The drinking age may be lower in Canada than America but I've never had ID checked in Europe. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Not exactly. The problem with the chart is more complex and is highly related to another chart that was cancelled. The reality is that it doesn't change a single thing. It's only used by politician to complain during elections and doesn't mean a single thing in everyday politics.
There's no such thing as province veto.
Canada is a federation. This means that provinces should be managed as a country on many specific competencies. Education and immigration is the responsibility of Quebec. It's the way that federations work not some kind of veto or threats.
Canada is a large country with many cultures. Federation type government allows it to stay unified while respecting its citizens. It allows different cultures to work together. There are some separatists here. Separatists complain about intolerance and assimilation. They are intolerant too. Since media are bored they get MUCH more coverage than they should.

About 101. I'm not sure about the actual law but the reality is that in most case the English title is a little bit smaller (not a 10:1 ratio). The province speaks French and this is why it's necessary to have descriptions/manuals in French. In a Republic it wouldn't clear if the state can protect its culture this way. In a federation, it's very clear.

I'm amazed; university level people can be so intolerant and judge so easily without the necessary knowledge. First of all, Quebec is not France. France represent 30% of the french speaking people. Not 100%. It's like insulting Spain because of the Mexican immigration.

The forum's language is english. End of the discussion. It seems that some people can't see a post without making some smartass comments.

[Chris Allbee]

Thats a mighty tall horse you seem to be perched upon...

[pengulns2001]

renaults only good because its driven by a spaniard

[JP Venturi]

Hmm, well this has once again turned into the world versus quebec...

Perhaps i am from quebec, yes, but i would not mind if people posted questions in french. What i really meant by "official language is english" is that people post questions in coherent well formed sentences, with at least fully written words. French is fine too, i can read that stuf...


Pls guys i wd like 2 b abl 2 r/ a post w/out nding 2 d-code da langage.

I AM 3L337 H4CKZ0R, lol

[Beatle]

"well this has once again turned into the world versus quebec..." hahahaha
How important do you guys think you are?

[Dr Claw]

You know what i found most hillarious when i was in montreal for the race? aside from the abundance of bums with pets, i didnt see one canadian flag..

actually i did, but it was in the center of the McDonalds Arch on the french fry box..but still, no maple leaf flag - just the "french pokey thing" flag.

[Fred]

Quebecois don't hate Canadians...we are a french speaking province within a majority of english speaking fellows so some Quebecois feel that the Quebec flag represents them better and they feel that this flag is a lot more theirs than the Canadian flag.

The other thing is that when you show a Canadian flag, separatists may think you are a federalist and if you show a Quebec flag, federalists think you are a separatists...

I think that many just don't wear any flags not because they are not pround of being Canadian and Quebecois but more because they don't want to engage in the debate.

There is something I don't understand about that OZ guy getting out of a shop if the merchant would greet him with a "Bonjour". A men visiting a french speaking country must be prepare to try to speak french. When our team goes to Detroit, we don't expect to speak french when we check in a the hotel...

Its part of the fun you get when you visit other coutries... you try to learn their language as much as you can !

[mario_rbr]

I´m from venezuela and it is really hard to learn and understand your whole sentence. We really appreciate that use a simply grammar.

[pengulns2001]

am i the only one that doesnt see a problem with people posting in other languages... its much less anoying "thn ppl pstn wt bs ngls" that shit just pisses me off. if you post in another language your post might not get answered right away because the chances are lower of someone speaking your language AND knowing the answer to your question but someone may be able to translate the meaning of your post better than you yourself can. i know if someone posted in spanish vs attempting a poor translation i would probably have a better chance of understanding the question

[murpia]

In the end, it all comes down to your own personal approach to asking for advice:

Method 1) Be yourself, use your regional dialect and idioms, use your arcane chat-room abbreviations, SHOUT: so what if others don't get it, you're keepin' it real...

Method 2) Do your best to make it easy for others to understand you, to give yourself the greatest chance of a successful result.

Votes please???

Regards, Ian

[Sam Zimmerman]

This whole thread started when somebody, brand new to fsae.com, decided that he was the one to declare that English is the official language of the forum.

At the same time, a few people on this forum took it upon themselves to ridicule people from other countries for their lack of English skills when asking questions.

This is a world-wide competition; questions will come from all over the world. Get used to it. No matter how small the company you go to work for, you will most likely have to deal with people from all over the world.

Believe it or not, there was a time on this forum where intelligent people discussed difficult problems and constantly tried to raise the level of knowledge for everybody who came to this forum. Now people are more likely to ridicule, carry on ridiculous lengthy discussions over what major has the most cheaters, or just spout out about things they really know very little about.

This forum can be a very useful tool for you to really deepen your understanding of a subject. There used to be a few un-appointed leaders in different areas that ensured plenty of knowledge was transferred. Do a search for Charlie Ping, Denny Trimble, James Waltman, or a few of the other old-timers and you will definitely find a stark contrast between their posts and those of goon, McGill_Man, and Penguin and you might see what I mean.

It's not that I mean to be a jerk, but raise the intellectual bar here, guys, because many of you are stinking up this forum.

[kwancho]

Also, the original poster's complaint had nothing to do with non-native speakers struggling with the English language and all to do with lazy people not typing out the full words thus leaving incomprehensible garbage.

[Andy K]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dr Claw:
You know what i found most hillarious when i was in montreal for the race? aside from the abundance of bums with pets, i didnt see one canadian flag..

actually i did, but it was in the center of the McDonalds Arch on the french fry box..but still, no maple leaf flag - just the "french pokey thing" flag. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

The reason for this being that the race was held on the 'national holiday' of La Belle Province (St-Jean Babtiste). As a result everyone saw the annual celebration, instead of having the race just any other weekend in mid-June. Fred's explanation is as simple as you're going to get it as to the situation in QC.

I hate the lazy typers, but have no problems with 'foreign' people attempting to communicate in English. You'll have to deal with language barriers at some point when you get a real job.


ahem... pwned!!!!1111 http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif

[JP Venturi]

To address mr. zimmerman's reply, i have been reading this forum for over a year. Learing, reading, and building racecars. Lately i've realised i'm starting to have answers to people's questions, so i signed up for an account. My sole interest in joining was to help a few people out, in hope that when i needed help someone would be there to answer my question.

Perhaps i might be new to the forum, but that does not mean i cannot make a decent contribution. Instead of posting a new question, i do a forum search first. Often enough those you mentioned have the answers i need to some degree.

The whole basis of my post was an attempt to spur people to make the effort to at least communicate their problems using real english words. I have no problems with other languages, i read french, spanish, english, and italian, and am slowly learning bits of polish.

My interest is exactly the same as yours, believe it or not, to maintain the level of technicality of this forum. Yes, it is the internet, but this is an engineering information centre. As such, it should be treated respectfully in that way.

I may as well just quit now and we may as well just shut down this site, seeing as new members arent really required, because other people have already answered all the questions.

Unfortunately sam, you did come across as a little of a jerk. That's okay, you have my forgiveness, because the future is dependant on the newbs and i'm happy knowing that. Now for god sakes, lets just build some cars?

-jp

[Sam Zimmerman]

You are right; the future is dependant on the newbs, which is why I continue to look at this forum. I like to follow the FSAE community and occasionally answer a technical question or offer advice whenever I think my limited knowledge might help someone out. It is also why, if you have been watching this forum for the last year, you have seen my post discouraging the use of stickys for different subjects because I feel people continue to learn as they ask and answer the same questions over and over again. Each answer comes with a new perspective based on classes, experience, testing, etc. There is rarely a truly new subject that comes up on this forum, but many people who are no longer active in FSAE still come back because the discussion is still interesting and still teaches.

I am keen enough to notice that many vague questions were posted at or about the time you started this thread. Many of those had poor grammar, misspelled words, and poor sentence structure. I am also sure that you are keen enough to notice that many of those questions were posted by people who, it would appear, do not use English on a regular basis. You might also have noticed that the questions were followed with short, sarcastic replies which essentially ridiculed the person for attempting to further their knowledge. Being the observant type, I then noticed that somebody who had just registered for the first time 13 days earlier declare an official language for the forum. I would just ask that you find it in your heart to allow this forum to operate without an official language.

Short of those few people who come here either bloviate about their new design that is going to prove everybody else stupid or to find a group of people that will do all their leg-work for them, the people that come here do so to learn. If you or anybody else has some knowledge to help them out, even if their grammar and spelling of English leaves something to be desired, we should help them out. This is, after all, the number one forum, in terms of knowledge sharing, in all of motor sports and quite possibly in all university-sponsored technical contests of any kind.

[JP Venturi]

mmm yes, i understand what you mean.

Perhaps i should have titled my post to be,

"ful coherent sentences please!"

I have no objections to people posting in other languages, or trying in english. Just the native english people that are too lazy to type out full words.

My fault for the misunderstanding, lol

[Chris Allbee]

I'm with JP on this one. I have no problem working through choppy sentence structure or simple mistakes in spelling. Its the cryptic internet chat lingo that makes it difficult to comprehend what a person is trying to say. The occasional "ppl" or such is ok, but when a post comes up that every other vowel is dropped to the point that the post is difficult to read that things become agitating. And if you recall I tried to address the question at hand before I made my comment about his lack of english skills. I'm sorry I never got into the whole Instant Messenger scene and my text messaging abilities are not lightning quick, but as someone mentioned earlier, if the poster is looking for information it's best to try and be as clear as possible. If they make an honest effort to be understood and we in turn make an honest effort to comprehend then things will be much better off and the technical info can flow freely. But it will take both parties. Its not just the responsibility of the read to figure it out, the poster needs to take some initiative to be understood as well.

Ok, end rant.