Comments on: Linguistic diversity and “cosmopolitan bias”

By: Min Wu KIM

Min Wu KIM — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 07:48:00 +0000

I think Miller’s comment ‘cosmopolitan bias’ was only for redirecting Acosta’s question into an attack on the media as current strong men in US always have done. In my opinion, this Mono-lingualism or ‘English first’ policy in a big country like USA, economically and geographically, can get itself more harms than benefits since I believe that one of the crucial reasons that USA has got its current leading status in the world is its embracement of various cultures. By embracing the differences, creativity, valuable feedback, and efficient development has harmoniously been yielded. The linguistic policy excluding diversities can cause conflicts among its nations and lead the country to the past, not future.

By: Kaniz Rahman

Kaniz Rahman — Thu, 26 Oct 2017 15:44:00 +0000

I remember reading about “American Dream” where anyone (speaking any language) can come to US and become successful with his/her hard work and now I find it really funny that one’s nationalism is being judged by the language he speaks. This is the century when diversity is warmly welcomed, properity is only possible when every culture and langauge is accepted as it is rather than pusing away!

By: Dhanisa Kamila

Dhanisa Kamila — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 10:44:00 +0000

I agree that this matter can be seen as a racial propaganda. USA is a country built by immigrants from around the world, if “nationalism” is what they really after, then they should think about everyone equally despite of their language abilities. English proficiency is sure important. However, it’s not the most and only weighed aspect to consider in reforming the immigration system.
USA’s development is not a hard-work by Americans only, as a report by Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (https://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2016/07/13/Editorial-Opinion/Graphics/KF_Report.pdf) stated that foreign-born scientists and engineers contribute to more than half of the international patents filed by the USA.

By: Eleonora Beolchi

Eleonora Beolchi — Wed, 04 Oct 2017 07:37:00 +0000

Totally agree with this post, especially when you say that the idea of monoculturalism is a concept that relates to the Anglo-Saxon world. It is also interesting to see how easily the word “cosmopolitan” is juxtaposed to “nationalism”, and how easily the connection with “lack of patriotism” is made, which on the contrary has nothing to do with it. This is an unfair political way to raise tension and frictions in a country’s population by associating concepts that not necessarily are related one to other, playing on a very sensitive topic like the one of migrants.
Elly

By: GlobalMikeW

GlobalMikeW — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 04:56:00 +0000

I had never read the poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty. What a beautiful, inspiring message to greet newcomers to America… and how vastly different is the current political climate. The hijacking of a phrase like “cosmopolitan” highlights the vast propaganda machine in motion designed to instil fear and division. What is most disturbing, and what I thought the author did a fantastic job of explaining, is the re-framing of terminology that clearly represents an opposing point of view. By reversing contextual meaning, it essentially disempowers not just the term, but the very concept. I would suggest this as much an anything was what dismayed Jim Acosta. Afterall, as the other example of “fake news” reveals, it is very easy to see how the adoption of an alternate meaning can go mainstream, ultimately leading to a scenario where the very concepts we want to protect, such as linguistic diversity, are no longer represented by the term with which they are identified. And if it can’t be identified, how can it be fought for?

By: David Marjanović

David Marjanović — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 21:37:00 +0000

Interesting that there’s a comma missing on the plaque, confusingly in “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!”.

Also, everything Miriam Faine said.

By: Miriam Faine

Miriam Faine — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 07:02:00 +0000

interesting. there is also a long history of ‘cosmopolitan’ being used – by Stalin as well as on the Right – as code for ‘Jewish’. In the Nazi version, now appropriated by some on the Alt Right, the cosmopolitans are accused of diluting White purity by promoting immigration and race mixing. Scary stuff ,