• pedz@lemmy.ca
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    4 days ago

    All this because some manufacturers in the US can’t be bothered to include instructions in French, or a sticker in French to cover the English buttons on a microwave oven. Our laws state that French must be available for products that are sold. That’s all they have to comply with.

    If Chinese and other international companies can comply and get away with it by providing badly machine translated crap, in the age of AI slop, American companies can also make that “effort” if they want to be able to sell us their stuff. They can fuck off and keep their shit if they don’t even want to bother trying.

    I may speak English but my family doesn’t; they need their badly translated instructions. It’s absolutely worth a commercial war over this. They have no idea of who we are. We did not resist assimilation for centuries to end up being told to speak white by US companies.

    Y peuvent bien manger d’la marde.

    • Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I doubt anyone on the US side really cares about adding French labeling. He’s thrown in these language demands at the last minute to derail the deal because it’s a power move.

      If I had to guess I’d say he’s trying to shake down some American companies that want the deal to go through and/or he’s still aiming to make Canada the 51st state and this is his latest move.

      • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        I doubt anyone on the US side really cares about adding French labeling.

        Flipping the cereal box over burns calories.

        • Dead_or_Alive@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          When I put together a cabinet, it had several different languages on the instructions. I just tossed them in the trash, it’s no big deal. Almost everything you buy has several sets of directions in different languages.

          Businesses are already doing it and no one cares about continuing to print instructions or caution labels in French. I seriously doubt Trump had read instructions or caution labels of any kind in 20 years.

          But Trump loves tariffs because he can pick winners and losers and force businesses to grovel at his feet and collect kick backs. What better way to get kickbacks than messing with the trade deal for our largest trading partner.

          There is likely some other play to enrich himself at hand. Dissing the French labeling is a great way to sabotage a deal to enable that play.

          • thisorthatorwhatever@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            American companies complain they can’t compete in world trade, while refusing to translate simple words and instructions. This despite the 1trillion dollars invested in the A.I. industry, that in theory should be able to make translations instantly and accurately.

            French is again going to be the most spoken language on Earth in 30 years. Most of N. Africa speaks French.

      • Madison420@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        It’s about trying to start shit. If you accept it you’re one step closer to annexation and if you refuse and continue trade disputes and you’ll end up one step closer to war. They need a major war and they don’t care with who.

          • Madison420@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            Clearly it’s not given it’s not legally a war which is what they need for war powers and the fact that they’re attempting to start a war with Denmark, China and pretty literally every mildly democratic country south of the border.

      • green_link@lemmy.world
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        4 days ago

        maybe trying, but all it’s doing is humiliating the US. shows the US can’t be trusted on any god damn thing.

      • pedz@lemmy.ca
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        4 days ago

        It may just be a reason to point at and whine about “how unreasonable those Canadians are”.

    • Malyca@lemmy.zip
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      4 days ago

      Ai can even half ass do it now, there’s no excuse it’s just bigotry

      • PoliteDudeInTheMood@lemmy.ca
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        4 days ago

        AI can do it exceptionally well now. The MTL days are long gone. As someone who consumes an obscenely large amount of Asian webnovel slop, the translations are almost perfect.

    • Madison420@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I mean French is also a “white” language only thrust onto other people by colonization in places like Algeria. That said it’s weird to be racist about someone making racist attacks that effect your family.

      • pedz@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        It’s a specific reference to Québec’s history. We were told that our language was not French anymore, and were not considered “white” by some English speakers.

        According to the linguist, testimonies from francophone Canadians reporting being told to speak white stretch into the 1980s, although the expression has become marginal in the 21st century.

              • pedz@lemmy.ca
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                3 days ago

                No. Maybe it’s because English is not my native language but I just don’t understand your replies at all. Are you telling me I’m being racist? If so, why?

                • Madison420@lemmy.world
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                  3 days ago

                  I was quite clear, you’re being weird. They’re not saying be more white they’re saying you’re American act American which is bigoted and stupid just not in the way you imply. And yes I’m implying it’s a bit racist to respond to bigotry with racism.

        • Madison420@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          No they’re mistaking inclusion for racism, they’re saying act American not act white and so far those two aren’t always the same thing.