A cultural minefield
Playing in a minefield is something that the wise avoid. That applies to the virtual along with the real. I live in a cultural minefield, one where the next innocent pile of dust might virtually destroy your leg. You see, language goes to the very soul of policy with the governance of this country. Pick a level, any level; sorry, you lose. Next.
Recently the provincial government decided that the tool of choice in defense of language was the video game. Maybe the mandarins didn’t arrive at work that morning with a firm gameplan, but by the end of the day, it had been decreed. Henceforth, videogames would reflect the language of the majority.
Over the weekend, some of the sons were in a combat of epic proportion; something about a Third Halo or the like. Nothing too violent, if you accept death and destruction as the order of the day. Note that the orders were given in a definite but guttural English, reflecting the heritage of the videogame. Rental games are returned after play, but this one seemed like a keeper.
This evening, we were in an “altruistic mood”, so the pair of parents decided to go shopping, with that title in view. At Wallies, the clerk explained that the game was only available in French, and seemed confused that we thought we’d seen it in English only the day before. Auditory hallucinations, perhaps. We thanked him for his assistance (he did explain that there was a booklet, in French, in the “Collectors Edition”) and decided to take our quest elsewhere. Not far, just over across the way in the Future Shop.
We did find the game, in two language versions. The difference; the English copy was more expensive. The new government policy is to force players to “follow the game plan” through economic arm-twisting. If the kids want “that English stuff”, they’re going to pay hard taxable cash for the opportunity. Not the right, the opportunity. Nothing more.
Although we didn’t buy a copy this evening, when we arrived home another rental copy was “in play”. In French. All that was available today. The guttural commands are now delivered in an obviously “dubbed in France” accent. Finally, culture is safe.
