My Opinions on Language and Unity

Day 2,388, 07:33 • Published in Cuba United Kingdom • by HebronGazelle


So far I have seen a lot of conversation around whether eCuba should also be speaking English as well as the native Spanish, and also about the unity of people from different countries that have recently arrived in eCuba. I thought I had to share my opinion on this matter to the rest of eCuba, which I have already done on the eCuba forums. A lot of this will be targeted at English speakers but everyone will be able to read it and might take something from it.


What Language Should eCuba Speak?

Well, there are several different ways we could take this question. One is what language should the eCuba government speak. Another meaning is what should the normal citizens speak in game, on the forums and on IRC. We could also mean what language should all of the media be in, can it be diverse or should we look down at those who use certain languages.

Firstly, the government. When you look at countries around the eWorld you will notice they speak the native language in that government, except for when that country has been PTOed. For example when I was in the eUK government (many times) we had to speak English which is the native language of the UK and my first language. Many players in the cabinet spoke a different language (mainly Spanish and Polish) as there first language and some could not speak English very well, I would say as many as 30% of the cabinet were like this. What language did they speak during government meetings, messages and articles? English. They may not have been perfect, but they learnt the language and respected our culture. This relates to eCuba as the foreigners who have come over the country should do the same. Spanish is the native language of Cuba, there are several real life Cubans including our first CP as well as many Spanish speakers who wanted to move to the country. If we don't speak Spanish in government it will be as if we have been PTOed, or that is how other countries will view it. I will be in the first government, and I will be trying to speak Spanish (and using a translator for the words I don't know).

Now onto the forums, IRC and during normal gameplay. Well, to me that does not matter as much. I believe there should be areas on the forum where you can speak English as that will be the second most popular language in eCuba after Spanish. It is like in real life when you move to a new country, you will be expected to talk to people in the native language but you can always talk to some people in your own first language. I don't use IRC but I believe that would be the same. I can't tell you a lot about IRC because personally I think it is a waste of time but speaking any language you want should be allowed. However if there is already a conversation going on in Spanish, don't interrupt with your different language (whether that may be English, French, Serbian, etc...). Respect other people's language and culture in the way you would want yours to be respected.


The Unity of eCuba

The way I see it, our country is very diverse. We have people from Cuba, the Caribbean, Spain, South America, UK and Eastern Europe... probably more. Our country has so many different ethnicities for such a small population making us one of the most diverse in the game. We have people who have had so much different experience for example South American governments may be run so differently to the way my country (UK) is run, and Eastern Europeans will have further experiences. With so many different ideas, why don't we use them?

So far people have used their differences to try and gain an advantage over other people. Look at the media and on the forums to see what has happened, you can see some people are obviously trying to create a divide in eCuba. I wont name any names as it should be clear for everyone to see. Everyone has a voice, don't let those few ruin the country for the hundreds which want to live in unity and peace. A few months before I left the eUK we were under a serious PTO threat from a group of Serbians. These PTOers were most powerful during two times; when we were quiet and didn't express our views, and when we were arguing with each other. What we are witnessing in eCuba is hopefully not a PTO threat, but the point remains the same. If we use our voices to remain friends, we will stay united.
This article was written by CheetahCurtis on the 4th of June 2014. Please subscribe for more great tips and info.