<
https://theconversation.com/slow-down-simeon-brown-bilingual-traffic-signs-arent-an-accident-waiting-to-happen-206579>
"When the National Party’s transport spokesperson, Simeon Brown, questioned the
logic of bilingual traffic signs, he seemed to echo his leader Christopher
Luxon’s earlier misgivings about the now prevalent use of te reo Māori in
government departments.
Genuine concern or political signalling in an election year? After all, Luxon
himself has expressed interest in learning te reo, and also encouraged its use
when he was CEO of Air New Zealand. He even sought to trademark “Kia Ora” as
the title of the airline’s in-flight magazine.
And for his part, Brown has no problem with Māori place names on road signs.
His concern is that important messaging about safety or directions should be
readily understood. “Signs need to be clear,” he said. “We all speak English,
and they should be in English.” Adding more words, he believes, is simply
confusing.
It’s important to take Brown at his word, then, with a new selection of
proposed bilingual signs now out for public consultation. Given the National
Party’s enthusiastic embrace of AI to generate pre-election advertising
imagery, one obvious place to start is with ChatGPT, which tells us:
Bilingual traffic signs, which display information in two or more languages,
are generally not considered a driver hazard. In fact, bilingual signage is
often implemented to improve safety and ensure that drivers of different
language backgrounds can understand and follow the traffic regulations.
ChatGPT also suggests that by providing information about speed limits,
directions and warnings, bilingual traffic signs “accommodate diverse
communities and promote road safety for all drivers”."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
