{"id":1060377,"date":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=89087"},"modified":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","modified_gmt":"2023-05-30T01:00:39","slug":"slow-down-simeon-brown-nz-bilingual-traffic-signs-arent-an-accident-waiting-to-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/05\/30\/slow-down-simeon-brown-nz-bilingual-traffic-signs-arent-an-accident-waiting-to-happen\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow down Simeon Brown \u2013 NZ bilingual traffic signs aren\u2019t an accident waiting to\u00a0happen"},"content":{"rendered":"
ANALYSIS:<\/strong> By Richard Shaw<\/a>, Massey University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n When New Zealand’s opposition National Party\u2019s transport spokesperson, Simeon Brown, questioned the logic<\/a> of bilingual traffic signs, he seemed to echo his leader Christopher Luxon\u2019s earlier misgivings<\/a> about the now prevalent use of te reo M\u0101ori in government departments.<\/p>\n Genuine concern or political signalling in an election year? After all, Luxon himself has expressed interest in learning te reo<\/a>, and also encouraged its use<\/a> when he was CEO of Air New Zealand.<\/p>\n He even sought to trademark <\/a> \u201cKia Ora\u201d<\/em> as the title of the airline\u2019s in-flight magazine.<\/p>\n And for his part, Brown has no problem with M\u0101ori place names on road signs. His concern is that important messaging about safety or directions should be readily understood. \u201cSigns need to be clear,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all speak English, and they should be in English.\u201d Adding more words, he believes, is simply confusing.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to take Brown at his word, then, with a new selection of proposed bilingual signs now out for public consultation<\/a>. Given the National Party\u2019s enthusiastic embrace of AI<\/a> to generate pre-election advertising imagery, one obvious place to start is with ChatGPT, which tells us:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n ChatGPT also suggests that by providing information about speed limits, directions and warnings, bilingual traffic signs \u201caccommodate diverse communities and promote road safety for all drivers\u201d.<\/p>\n ‘They should be in English’: National to ditch te reo M\u0101ori traffic signs https:\/\/t.co\/7FGYyQDrPu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 RNZ News (@rnz_news) May 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
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