I came across this term 'parallel society' to describe the US term
'ghetto' while watching a documentary about Denmark. Apparently the
term was coined in the 1990s by sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer, hence
it's a euphemism with European origins, for a change.
According to Wiki:
"Denmark has used the term to define social housing estates where at
least half the residents are from "non-Western" countries, as well
as other factors such as high crime and unemployment rates."
On 27/06/26 16:00, occam wrote:
I came across this term 'parallel society' to describe the US term
'ghetto' while watching a documentary about Denmark. Apparently the
term was coined in the 1990s by sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer, hence
it's a euphemism with European origins, for a change.
According to Wiki:
"Denmark has used the term to define social housing estates where at
least half the residents are from "non-Western" countries, as well
as other factors such as high crime and unemployment rates."
It's more than just a euphemism. The word "ghetto" carries with it an undertone of "this problem will always be with us". A new term does open
up the possibility of asking what we can do about the problem.
In the case of migrant communities, there's a definite difference
between cultures that work hard to succeed and those that don't. In
Australia the ethnic Chinese stand out. They work hard, they teach their children to work hard, the children are high achievers at school, and
within one generation they have moved up socially. Some other
communities shrink within their own group, limit their interaction with
the wider community, and discourage their children from joining that community. Religion is part of the reason for this, but it can't be the
whole reason. [rCa]
It's more than just a euphemism. The word "ghetto" carries with it an undertone of "this problem will always be with us". A new term does open
up the possibility of asking what we can do about the problem.
In the case of migrant communities, there's a definite difference
between cultures that work hard to succeed and those that don't. In
Australia the ethnic Chinese stand out.
It's more than just a euphemism. The word "ghetto" carries with it an
undertone of "this problem will always be with us". A new term does open
up the possibility of asking what we can do about the problem.
I agree that they're different. For one thing, 'ghetto' evokes the
Jewish ghettos on the Continent. 'Parallel societies' suggests a lack of interaction.
Le 28/06/2026 |a 02:07, Peter Moylan a |-crit :
On 27/06/26 16:00, occam wrote:
I came across this term 'parallel society' to describe the US term
'ghetto' while watching a documentary about Denmark. Apparently the
term was coined in the 1990s by sociologist Wilhelm Heitmeyer, hence
it's a euphemism with European origins, for a change.
According to Wiki:
"Denmark has used the term to define social housing estates where at
least half the residents are from "non-Western" countries, as well
as other factors such as high crime and unemployment rates."
It's more than just a euphemism. The word "ghetto" carries with it an undertone of "this problem will always be with us". A new term does open
up the possibility of asking what we can do about the problem.
I agree that they're different. For one thing, 'ghetto' evokes the
Jewish ghettos on the Continent.
'Parallel societies' suggests a lack of interaction.
In the case of migrant communities, there's a definite difference
between cultures that work hard to succeed and those that don't. In Australia the ethnic Chinese stand out. They work hard, they teach their children to work hard, the children are high achievers at school, and within one generation they have moved up socially. Some other
communities shrink within their own group, limit their interaction with
the wider community, and discourage their children from joining that community. Religion is part of the reason for this, but it can't be the whole reason. [rCa]
Some migrants don't mix, it's true. This is true of some British people
on the Continent:
"Many of those I spoke to felt that they managed quite well in French on
a 'need to know basis', relying on more competent acquaintances to
translate documents and even accompany them to hospital appointments. However, such dependency contradicts the idea of being integrated.
Some migrants don't mix, it's true. This is true of some British
people on the Continent:
"Many of those I spoke to felt that they managed quite well in French
on a 'need to know basis', relying on more competent acquaintances to
translate documents and even accompany them to hospital
appointments. However, such dependency contradicts the idea of being integrated.
On 28/06/26 15:11, Hibou wrote:
Some migrants don't mix, it's true. This is true of some British
people on the Continent:
"Many of those I spoke to felt that they managed quite well in French
on a 'need to know basis', relying on more competent acquaintances to
-atranslate documents and even accompany them to hospital
appointments. However, such dependency contradicts the idea of being
integrated.
I was partly guilty of this during the year in which I lived in the USA.
My friends were mostly from British Commonwealth or former Commonwealth countries At times we used to sit around griping about the difficulty of understanding those crazy Americans. My mother-in-law often mailed us
food parcels (although not on my request). I drove a Japanese car, which
at the time was an Australian thing to do.
Still, I made some effort to integrate. I worked hard at learning to
speak American.
At Thanksgiving I ate pumpkin pie without grimacing. I
spoke to people at bus stops. So I'll give myself a score of 50%.
On 28/06/26 15:11, Hibou wrote:
Some migrants don't mix, it's true. This is true of some British
people on the Continent:
"Many of those I spoke to felt that they managed quite well in French
on a 'need to know basis', relying on more competent acquaintances to
-atranslate documents and even accompany them to hospital
appointments. However, such dependency contradicts the idea of being
integrated.
I was partly guilty of this during the year in which I lived in the USA.
My friends were mostly from British Commonwealth or former Commonwealth countries At times we used to sit around griping about the difficulty of understanding those crazy Americans. My mother-in-law often mailed us
food parcels (although not on my request). I drove a Japanese car, which
at the time was an Australian thing to do.
Still, I made some effort to integrate. I worked hard at learning to
speak American. At Thanksgiving I ate pumpkin pie without grimacing. I
spoke to people at bus stops. So I'll give myself a score of 50%.
...The solution is to tear down a number of these
blocks forcing the inhabitants to move elsewhere, and then build houses instead.
...The solution is to tear down a number of these
blocks forcing the inhabitants to move elsewhere, and then build houses
instead.
Wouldn't it make more sense to build the houses first?
On 28/06/2026 13:08, Peter Moylan wrote:
Still, I made some effort to integrate. I worked hard at learning
to speak American.
<smile> Would that be white American, or some other variety of AmE?
Berkeley is a place where you don't often meet a native Californian.
People have migrated there from all over the country, and of course from >outside the country as well. As a result, there's not a well-defined
local dialect. It's a mixture of multiple influences, and I guess that[s
what I learnt to speak. "White American" is as good a description as any.
On 28/06/26 21:41, occam wrote:
On 28/06/2026 13:08, Peter Moylan wrote:
Still, I made some effort to integrate. I worked hard at learning
to speak American.
<smile> Would that be white American, or some other variety of AmE?
Berkeley is a place where you don't often meet a native Californian.
People have migrated there from all over the country, and of course from outside the country as well. As a result, there's not a well-defined
local dialect. It's a mixture of multiple influences, and I guess that[s
what I learnt to speak. "White American" is as good a description as any.
The black people in that area speak a rather different dialect. I learnt
to understand that, but not to speak it.
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