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> English-only, global (…) That must be a record for quickest contradiction. Unless by “global” they mean… no, I’m stumped.
by kinbiko 4y ago
> English-only, global (…)
That must be a record for quickest contradiction.
Unless by “global” they mean… no, I’m stumped.
- thayne 4y agoEnglish is the main language in countries widely spread around the world, and is widely spoken as a second language in many others.
- AA-BA-94-2A-56 4y agoEven people from non-English speaking countries can speak English.
- asciiresort 4y agoJapan would like to have a word with you
- EarlKing 4y agoJapan is a rather stubborn outlier, but even they still make an effort to learn. There's no getting around the fact that English is the language of science and commerce such that many people choose to learn it even if it's not their mother tongue. No need to get in a huff about it.
- mrwnmonm 4y agoOf course English is the language for science and commerce, but that has nothing to do with it. Because you can't tell people "you can't speak your language here".
- hjkl0 4y ago> you can't tell people "you can't speak your language here". Yes you can, and that has been standard practice on the Internet since forever. Things are much better now with Unicode etc., you will still run into problems with things like directionality and non-Latin scripts all the time. If English is the default language and if English support is always the highest priority compared to every other language, that’s effectively the same as saying “you can’t speak your language here”. And it works the other way around too. If you build something local and support only the languages used locally, you’re effectively saying to everyone else, “you can’t use your language here”.
- CRConrad 4y ago> > you can't tell people "you can't speak your language here". > Yes you can, and that has been standard practice on the Internet since forever. Visst, klart du kan säga så, men andra kan lika väl strunta i det. Och tala om för dig att du beter dig som en översittare och ett arsel. Översittar-arslen har alltid funnits, det är inget nytt.
- just-tom 4y agoBut in which language?
- mrwnmonm 4y agoDo you mean they refuse or they can't?
- hjkl0 4y agoWell, you may have a hard time pronouncing the words, but that has nothing to do with understanding the language or with reading and writing in it. Spelling might actually be easier if you’re not distracted by inconsistencies compared to spoken language. Also, “global” doesn’t have to mean “relevant and accessible to every single person in the world”. It could also be the opposite of “local”, for example, and describe the kind of content you can find, rather the kind of people.
- OJFord 4y agoWhy are you stumped, what does 'global' have to do with language? I subscribe to a global streaming service of Hindi content.
- nlitened 4y agoHacker News is global and English-only
- mrwnmonm 4y agoSome things in this life are supposed to be diverse but they are not really :(
- xigoi 4y agoWould you like 90% of the posts on this site to be in languages you don't understand?
- mrwnmonm 4y agoAgain it is not the point. English is not my native language and I have no problem in using it... but if I am replying to someone I know their own language and would like to use that (with just them) I shouldn't be forced not to do that.
- xigoi 4y agoThen privately message them. Public networks are not meant for that.