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>You're afraid of something because it's alien to you. Ugh, don't make stuff up like this to try to prove some point. This discussion is about getting rid of l

by hueving 11y ago

>You're afraid of something because it's alien to you. Ugh, don't make stuff up like this to try to prove some point. This discussion is about getting rid of language barriers and has nothing to do with fear of a language. I want standardized language as well and I wouldn't care if it meant I had to learn a new language. So it's not xenophobic at all.

scrollaway 11y ago
"IMHO different languages are equally annoying, useless and impossible to deprecate" Not understanding different cultures, thinking their very existence is "annoying and useless" and thus wanting them gone? Yeah, that's being afraid of something alien. And "afraid" is a nice way to put it. I speak 4 languages fluently and learn more because it's fun, it's beautiful, it teaches you a lot about people and culture and it even improves your understanding of languages you already speak. It's also a wonderful way to immerse yourself into a country you're moving into for the first time. This thread is filled with people who lack that perspective and think their opinion is informed and considerate because "I know I might have to learn a new language and that's fine". Let me remind you how this thread started: "why are we putting up with other languages anyway?". We already have a lingua franca in the western world and it is English. It's as good as it can get. But the replies here, unhappy with that, boil down to "let's make it official and declare every other language as dead, then let's force that onto the non-english-speaking world". I used to think like this, btw. I wondered why we bother with different languages. Why going to another country had such a high artificial barrier of entry. Why we didn't just agree on one and left languages to "hobbyists". But I was 8 years old and didn't know any better. I expect more from HN.
- hueving 11y ago
  Stop projecting! Just because you used to be afraid of other languages does not mean people cannot criticize the economic and social barriers languages put up. Calling an idea xenophobic because you disagree with it shows a complete lack of objectivity. Would you call the creation of the Euro or even bitcoin xenophobic? They both were designed to eliminate barriers imposed by differences between countries as well.
  - scrollaway 11y ago
    I'm not calling the idea xenophobic. It's misguided but has potential. The reasoning various people are giving for it here is another story however. The lack of attempt to understand what languages have to offer to humanity, and just pass it off as "useless" is extremely xenophobic.

by hueving 11y ago

scrollaway 11y ago

"IMHO different languages are equally annoying, useless and impossible to deprecate" Not understanding different cultures, thinking their very existence is "annoying and useless" and thus wanting them gone? Yeah, that's being afraid of something alien. And "afraid" is a nice way to put it. I speak 4 languages fluently and learn more because it's fun, it's beautiful, it teaches you a lot about people and culture and it even improves your understanding of languages you already speak. It's also a wonderful way to immerse yourself into a country you're moving into for the first time. This thread is filled with people who lack that perspective and think their opinion is informed and considerate because "I know I might have to learn a new language and that's fine". Let me remind you how this thread started: "why are we putting up with other languages anyway?". We already have a lingua franca in the western world and it is English. It's as good as it can get. But the replies here, unhappy with that, boil down to "let's make it official and declare every other language as dead, then let's force that onto the non-english-speaking world". I used to think like this, btw. I wondered why we bother with different languages. Why going to another country had such a high artificial barrier of entry. Why we didn't just agree on one and left languages to "hobbyists". But I was 8 years old and didn't know any better. I expect more from HN.

hueving 11y ago
Stop projecting! Just because you used to be afraid of other languages does not mean people cannot criticize the economic and social barriers languages put up. Calling an idea xenophobic because you disagree with it shows a complete lack of objectivity. Would you call the creation of the Euro or even bitcoin xenophobic? They both were designed to eliminate barriers imposed by differences between countries as well.
- scrollaway 11y ago
  I'm not calling the idea xenophobic. It's misguided but has potential. The reasoning various people are giving for it here is another story however. The lack of attempt to understand what languages have to offer to humanity, and just pass it off as "useless" is extremely xenophobic.