5 ms·

Thanks for posting. This really shows the power of the English language. I am not French, I don't live in France, I don't speak French and I am not particularl

by flexie 7y ago

Thanks for posting. This really shows the power of the English language. I am not French, I don't live in France, I don't speak French and I am not particularly interested in tunnels or rails. And probably that's why it's the first time I hear about this. But I am not American either, and I don't live there, but I have read about the expensive few mile extension of a subway line in the Upper East Side of Manhattan and the failed attempts to build a high speed train between LA and San Francisco hundreds of times. A project of that scale in one of the largest Western capitals goes relatively unnoticed outside of France mainly because of language. Think about what else is lost. I bet there are thousands of businesses, and lots of culture which never get noticed mainly because of language.

latchkey 7y ago
This is a big reason why I moved from SF Bay to SE Asia (vietnam). While the language is totally impossible for me (mostly just cause I've learned ignorance is bliss), I can still learn a lot about how locals live, what's happening in the environment, cultural things, etc... my eyes have really been opened to the fact that when you stay in one place, you really miss out on larger perspectives.
growlist 7y ago
Not just language though. The MSM in the UK has such a narrow range it's shocking - today's leading story on the news will often be something like the rapper Stormzy's latest completely predictable opinions about whatever, and then I'll turn over to Al Jazeera and find out there's thousands dead in Peru from flooding, civil war breaking out somewhere in Africa, etc. It's hard not to come to the conclusion that they explicitly do not want an informed populace. It didn't used to be like this.
- thaumasiotes 7y ago
  To be fair, "civil war breaking out somewhere in Africa" is news in the same way that the tide going out is news. If you're upset about how predictable it is to hear about a rapper's opinions, you should be more upset about coverage of a war going on in Africa.
  - growlist 7y ago
    > To be fair, "civil war breaking out somewhere in Africa" is news in the same way that the tide going out is news. Remarkably complacent view, and undermined by the fact that other channels will report on this stuff, but not the BBC. The point is firstly that the signal to noise used to be far higher in the UK - I've been watching it for 40 years - I know what I'm talking about - and secondly that it's extremely unlikely I'm going to learn anything new from Stormzy's poorly informed opinions. And yet the latter is prioritised over the former.
    - thaumasiotes 7y ago
      > undermined by the fact that other channels will report on this stuff, but not the BBC. If you think the willingness of a news organization to publish something depends on how newsworthy it is, I guess all I can do is respond by quoting the Daily Mail Song: Pop stars take drugs Teen boys wear hoods Sports stars have sex Bears shit in woods ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI ) But that's still English news. I guess I can quote something else: > the more lurid, titillating, sensational, or nationalistic, the better. Even the distinguished Xinhua News Service is not immune from this sort of thing. I couldn't help but chuckle when the podcast host Scott Peters worried whether or not the American press corps' obsession with non-stories like Kim Kardashian and Bruce/Catelynn Jenner would give it [Xinhua] a strategic advantage in the contest to control global media narratives. My guess is Mr. Peters doesn't read Xinhua too often. If I had few dollars [for] every time Xinhua placed a photo collage like "Beautiful Female Soldiers From All Over the World," "Singer Valen Hsu Poses For Fashion Shots," "Sleeping Babies With Their Cutest Pets," on their front page... ( http://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2015/07/chinese-journalism-and-chinese-soft.html http://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2015/07/chinese-journalis... ) Newsworthiness is something that can force news organizations to begrudgingly give up space they would rather have allocated to -- going back to the song -- their photo feature on schoolgirl skirt styles. If you're watching the news because you're hoping to learn something, you're making a blatant category error; that's not what the news is for. And "civil war in Africa" fits tabloid desires perfectly; it's lurid and violent, drawing readers or watchers, without being at all surprising or important.
- swarnie_ 7y ago
  That really does depend where you get your news from. If you religious stick to the Daily Mail don't be shocked when its 90% Royals and Celebrities. Something like BBC news world or The Times will generally cover the more important global events.
  - growlist 7y ago
    I'm talking about BBC news.

by flexie 7y ago

latchkey 7y ago

This is a big reason why I moved from SF Bay to SE Asia (vietnam). While the language is totally impossible for me (mostly just cause I've learned ignorance is bliss), I can still learn a lot about how locals live, what's happening in the environment, cultural things, etc... my eyes have really been opened to the fact that when you stay in one place, you really miss out on larger perspectives.

growlist 7y ago

Not just language though. The MSM in the UK has such a narrow range it's shocking - today's leading story on the news will often be something like the rapper Stormzy's latest completely predictable opinions about whatever, and then I'll turn over to Al Jazeera and find out there's thousands dead in Peru from flooding, civil war breaking out somewhere in Africa, etc. It's hard not to come to the conclusion that they explicitly do not want an informed populace. It didn't used to be like this.

thaumasiotes 7y ago
To be fair, "civil war breaking out somewhere in Africa" is news in the same way that the tide going out is news. If you're upset about how predictable it is to hear about a rapper's opinions, you should be more upset about coverage of a war going on in Africa.
- growlist 7y ago
  > To be fair, "civil war breaking out somewhere in Africa" is news in the same way that the tide going out is news. Remarkably complacent view, and undermined by the fact that other channels will report on this stuff, but not the BBC. The point is firstly that the signal to noise used to be far higher in the UK - I've been watching it for 40 years - I know what I'm talking about - and secondly that it's extremely unlikely I'm going to learn anything new from Stormzy's poorly informed opinions. And yet the latter is prioritised over the former.
  - thaumasiotes 7y ago
    > undermined by the fact that other channels will report on this stuff, but not the BBC. If you think the willingness of a news organization to publish something depends on how newsworthy it is, I guess all I can do is respond by quoting the Daily Mail Song: Pop stars take drugs Teen boys wear hoods Sports stars have sex Bears shit in woods ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eBT6OSr1TI ) But that's still English news. I guess I can quote something else: > the more lurid, titillating, sensational, or nationalistic, the better. Even the distinguished Xinhua News Service is not immune from this sort of thing. I couldn't help but chuckle when the podcast host Scott Peters worried whether or not the American press corps' obsession with non-stories like Kim Kardashian and Bruce/Catelynn Jenner would give it [Xinhua] a strategic advantage in the contest to control global media narratives. My guess is Mr. Peters doesn't read Xinhua too often. If I had few dollars [for] every time Xinhua placed a photo collage like "Beautiful Female Soldiers From All Over the World," "Singer Valen Hsu Poses For Fashion Shots," "Sleeping Babies With Their Cutest Pets," on their front page... ( http://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2015/07/chinese-journalism-and-chinese-soft.html http://scholars-stage.blogspot.com/2015/07/chinese-journalis... ) Newsworthiness is something that can force news organizations to begrudgingly give up space they would rather have allocated to -- going back to the song -- their photo feature on schoolgirl skirt styles. If you're watching the news because you're hoping to learn something, you're making a blatant category error; that's not what the news is for. And "civil war in Africa" fits tabloid desires perfectly; it's lurid and violent, drawing readers or watchers, without being at all surprising or important.
swarnie_ 7y ago
That really does depend where you get your news from. If you religious stick to the Daily Mail don't be shocked when its 90% Royals and Celebrities. Something like BBC news world or The Times will generally cover the more important global events.
- growlist 7y ago
  I'm talking about BBC news.