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I would be pissed too if I were a professor and some undergrads insisted on speaking about mathematics to me in Japanese simply because they view it as a "lingu

by knolax 7y ago

I would be pissed too if I were a professor and some undergrads insisted on speaking about mathematics to me in Japanese simply because they view it as a "lingua franca". The argument that "English is the lingua franca" is akin to "let's use Electron because web is the most cross-platform".

mellosouls 7y ago
I agree. I'm just noting a certain pre-emptive antsiness there that is consistent with the allegedly defensive tone of his general approach to engagement with his peers. Of course, it could be coincidental, and he could also have been unfairly represented in his willingness to engage.
olodus 7y ago
That is true. It is sometimes annoying that English speakers so often never tries to learn a new language and just expects everyone else to use theirs. However, one could view it as the only common language between you and someone else and use it for that reason. In my mind the one that know more languages are able to more easily communicate with more people more accurately, and as such have a leg up on teaching and learning from others. These ideas might be able to travel faster since they can travel by English and Japanese. Though maybe that is just wishful thinking from my side.
- knolax 7y ago
  In my experience monolingual people underestimate the effort it takes to use your non-dominant language(s). For example, I could theoretically communicate in Spanish, but the effort it takes to deal with romance language conjugation is a legitimately unpleasant experience for me. Mochizuki might know English, but it might be the case that using it is an unpleasant experience to him. In addition, just as there are English proficiency requirements for international students in the US, I feel it would be unreasonable to pursue higher education in Japan without even knowing enough Japanese to talk about math.

by knolax 7y ago

mellosouls 7y ago

I agree. I'm just noting a certain pre-emptive antsiness there that is consistent with the allegedly defensive tone of his general approach to engagement with his peers. Of course, it could be coincidental, and he could also have been unfairly represented in his willingness to engage.

olodus 7y ago

That is true. It is sometimes annoying that English speakers so often never tries to learn a new language and just expects everyone else to use theirs. However, one could view it as the only common language between you and someone else and use it for that reason. In my mind the one that know more languages are able to more easily communicate with more people more accurately, and as such have a leg up on teaching and learning from others. These ideas might be able to travel faster since they can travel by English and Japanese. Though maybe that is just wishful thinking from my side.

knolax 7y ago
In my experience monolingual people underestimate the effort it takes to use your non-dominant language(s). For example, I could theoretically communicate in Spanish, but the effort it takes to deal with romance language conjugation is a legitimately unpleasant experience for me. Mochizuki might know English, but it might be the case that using it is an unpleasant experience to him. In addition, just as there are English proficiency requirements for international students in the US, I feel it would be unreasonable to pursue higher education in Japan without even knowing enough Japanese to talk about math.