5 ms·

basically not all countries speak english as a first language, so it wouldn't make sense to put it in all countries. secondly, staggered rollout is pretty commo

basically not all countries speak english as a first language, so it wouldn't make sense to put it in all countries. secondly, staggered rollout is pretty common

marginalia_nu 4y ago
You could simply roll out per language, rather than per country in that case, since language is by its very nature self-selecting.
- kderbyma 4y ago
  But that would be silly and it would not be politically motivated
- antibasilisk 4y ago
  Speaking as someone who had to decide how to distribute anonymous work, language is extremely difficult to track as even if the system language is set to English, comprehension and literacy are not necessarily at the level you need for the data you get back to be useful. It is much more effective to select for countries in the 95th percentile of the English Proficiency Index.
  - marginalia_nu 4y ago
    Right, but due to migration, this is also a problem within regions where a language is the primary language. Any connection you draw between native language and region is tenuous at best.
    - antibasilisk 4y ago
      Migration doesn't impact this since the English Proficiency Index is updated to account for it.
- TylerE 4y ago
  Languages are not monoliths. Compare UK vs US English. Similarly, it is increasingly common to get two Spanish tracks… one for “Latin American” Spanish (which is what you almost certainly learned if you took Spanish in school) and European (aka Iberian or Castilian) Spanish. One of the most obvious is that ce/ci, and some z’s are pronounced “th” and not “s”. So a Spaniard would say “cinco” as something like “thinko”. This why it’s “wor-es” (Juarez) Mexico, but “her-eth” (Jerez) Spain.
knorker 4y ago
No, language doesn't make sense. Everyone in Sweden knows English. Actually nowadays I bet higher percentage of Swedes know English than know Swedish.
- titaniczero 4y ago
  > Actually nowadays I bet higher percentage of Swedes know English than know Swedish. Is that hyperbole? Because that would be very sad if true, culturally speaking. There are 5 different official languages in my country (Spain) and there are several laws to prevent them from becoming extinct for this very reason.
  - knorker 4y ago
    It's not hyperbole, but I also don't have data to back this up. I guess I should say I'm counting adults. Everyone who went through mandatory schooling was taught English. Everyone who didn't (immigrated) is more likely to know English than Swedish. So the only people who know Swedish but not English would be those who flunked out half way through mandatory schooling, or immigrants who knew neither English nor Swedish, and only learned Swedish. Swedish is not disappearing (c.f. your example in Spain), but basically everyone speaking Swedish is (at least) bilingual.

basically not all countries speak english as a first language, so it wouldn't make sense to put it in all countries. secondly, staggered rollout is pretty common

marginalia_nu 4y ago

You could simply roll out per language, rather than per country in that case, since language is by its very nature self-selecting.

kderbyma 4y ago
But that would be silly and it would not be politically motivated
antibasilisk 4y ago
Speaking as someone who had to decide how to distribute anonymous work, language is extremely difficult to track as even if the system language is set to English, comprehension and literacy are not necessarily at the level you need for the data you get back to be useful. It is much more effective to select for countries in the 95th percentile of the English Proficiency Index.
- marginalia_nu 4y ago
  Right, but due to migration, this is also a problem within regions where a language is the primary language. Any connection you draw between native language and region is tenuous at best.
  - antibasilisk 4y ago
    Migration doesn't impact this since the English Proficiency Index is updated to account for it.
TylerE 4y ago
Languages are not monoliths. Compare UK vs US English. Similarly, it is increasingly common to get two Spanish tracks… one for “Latin American” Spanish (which is what you almost certainly learned if you took Spanish in school) and European (aka Iberian or Castilian) Spanish. One of the most obvious is that ce/ci, and some z’s are pronounced “th” and not “s”. So a Spaniard would say “cinco” as something like “thinko”. This why it’s “wor-es” (Juarez) Mexico, but “her-eth” (Jerez) Spain.

knorker 4y ago

No, language doesn't make sense. Everyone in Sweden knows English. Actually nowadays I bet higher percentage of Swedes know English than know Swedish.

titaniczero 4y ago
> Actually nowadays I bet higher percentage of Swedes know English than know Swedish. Is that hyperbole? Because that would be very sad if true, culturally speaking. There are 5 different official languages in my country (Spain) and there are several laws to prevent them from becoming extinct for this very reason.
- knorker 4y ago
  It's not hyperbole, but I also don't have data to back this up. I guess I should say I'm counting adults. Everyone who went through mandatory schooling was taught English. Everyone who didn't (immigrated) is more likely to know English than Swedish. So the only people who know Swedish but not English would be those who flunked out half way through mandatory schooling, or immigrants who knew neither English nor Swedish, and only learned Swedish. Swedish is not disappearing (c.f. your example in Spain), but basically everyone speaking Swedish is (at least) bilingual.