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Isn't the whole point of learning to write in a foreign language to sound more like people from the country the language of you are learning? When I, a Pole, c
by scotty79 2y ago
Isn't the whole point of learning to write in a foreign language to sound more like people from the country the language of you are learning?
When I, a Pole, conversed with a German in English we were saying 5pm instead of 17:00. Even though it's not a natural way of telling time in both of our native languages, just because that's the custom of the nation the language of we were using.
- dqv 2y agoIn the US you can definitely say 17:00, but we would say "seventeen-hundred hours". It's similar to how we communicate four-digit street addresses, so 17:05 is "seventeen oh five" with or without "hours" at the end. I picked it up from military people I think. I don't do it unless the other party uses 24-hour time though. I wish everyone did because people often omit AM/PM and then you have to ask for clarification, where as "eighteen-hundred" is always obviously 6PM and can't be confused with 6AM.
- selfhoster11 2y agoAs a fellow Pole, absolutely not. When I communicate in a foreign language, it's about accurate information transfer. Then again, I don't write or compose poetry/marketing copy on the daily. Beyond a certain point, there is simply no return on investment to sounding more and more like your target audience. You need some basics, but beyond that, if you are valued by your target audience, they will listen, take you seriously, accept your legitimacy as a fellow person whose wisdom is worth knowing even if the content or style diverges from the schema. If they cannot accept your offer in good faith, then I would disengage rather than push past that.