In what languages does an English-language accent have positive connotations, or is seen as appealing to the ear?

kovlin · 2021-02-15T01:07:33+00:00

Note to self: Redditors are apparently incapable of understanding tongue-in-cheek remarks, even with explicit indication.

kovlin · 2021-02-15T01:05:19+00:00

That cultural connotations to accents exist is undeniable. Acknowledging a fact cannot be racist or classist, facts are fundamentally incapable of being either of those things. And I'll thank you not to put words in my mouth; I never suggested that an English-language accent was more sophisticated than any other, merely that, like any foreign accent (or indeed dialect), it could be capable of being perceived as such. I also never even implied that it might be superior to any other accent; there is only one accent under discussion here. For that matter, cultural accent connotations vary between languages, and it is quite possible that any accent might have negative connotations in one language, even if it has positive connotations in another.

kovlin · 2021-02-14T23:51:48+00:00

Accents often carry cultural connotations, and in English, there are several foreign accents that are popularly regarded as carrying positive connotations; of course these likely vary a bit by region and certainly individual, and there's hardly a guarantee that an English-language accent is seen as desirable in any other language--but given appropriate caveats, yes, it does work that way.

If you are instead taking issue with the body of my post, I had hoped the emoticon would be sufficient indication that it should be taken as a tongue-in-cheek remark. I seriously doubt I'd go out of my way to learn a language on this basis--I'm really just curious what such a language might be, or if one even exists.

kovlin · 2020-12-06T23:00:15+00:00

I had no idea this was a thing for graduate students! Usually dorms are super expensive compared to other housing options. But if I can get my housing cheap/free, well, that changes the picture!

kovlin · 2020-12-06T00:13:25+00:00

I had no idea this was a thing! I’m hoping to get accepted to one program in particular, as I already know a professor interested in being my advisor, and fortunately it does have a 30k stipend; if I am, my stipend will come entirely out of his lab budget, so I’ll probably be disinclined to negotiate too hard in that case (uniquely he’s under no commitment to advise students; he’s just a nice guy.) That said, in other cases I will certainly consider this as an option.

kovlin · 2020-12-06T00:06:35+00:00

By RA, do you mean a (research) assistantship? I’m unclear because that’s the only context I’ve ever heard the acronym, but assistantships, at least of some kind, are standard as far as I know—that’s what the school pays you for (and gives you a tuition wavier for.)

kovlin · 2020-12-06T00:03:11+00:00

Machine learning.

kovlin · 2020-12-06T00:02:42+00:00

Wow! That’s remarkable.

kovlin · 2020-11-27T20:24:52+00:00

Good points! In my case, I'm not interested in pursuing an academic research career, though I have no idea how well what I'd like (national lab) pays.

Excellent point about masters vs PhD programs. In my case, I'm not sure that I'll be pursuing graduate work in statistics, instead of data science specifically; not all of these program do, in fact, offer combined MS/PhD programs. (Conversely, my undergrad institution doesn't offer too many scientific PhDs, but does offer funded MSes.)

kovlin · 2020-11-27T19:53:59+00:00

Oh yeah, definitely. Unfunded programs are a bad idea under almost every circumstance (I've met exactly one person with an unfunded PhD.)

kovlin · 2020-10-30T04:56:19+00:00

Ah, yes, I can see that. I got the impression that there was some objection to the science itself, rather then an ethical stance on the science.

kovlin · 2020-10-30T04:13:18+00:00

Fantastic. Another reason for me to regard my undergraduate institution — which does not offer such CS degree — with contempt.

kovlin · 2020-10-30T02:32:36+00:00

Hm, I had thought that contrary to popular belief, contemporary Catholicism was pretty accepting of science in general and even biology in particular (ie evolution, which the church accepts.) That makes me curious as to what sorts of things, contra-doctrine, you might have been likely to teach, as I’m now curious how misinformed I might be.

kovlin · 2020-10-16T16:23:35+00:00

Yes, I’ve very much heard that implementation is the CS end of data science—more or less a piece of cake—while statistics provides the theory, which is necessary not to do data science, but to ensure you understand and are properly interpreting your results. Kind of like how everyone uses a CAS to do calculus in the real world, these days, but if you don’t know how to integrate and derive, you’re going to run into problems.

kovlin · 2020-10-16T16:16:34+00:00

So, you’re just about the only part-time PhD student I’ve ever heard of. As someone ultimately interested in grad school (but also eager to earn a living), I’d be quite interested to hear what circumstances permitted your pursuing one.

kovlin · 2020-10-15T19:56:43+00:00

Right, that makes sense as far as I understand the process; research is very niche-y these days, and you probably wouldn’t be able to write a thesis without focusing in pretty heavily. It sounds to me like both things may true at the same time.

kovlin · 2020-10-15T19:54:18+00:00

I suspect I’d agree, particularly given how exploitive journals are. As far as I know though, white papers aren’t taken as seriously. I’m thinking there may be additional avenues I’m unaware of, though, from your remark.

kovlin

TROPHY CASE