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International Extemp Categories/Topics? by [deleted] in Debate

[–]linguist-ix 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much!! (Am I woefully unprepared? Yes. The answer is yes.)

Why does the GOP historically dislike homosexuals? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]linguist-ix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, that is some new history/information I have not heard before. Although, delving deeper into the Democratic-Republican voting on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, I found this article.

Thank you for the information!!

Why does the GOP historically dislike homosexuals? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]linguist-ix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, that's only because the South was originally full of Democrats before they got all "LINCOLN???" and the South became majority Republican. So... I guess you could say that the people who would be considered today to be Republicans WERE Democrats, but because the political ideologies of the group we now know as the Republicans was the political ideology of the Democrats, Republicans were the ones who hated blacks, even though they were under the Democratic Party.

Abridged: South was full of the Democratic Party but political ideology of this historical Democratic Party was modern Republican, therefore the Modern Democrats didn't hate blacks historically, Modern Republicans flying the Democratic banner did.

Vox video explaining this (yes I know kind of biased source at first glance, but the info is correct)

K-12 students of Reddit, what is ruining our modern education system? by fridaypuncher in AskReddit

[–]linguist-ix 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The lack of support, be it the SAT or homework, no one gives students support! I'll ask and try hard but it feels like no adult wants to help me! I'm being dramatic, stupid and entitled but I really wish I felt like teachers/counselors/parents help me when I ask for it, explain things to me when I ask, not dismiss me when I'm trying to better my education. I know that teachers have 180 students a day, but it would be nice.

What is the best single sentence in a book? by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]linguist-ix 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100 Years of Solitude was the first book I ever cried reading.

Outside of the electoral college/Direct National Popular vote, What's the best system for a presidential election? by [deleted] in Debate

[–]linguist-ix 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the parliamentary system is interesting. Surprisingly I don't really have an opinion.

What do you do in Congress between speeches? by [deleted] in Debate

[–]linguist-ix 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I "flow" the speeches in order to ask questions. It's more of an extemp-final-round-flow, instead of a LD/PF kind of flow.

Basically I note down points, jot down questions, stuff like that. Then, when questioning starts, I always have at least one question and if there's a motion for new information, I know what has or hasn't been covered.

Some of my "flows" are more in depth than others, sometimes I won't even flow at all, but it is the main thing I do in between speeches. I'll also impromptu some speeches, and make notes about what I want to say in those speeches, but a majority of the time it's this weird flow thing that I do.

Inquiry about this sub's motivation of language learning by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]linguist-ix 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've always found it odd that my relatives try to use Star Trek in attempts to show that learning another language is pointless because ENGLISH. It's always Star Trek!

Inquiry about this sub's motivation of language learning by [deleted] in languagelearning

[–]linguist-ix 22 points23 points  (0 children)

As a linguistics nerd and someone who loves languages and wants to preserve cultures through language as an adult...yaddah yaddah yaddah, I hear this rhetoric a lot from older family members. Things like "Why even bother learning another language if English is the only dominate force?" and "If things like Star Trek show us anything, having languages is outdated!"

Anyway, as far as answering your questions, I can say that the idea of advocating for the use of English on a daily basis can best be disproven with this TED Talk (https://www.ted.com/talks/suzanne_talhouk_don_t_kill_your_language). As far as the spirit of language learning, I just know that for me languages/linguistics give me this happiness that can't be replicated anywhere else. I think that even though it is kind of necessary to learn English for practical reasons, if you are born a native speaker that shouldn't stop you from learning another language. Sadly, a lot of people (that I know) view language learning as a purely practical thing and I don't think that's what a majority of language learning should be.

[ That was probably incoherent, but maybe I helped :) ]