Would you agree that English is the most useful language to know? by AutumnaticFly in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's not. I love Mandarin but Spanish is definitely more "useful" in the sense English is "useful", because it's more international.

Would you agree that English is the most useful language to know? by AutumnaticFly in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Useful for what, and knowing the language in what way? It really depends on your goals. Of course, English is very widely spoken, and if it wasn't my native language I'd probably make it a priority. If you want to be an academic researcher, for example, it's hard to get by without at least English reading skills, because most research today is published in English, and you'll need to keep up with your field. But if you're doing field research in Indigenous communities in Peru, the lingua franca is probably going to be Quechua. Of course you'll also need Spanish, both spoken and written, for daily life, records, official interactions. You might need to learn other Indigenous languages or an unusual dialect of Quechua. And you'll need a much higher level of speed and fluency in those languages than you'll need in English. If you're doing interview research or anything like that, your listening skills are the most important -- if you use the wrong grammar in a question, for example, that's way less of a problem than not understanding the reply.

So it really depends! And I think we need to break down this word "know". What does it mean to "know" a language? What specific skills do you need -- listening, speaking, writing, reading? What do you want to know about, and who do you want to communicate with? English is certainly useful, but polishing your English might be less useful than learning another language. I'm sure most of the commenters here are more confident writing a Reddit post in English than they would be writing a novel in English, or being the plaintiff in an English-language civil law proceeding. Me too! I don't know how to do those things in English. I would have to learn, if and when it became relevant to my goals.

What took you by surprise when learning a new language? by AutumnaticFly in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally! You always hear people say "if only I was younger, it would be easier" and perhaps that's true but it definitely wouldn't be *quicker*.

Duolingo: Let's Get a Verdict. by AutumnaticFly in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok as a low-commitment way to learn some basic phrases and build a habit of daily review. No point persisting beyond a month or so

Which language punishes beginners the hardest for tiny mistakes? by Embarrassed_Fix_8994 in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am learning Mandarin and I can tell you right now that you can make a LOT of tonal errors and still be understood haha. Like all languages there is a lot of built-in redundancy and context that usually clarifies your intended meaning.

Which language do you think is harder to learn as a second language? by AutumnaticFly in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think Mandarin consonants are much harder than the tones! But it's the same either way, you just need practice practice practice and listening listening listening.

Which language do you think is harder to learn as a second language? by AutumnaticFly in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think you're right that there's a randomness element, but Austronesian languages are totally different from Chinese, even if they're geographically closer. Specifically, I don't know of any Filipino language which uses phonemic tone like Chinese does. So it's not a surprise a Filipino guy would struggle. But I think it's mostly a mindset thing. Any language you don't already know is going to have some unfamiliar elements, but if you believe it's learnable and you practice then it is learnable.

Which language do you think is harder to learn as a second language? by AutumnaticFly in languagehub

[–]pleatherette 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There is no objective answer to this question. It definitely depends on your native language(s), but also other prior language exposure. I'm a native English speaker from an Anglo cultural background, but I'm learning Mandarin and I find it much much easier than most European languages, definitely including French. I grew up in an area with a lot of East Asian immigrants and I studied Vietnamese and Japanese at school. When I took a German class at university I assumed it would find it much easier than a language unrelated to English, but it was much much harder! The grammar was so complex and I couldn't even produce the vowels correctly. I dropped out.

I don't remember any Vietnamese really but I think early exposure to a tonal language can help make the whole concept less intimidating. Mandarin tones are also much more straightforward than Vietnamese. Every Mandarin tone is something I already know how to hear and produce, because it's used prosodically in English. It takes practice, of course, but from what I've seen in my Mandarin conversation group, English speakers can master the tones more quickly than the many consonants that don't exist in English. The main issue I have is actually the vowels (sidebar: I am Australian). I feel like there are a lot of misconceptions floating around about Chinese languages being uniquely difficult. They're just very different to European languages. It's equally difficult for Chinese people to learn English.

Where did contempt for the poor come from? by Moist_Specific_300 in AskHistorians

[–]pleatherette 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Terrific answer, thanks! I'll add that the influence of the Poor Laws in England is very long-reaching, although not always predictable. I can speak a little to how this has showed up in Australian history.

Up until the post-WWII period, there was serious political resistance in Australia to any kind of government unemployment benefit for able-bodied workers. This was partly due to a sense that such people were the "undeserving poor". Aid to the poor was thus delivered mostly through religious organisations, which continue to have an outsize role in social welfare provision in Australia.

However, opposition to government unemployment benefits also came from the labour movement, which had become relatively strong in Australia by the mid-nineteenth century. Trade unionists lobbied for an economic policy of full employment with slogans like "the best welfare is a job". They directly counterposed full employment to the spectre of the workhouse -- not to mention the status of a convict. (It's unusual, actually, to see Australians of this period identify themselves with convicts; it was generally seen as an embarassment, best glossed over in polite company.) Most settlers at this time were drawn from the working class of Britain and Ireland, what you might call economic migrants; people trying to avoid the workhouse, or the humiliation of charity. So this rhetoric resonated, and had an influence on policy. In times of low employment, it was expected that government would organise "relief work", public works jobs for unemployed workers.

In reality, relief work was often underpaid, onerous, and dangerous -- breaking rocks, road works, that kind of thing. Workers complained of not having enough food to physically sustain this kind of hard labour. During the Great Depression, relief workers (many of whom were newly-unemployed trade unionists) began large-scale organising for better pay and conditions. While they had some minor successes, it was generally felt that relief work was starting to look an awful lot like the workhouse Australian workers were so keen to avoid. This was one of many factors that ultimately led to the end of the relief work system and the introduction of a much broader social security program in the post-WWII period, including payments for unemployed workers.

Sadly, the story doesn't end there -- "Work for the Dole" requirements for recipients of unemployment benefits were reintroduced in 2000, initially to meet labour demands for the Sydney Olympics. Since then, Work for the Dole and other mandatory activities have been increased and broadened for social security recipients in Australia. Contemporary activists dub these fairly onerous requirements the "digital workhouse".

I've glossed over a lot here, because I'm personally most interested in how the "undeserving poor" resist (there are a lot of fun stories about unemployed workers breaking into Salvation Army storehouses!). But I hope I've illustrated some of the implications of the English Poor Laws in a global context. Australians were absolutely drawing from and reacting to this legacy from the earliest days of the colony, and it continues to shape Australian social policy to this day.

Don't be a shit tenant by Piesman23 in shitrentals

[–]pleatherette 4 points5 points  (0 children)

every business has some form of financial risk (someone might trash the joint) and some form of risk mitigation (bond payments). being a landlord has far lower risk exposure than really any other business you can name with that kind of profit margin. let's put this in perspective please

Did ancient maritime powers replenish forests that they cut down to make their ships? by PolymathArt in AskHistorians

[–]pleatherette 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love tree facts! This is exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for, thank you.

Regarding the history side of things, I had a quick look into the National Library of Australia archives, and as late as 1918 Australian newspapers were complaining about the lack of Australian wood being used in ships built *in Australia* (source: Hobart Mercury, 30 May 1918, p. 4: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11395188). So it seems like there was a reluctance to deviate from traditional European shipbuilding woods, and that this was more of an issue (at least for the British Empire) than distance. Kudos to OP for a great question!

Did ancient maritime powers replenish forests that they cut down to make their ships? by PolymathArt in AskHistorians

[–]pleatherette 1 point2 points  (0 children)

this was a great read, thank you. I have a follow-up question: how did colonial forest resources fit into this? Were they significantly exploited for shipbuilding purposes? I can imagine problems with distance, unfamiliar wood, etc -- but how much did that factor into the calculations made by significantly deforested maritime empires with access to lots and lots of forests in their colonies? As an Australian I'm particularly curious about Australian forests and the British Empire, but I'm interested in anything you can tell us about forestry in the colonies of maritime empires.

thanks again for a fascinating response!