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Tags: Discrimination | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6392 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes  4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 65 of 119 02 January 2014 at 3:33am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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The thing is that people from the USA consider their 50 states to be basic knowledge while Europeans disagree ;)
5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| 1e4e6 Octoglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4085 days ago 1013 posts - 1588 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Dutch, Swedish, Italian Studies: German, Danish, Russian, Catalan | Message 66 of 119 02 January 2014 at 3:49am | IP Logged | ||||||||
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I would feel extremely embarassed if I thought that Paris, the capital of France, were
instead the capital of Chile, Greece, Malaysia, or New Zealand. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| culebrilla Senior Member United States Joined 3792 days ago 246 posts - 436 votes Speaks: Spanish | Message 67 of 119 02 January 2014 at 3:55am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I'm from the US and no, I couldn't name 50 states easily right now off the top of my head. 50 is a LOT; especially to locate. All those tiny states in the NE. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5627 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin | Message 68 of 119 02 January 2014 at 9:43am | IP Logged | ||||||||
When I was doing a Portuguese course in Rio in 2008 there was a Welsh woman there. She had come to work as a volunteer in the favelas but was having 2 weeks language classes first. She had told everybody back home she was looking forward to learning some Spanish, and only discovered she would be learning Portuguese once she had arrived! 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| stelingo Hexaglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5627 days ago 722 posts - 1076 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian Studies: Russian, Czech, Polish, Greek, Mandarin | Message 69 of 119 02 January 2014 at 9:44am | IP Logged | ||||||||
But I've come across Brazilians who insist that they speak Brazilian and not Portuguese. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| culebrilla Senior Member United States Joined 3792 days ago 246 posts - 436 votes Speaks: Spanish | Message 70 of 119 02 January 2014 at 10:21am | IP Logged | ||||||||
No way. That can't be a true story, right? Crazy. Maybe she was joking? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||||||||
| Zireael Triglot Senior Member Poland Joined 4446 days ago 518 posts - 636 votes Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, Spanish Studies: German, Sign Language, Tok Pisin, Arabic (Yemeni), Old English | Message 71 of 119 02 January 2014 at 10:41am | IP Logged | ||||||||
I remember being given a blind map of the US (as a visual help) and being asked to note all the states. The teacher, who has been to the US several times, complimented us on listing nearly all states and said that most US folks would have trouble with a similar exercise with European countries. Not placing them on map. Just listing them. Note that a country is much more important than a state - the Europeans being expected to know the US states is just like being expected to know all Russian oblasts. Unreasonable. 6 persons have voted this message useful | |||||||||
| culebrilla Senior Member United States Joined 3792 days ago 246 posts - 436 votes Speaks: Spanish | Message 72 of 119 02 January 2014 at 11:36am | IP Logged | ||||||||
People know the most about the most influential countries. That's just the way it is. China is in the news a lot more than, say, Burkina Faso so most people know a little bit about Chinese culture or general information than less influential countries. In Spain my apartment mates knew a lot about American television since it was all they watched on tv. I didn't even know what "House" was because I don't watch tv. But most Europeans that have access to a tv watch a lot more American shows than vice versa. Don't like it? Just stop watching it. One of my european friends complains to me sometimes about the dominance of US programs in their country. Well, produce a show or something or don't watch it. Also I don't think anybody expects Europeans to know all the US states; that knowledge is really kind of inconsequential. It is probably expected to know the names of some like California, New York, Florida or Texas. Just like how most people know the names of certain cities like Amsterdam, Barcelona, Venice, and know what countries each are found in. Edit: But most Europeans that have access to a tv watch a lot more American shows than Americans watching European shows. Edited by culebrilla on 02 January 2014 at 11:37am 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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