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  • 6 Comments
Joined 1 year ago
Cake day: June 27th, 2024
  • GandalftheBlack@feddit.orgtoShowerthoughts@lemmy.world•"workers" is a dehumanizing term
    3·
    4 days ago

    Also, even if “people with job X” caught on, that wouldn’t actually achieve anything. The impression or image in your head that you get when you hear “people who work in a factory” vs. “factory workers” is the same, even if the wording deliberately makes reference to people.

    I appreciate what the intention is behind it, just like with “people with disabilities” vs. “disabled people”, but it doesn’t address the societal issues that result in the actual discrimination/problematic views.

    This is more of a theoretical argument, but from a linguistic perspective there’s a common misconception that language shapes our perception of reality, when in fact it’s the other way round. If you talk about subject X which is looked down on for whatever reason, the commonly used word for it can take on a derogatory tone, which leads to well-meaning people using a more positive word. This is commonly seen with words for women in patriarchal societies, and it leads to a cycle of neutral words becoming derogatory and polite words becoming the new standard, until that word becomes derogatory and has to be replaced in turn. None of this is to say we shouldn’t be careful with the language we use, and in fact it’s a good way of signalling respect, but I just want to highlight that adopting new terminology is itself won’t achieve much.

  • GandalftheBlack@feddit.orgtoAsk Lemmy@lemmy.world•What is the best way to learn a new language as an adult?
    7·
    15 days ago

    See if there are evening classes you can sign up for in your area. This has a couple of benefits over pure self-study: firstly, if you don’t really know any other languages yet, having a teacher to explain new concepts for you will be a big help. Secondly, it keeps you accountable if you need external motivation to keep at something. It can also be a good way to meet new people!

    If you’re going with self-study, look up what textbooks people recommend using for self-study for your target language (i.e. not one that relies heavily on having a teacher explain things for you). Obviously a textbook alone is not enough to learn a language, but imo it’s the best way to get to grips with the basics of grammar before you move on to more advanced stages. There are also plenty of online communities to help you out with any questions, especially for more popular languages.

    Finally, do NOT expect to make worthwhile progress with Duolingo or apps like that. They are not designed to help you master a language. You might learn some useful vocab from them, but if you’re serious about learning a language, don’t waste your valuable time.