• Sotalsta [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    People should at least know some basic vocabulary and conversational sentences. That should get you by for nuanced and often deeply contextual political analysis from 100 years ago, right?

    • MaoTheLawn [any, any]
      ·
      edit-2
      2 years ago

      Why? Basic skills would absolutely not get you through an old French text from 100 years ago. There'd be so many archaic forms of words to bog you down. Translations exist these days. Learning a language is absolutely not paramount for learning revolutionary skills.

      EDIT: i think you may have been being sarcastic but I'm leaving it anyway

      • Sotalsta [they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Yeah, that's my point. The meme is criticizing americans for needing theory to be translated into english. Which seems to be adjacent to some valid criticisms, but dosen't make sense as is.

      • Sotalsta [they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        I'll admit I was making fun of the meme for using vague, unfocused sarcasm against its target, and I did it by using slightly more pointed sarcasm, so it's fair you misunderstood me.

    • Runcible [none/use name]
      ·
      2 years ago

      This is only useful if you are likely to run into people that speak another language. Without that you just lose any fluency or phrases even ignoring their lack of utility at that point.

      • D61 [any]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Be me, be socially uncomfortable, learning tourist German while in Germany, panics every time I tried to talk to a German and only high school Spanish would come out.