Adam-M
Stand User
Cauliflower
Luna’s Adventures in English
- Thread starter Luna
- Start date
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
I'm not sure I really want to explain, especially to a female, but if you're curious type it into Google and even with the stars the Wikipedia entry is the top result. It says there's a few meanings, one of which I would never use it for (disparaging to women meaning).
Back to the sticks/roads topic. This is a road I have on my round today, a single track road with passing places. You can legally drive down it at 60mph, but only a nutter would do that.
Talking of learning languages, I did a year of German at school and we watch videos with 2 German people having every day conversations. When they spoke English they sounded American. I can't remember much though: Ich spiele fußball is about it for phrases, which is no use now because I'm old and knackered
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ayase
State Alchemist
Where did I even get the idea national speed limit was 55mph? I've always believed that not that I necessarily know if I'm obeying it or not since my genuinely ancient car has a km/h speedo which, given the way the needle constantly bobbles around, lets me know I'm doing... somewhere within a rough 10km/h range and I did pass a driving test at some point this century, honest. Even looking into the history of speed limits it appears 55 was never a UK speed limit (56 was, oddly, for HGVs).
And I'll take those empty country lanes over bloody city driving any day of the week. It's not even really driving, it's clutch destroying.
And I'll take those empty country lanes over bloody city driving any day of the week. It's not even really driving, it's clutch destroying.
Luna
Death Scythe
Google appears to be already typecasted to the clueless innovent Luna. If I put in C***, it gives me Wikipedia's article for C, the programming language, lol. Second entry is the wiki article for C the letter. Then two entries for how to prgramm C, a google books entry for C++, a google books entry with antique German about "journal of practical pharmacology and sore wound treatment". (WTH?), the lexical entry for the letter C for children, yet another C++ and page 2 isn't all that better. Except it had this: BBC's Laura Kuenssberg accidentally says c*** live on air during election coverage | Metro News
well, I didn't watch the video, but googling c-bomb yielded a wiki diambiguation.
I am surprised how long the wiki article for it is. There was even a German article for the same vulgar term in German (which to my shock , I actually heard of) and it's just 1/3 as long.
I daresay that's because out English classes generall kind of suck, and most children go out and find their English resources elsewhere. The foremost of those end up being video games, number two are probably movies and music, which for obvious reasons would be all mostly AE.
A minor reason might also be, the BE has, to some extend a similiar air as French as in "oh the high class snobs" or something. (And Germans don't seem to like French at all as a rule of thumb.) They were a minority in my class, but some didn't actually like BE at all. Well, I suppose it might be the common idea that BE sounds more noble, be that for the better or worse.
I for my part don't dislike it. Kind of sounds more sophisticated in my ears.
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
I did wonder where that came from, although our vans are nerfed to that speed. Bloody annoying when on the motorway!
Not when I were a lad. I did German in my second year of secondary school c. 1990!
I'm sure the feeling is mutual. Lot of history there! I was born 30+ years after the war and there was still ill will, although it manifested mostly on the sports field. Although we also disliked the French and we were on their side!
Talking of school and history I've always wondered what they teach children about WWII in Germany? Although I'm guessing you have a slightly outside perspective on the subject.
Watanabe Ken
Magical Girl
Not all French people are snobs just the Parisians, people there seriously need to get there heads out of there own backsides.
ayase
State Alchemist
This is always bemusing, given the massive differences in both class and regional varieties of British English. I guess it's because the "face" of the UK to the world for most of the time we've had recorded audio has been the Received Pronunciation of our upper class politicians and royalty. But the idea that a cockney, a geordie or a scouser would sound like a high-class snob is hilarious. Same goes for French actually, a farmer from rural Occitanie (where they pronounce letters you don't normally pronounce in standard French, it's very confusing) hardly sounds the same as a high-class Parisian.
Bad experience on holiday Ken?
Luna
Death Scythe
The nineties also had games. I think PS1 was a thing then? Well, given that era, a lot of people in those times actually didn't learn a lot of English in the first place. (Especially those from former East Germany.) And the West would lean more towards AE, I'd guess.
I do certainly wish it were diffrent. My French sales stuff is like lead on my shelves! lol
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The outside perspective that I have gives me the impression that they are a total notorious brainwashing sessions. - And it's even compulsory by law! I mean mean history and social studies (which was basically brainwashing sessions of democracy is the only thing anything else is evil) are the only subjects that law dictates children must absolutely take. You can ditch math out of the curriculum according to that law, but not those two subjects. At least our teachers of those subjects would alway brag about them that they got the most important subjects of them all.
Through the brainwashing really misses its target with me, since I am of Chinese heritage and all of that brainwashing (as it appears to me) is directed onto indoctrinating a compulsory feeling of guilt and that Nazis are absolutely evil. Not that the Chinese don't manage without brainwashing of a similiar kind. I actually learned Chinese a deal before I ever took German textbooks into my hand (even though I dopped my Chinese studies at age 10 or something) and Chinese first class elementary children get these nice little texts of the like "The sun is red. These flowers are also red. Flowers can't live with the sun. The communist party is the red sun and we are all red flowers". So imagine little Luna in Germany and never having even heard of the Communist Party, with all the question marks on her head. (Fun trivia: We've had an Chinese-English dictionary and I was looking this up and I didn't know the second meaning of party and only knew it as in from birthday parties and I was totally like, ok, the sun, red flowers and parties? Huuuuh???")
Well, a lot of young people really start to get put off with this indoctrination. Which is understandable, they didn't do anything. They weren't even born. It's also fairly recent (post millenia, when they won the world championsship in football) that it became a thing to actually wield German flags around. The older ones on the other hand are like "You mustn't forget how horrible that was!!! (You'll just go and do it again!!!)" And there are political reasons to consider, too. Just dare to say anything about jews here, it'll end any political carrier. Don't think this will change much in my lifetime.
As for what they teach. There was the Weimar Republic, which was a democracy and they spend a loooooooooot of time on that and finding numerous reasons and circumstances to explain how it could have possibly been that it failed. (Remember: Democracy is the only thing to be.) Then there is quite a deal over the genocide on jews, invalids and how horrible that was. Which, of course it was, but I can't help but feel that the selection of history was really one sided. Communists suffered too, but that's being dealt rather on the lower end (at least in my textbooks of the time) and obviously quite some Germans themselves had a hard time, too, but I guess that's stuff they leave German grandparents to tell? Dunno. They talk a lot how bad it was for Germany in Weimar, the reason, why it failed, and then only towards the end of the war, where everybody was suffering from madman Hitler. The war itself is actually brushed over pretty quick. They then spend a heck long time over what happens after the war with the big three (four) Ds. Because democralization is in there, which is of course the most important thing ever. And demitarization. - Which, interestingly enough never bridged over to Japan, who also had to do this. Actually, Japan doesn't even get mentioned a lot. It was only about well, they kind did some bad stuff in Asia, pissed of the Americans so they warred and America three off the nuclear bombs ending WWII a bit after madman Hitler commited suicide.
Which I personally find absolutely puzzling. There is a hell lot more to it in the history of the time, but none of this I ever learned from history lessons here.
Oh and they put a lot (lot lot lot) of emphasis on the French revolution. Because humans rights, equality, etc. which the Nazis obviously didn't honor later. And dunno, it also felt like they were trying to poke into people that rebellion and resisting were a good thing. (Which they obvisously missed doing under Hitler in a game changing scope.) At least one common thing I heard way up until I went to university just the last decade was. "Why are you all so very obedient and resigned. Look over to France. If there is something that's no good, they will go to the streets and fight against it!" and stuff.
And overall: zero world history. Like, I was puzzled for long enough, why it the two WW would be even called WORLD wars. We never really covered the rest of the world. Africa, South America, North America sans US, Australia and the vast majority of Asia, even half of Europe might as well as simply not exist at all.
I remember quite distinctly that when we started our first English class lesson there was this "We will only deal with Queens English!" doctrine there. Which was hilarious, because my first teacher was clearly having some German accent and at the latest when the Frenchwoman came that credo was quietly put into a tomb. Schhols and their staff shortage problems, I guess. I am really glad for having had my last English teacher. In two years she crammed so much content into us, including a lot of America history and social backgrounds along with some literary incfluences, which was actually more extensive than a decade of German history every was. (No joke - she one day brought the German immagration exam test and the US immigration exam test and we all scored better on the US one. That was quite pathethic.) Unfortunately there was hardly any time for British stuff left, because our graduation exam topic was to be about America.
... ok, that got rather lenghy. @_@"
ayase
State Alchemist
It's really high time the Germans let go of their guilt over WWII. Hardly anybody alive now was in any way responsible, I don't think fostering multiple generations of inherited guilt and shame is very good for anyone's mental health. I don't feel any remorse over Britain's bombing of Dresden, use of concentration camps in the Boer War or mistreatment of colonial subjects because well, I wasn't alive when any of that happened.
Watanabe Ken
Magical Girl
I used to live in Paris back in the day and I can honestly say the rude stereotype is well deserved.
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
PS 1 came out in '95. The were games with Full Motion Videos before that on the PC and Mega CD, but they were after 1990 IIRC.
Not here, at least for GCSE, unfortunately. English, Maths and Science are for GCSE (exams with lessens taken at 15-16 years old).
21st century was covered during the GCSE period, at least back then. And it covered mostly European history with causes and aftermath of the 2 WWs, which sounds similar to what you had.
Not much mention of other countries bar America who turned up late both times and helped out. And then a got a little bit of coverage on the Vietnam War as part of the spread of Communism. China got a bit of mention at this point as well.
A lot of history I've learnt since came from documentaries.
ayase
State Alchemist
I took History at GCSE and we did the history of medicine. Bored the arse off me, it was more like biology than history. The next year's students got to do the bloody Russian Revolution and Soviet Union and I was so mad because that's something that actually interests me.
Edit: Is a*se really such a bad word that it needs censoring? If we're talking language, it's really just the British English equivalent of the American "ass"... ****hole I could maybe understand being censored.
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Blimey, that's a bit random!
We covered Russian Revolution as part of the aftermath (sort of) of the first WW.
Was that an auto censor? I thought it was t*ts though!
ayase
State Alchemist
It's a good job I clarified then, as "t*tshole" would be a very odd term indeed. And yes, that was auto-censored.
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Eh, there's only four stars in the main body of text. Did the auto censor replace a*sehole with only 4 stars?
I normally say "bored the t*ts off me"
ayase
State Alchemist
No, it just replaced the first four letters. That's what I (North East/Yorkshire) normally say.
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Just had to test the auto censor system, because I'm immature like that s**ty w****r & t**t all got through!
Watanabe Ken
Magical Girl
I've got a question for you Luna. I heard that in Germany a percentage of people's wages go to the church like a kind of church tax, is that true and if so how much do you have to give them?
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Adam-M
Stand User
I think the country is just doing its best to stop it from happening again and I honestly can't blame them for that. At least they acknowledge the crimes of the past whereas British history doesn't really encourage learning about slavery and massacres commited by British war heroes. As a general rule of thumb, if there's a statue erected (see if that gets through the autocensor) of someone then they've usually done something wrong.
I got called "Roast Beef" once. Bet that gets through the autocensor
Microcosm was the big title that went out with the Amiga CD32 in 1993. Still got mine (cos I'm old).
Luna
Death Scythe
lol at that picture ayase.
But I think high time is still at least several decades away. There are still some alive to have seen things and you can see with Japan what happens if you don't do that too early with their war criminal worshiping shrine and textbooks. Ensures a big deal of tension. Japan wasn't terribly much better at treating the people from the land they occupied than the Germans. Just not as systematic and specifically throughout. But first and foremost they lost the the US, not China or Korea, so the coverage over mass murder of the latter's people is far less prominent. (At least internationally.)
China is currently pretty good at ditching history under the carpet though. It's impressive. They manage that even within one person's lifetime when they actually lived to see how it was before.
It's just the thing that happens if you are the loser. China was also a loser in the Opium war, there they weren't even the aggressors. Still some two generations were under inherited shame. Before the communists came and blew it all away.
But I think high time is still at least several decades away. There are still some alive to have seen things and you can see with Japan what happens if you don't do that too early with their war criminal worshiping shrine and textbooks. Ensures a big deal of tension. Japan wasn't terribly much better at treating the people from the land they occupied than the Germans. Just not as systematic and specifically throughout. But first and foremost they lost the the US, not China or Korea, so the coverage over mass murder of the latter's people is far less prominent. (At least internationally.)
China is currently pretty good at ditching history under the carpet though. It's impressive. They manage that even within one person's lifetime when they actually lived to see how it was before.
Yes, it's true. If you are a member of the church you have to pay the church taxe. It depends on the region, but it's 8 or 9% of your income. If you are below some threshold it might be a bit less and if you have some land property some regions have extra taxes. But I'm very knowledgeable about the details, as I don't pay it, since I'm not a member of the church. Apparently it's fairly (moderately?) easy to leave the church and stop paying the tax, but then you aren't eligible for church-ran kindergardens or confessional schools. (Among others things that I don't know.) And I guess it's mostly a matter of conscience. If you're a believer you shouldn't be so stingy as to not pay this tax. (Which for the average person is something around 20-30€/month.)