The Off Topic Topic

[Syt]

No news on the hand grenade murder, btw. There was a bit of a situation with a politician from the right wing Freedom Party when he referred to the killed Social Democrat of Ex-Yugo extraction as "Handgranaten-Tschusch" (calling a Balkanite "Tschusch" is close to calling a black person "Nigger") and posted on his facebook page a logo of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) where the Ö had been replaced with a hand grenade. His party saw no reason for disciplining him, because he apologized. The same politician also proudly showed off a huge chest tattoo with the Austrian eagle and the words "Honor - Loyalty - Fatherland" a while ago and was previously convicted for being member of a neonazi group.

[Admiral Yi]

Austrians lock girls and family in basements.

Being kapos is in their blood. 

[Tamas]

  Reply to the Atlantic article showing popular country-specific Google autocorrects:
http://444.hu/2014/01/30/why-is-hungary-so-poor/

The video in it is a classic by the way

[Eddie Teach]

Hungarians are unproductive and lazy.

(Tamás Botos)

[Josquius]

I was analysing this with my co-worker the other day. It really doesn't make sense in places.
http://www.ef.nl/epi/

[Admiral Yi]

$19,000 per capita is not terrible.

[garbon]

Odd and offensive.

"This is how I feel, as a person of Dene and European descent: Its not up to the white person in the situation to decide if their actions are offensive or not. If one person who is a POC isn't okay with something a white person is doing with an element of the POC's culture, then that thing is not okay. One person being not okay with something is enough. One person feeling a little bit safer in the world is enough for me to not do something that oppresses them."

[Admiral Yi]

Disagree wholeheartedly.  What's offensive should be determined by consensus, not fiat.

[Liep]

I was analysing this with my co-worker the other day. It really doesn't make sense in places.
http://www.ef.nl/epi/

Where doesn't it make sense?

[Josquius]

I was analysing this with my co-worker the other day. It really doesn't make sense in places.
http://www.ef.nl/epi/

Where doesn't it make sense?

Japan scoring so well and Singapore (a country generally considered native speaking) so terrible. Amongst a few other questionable placements.

[Liep]

I was analysing this with my co-worker the other day. It really doesn't make sense in places.
http://www.ef.nl/epi/

Where doesn't it make sense?

Japan scoring so well and Singapore (a country generally considered native speaking) so terrible. Amongst a few other questionable placements.

Yeah, Japan is relatively high up on the list sure, but they do have a lot of educated people and I met a lot of people there who were very good english speakers.

Singapore though. Singlish or whatever can't be classified as English proficiency.

[Josquius]

Its enough for the Japanese government, they class Singaporeans as natives for Jet as do private companies hiring English teachers.
I've met a fair number of Singaporeans and they seem pretty natural speakers.

[Duque de Bragança]

I was analysing this with my co-worker the other day. It really doesn't make sense in places.
http://www.ef.nl/epi/

at France

Though this part seems fishy

However, usage of foreign languages in the media is restricted by law in France.

It's extremely vague if not exactly true. One only needs to watch ads to see how much English if franglais the people are exposed. While other languages have very low exposure, English is on a league of its own.
I'd say that all languages are suffering due to the school system not working very well except for the middle class or even only the elite, this includes French and foreign languages.

PS : Spain and Italy strike me as having English levels comparable to France, judging by work acquaintances with comparable backgrounds, that is not so good.

[Valmy]

Disagree wholeheartedly.  What's offensive should be determined by consensus, not fiat.

You are just setting yourself up to feel unsafe and oppressed Yi.

[Valmy]

PS : Spain and Italy strike me as having English levels comparable to France, judging by work acquaintances with comparable backgrounds, that is not so good.

Yeah the French are really bad at English.  I found that amazing considering they have it every single year of school but according to the French people I met they just never use it.  As an American I totally get that.  You could teach us Spanish 5 hours a day for 20 years and we would still be terrible. 

I would imagine with the internet that is changing though right?