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Show HN: Duolingo-style exercises but with real-world content like the news

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Re: Show HN: Duolingo-style exercises but with real-world content like the news

#91
post #87
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That meme is such a load of hogwash. In many ways, US English is closer to "traditional" than UK English. They've both diverged somewhat from what they were in the 17th century. Neither form has been "simplified" in any way. As for the Union Jack: the UK has at least 3 rather different languages (English, Gaelic, Welsh), possibly a few more depending on how you count the different kinds of Gaelic. Using a country fla…

It's entirely a joke based on the two different versions of "Chinese" offered on most websites, it's not really meant to be taken seriously. But I've heard that there's an island in New England somewhere whose local accent is closest to Elizabethan English.

Tangier Island off of Virginia, in the Chesapeake:

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20180206-the-tiny-us-isla...

Also, for what it's worth:

> Some people have characterised Tangier’s way of speaking as ‘Elizabethan’ or ‘Restoration’ English, but that’s nonsense. Languages aren’t static and the Tangier dialect has changed a lot because of its isolation. It’s a distinct creation of its own," Shores said.

Re: Show HN: Duolingo-style exercises but with real-world content like the news

#92
post #39

Great idea. However, the clip I got was spoken so fast that if I was able to actually understand any of it I think I wouldn't be learning Spanish as I'd have already mastered it. Is there a beginner mode?

you could change the video speed, would be cool if he added a button to do it

Re: Show HN: Duolingo-style exercises but with real-world content like the news

#93
post #87
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That meme is such a load of hogwash. In many ways, US English is closer to "traditional" than UK English. They've both diverged somewhat from what they were in the 17th century. Neither form has been "simplified" in any way. As for the Union Jack: the UK has at least 3 rather different languages (English, Gaelic, Welsh), possibly a few more depending on how you count the different kinds of Gaelic. Using a country fla…

It's entirely a joke based on the two different versions of "Chinese" offered on most websites, it's not really meant to be taken seriously. But I've heard that there's an island in New England somewhere whose local accent is closest to Elizabethan English.

Perhaps you’re thinking of Ocracoke, North Carolina[0]

[0]https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20190623-the-us-island-th...

Re: Show HN: Duolingo-style exercises but with real-world content like the news

#94

The English icon has the Union Jack flag rather than the US flag, so it automatically elevates the service above Duolingo for me.

This really isn’t a positive point. Flags represent nations, not languages, and it can be quite offensive to equate the two.

To use your example, there are plenty of Irish people who speak English but would resent being forced to identify with the Union Flag.

For another example that is very relevant today, there are plenty of Russian-speaking Ukrainians who hate Russia. Using the Russian flag to represent them would at best be distasteful.

Re: Show HN: Duolingo-style exercises but with real-world content like the news

#95

The English icon has the Union Jack flag rather than the US flag, so it automatically elevates the service above Duolingo for me.

This really isn’t a positive point. Flags represent nations, not languages, and it can be quite offensive to equate the two. To use your example, there are plenty of Irish people who speak English but would resent being forced to identify with the Union Flag. For another example that is very relevant today, there are plenty of Russian-speaking Ukrainians who hate Russia. Using the Russian flag to represent them would…

That's actually a really good point that seems obvious, but I hadn't considered before. I wonder what a better solution is. ISO language codes[1], I guess?

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639_language_codes

Re: Show HN: Duolingo-style exercises but with real-world content like the news

#97
This has a ton of potential! Keep going!

Duolingo is tough because they set the expectation that this should be free, so you're walking into a challenging business.

But I think the concept is fundamentally better to connect language learning to something entertaining and relevant. If you can make that work, you have a heck of an app.

You can do it!

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