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Högertrafikomläggningen

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Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#71

Post by gfna »

gerikson wrote: post #28
matsemann wrote: post #7

One surprising (after we got a ticket..) thing about parking laws in Sweden is that you're also only allowed to park on the right side of the road / with the car in the direction of the traffic. This has the benefit of that when you're leaving the street parking, you are sitting close to the lane and can look behind you for coming cars and only cross one lane. Compared to parking on the "wrong" side, where you're sit…

As a Swede it amazes me that some countries allow parking "in the wrong direction". I've never even thought about it, and I don't know if it's a written rule (I'm sure it is, just it;s been a long time since I got my license).

In finland this has been allowed since a few years ago. It is quite useful on narrow sidestreets in residential areas where it helps hunting for parking spaces. The biggest problem seems to be that now many misinterpret the law that one must leave 5 meters empty space before pedestrian crossings as being measured from the front of the car, ie not applying when parking on the ”wrong” side

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#72

Post by Tade0 »

gerikson wrote: post #28
matsemann wrote: post #7

One surprising (after we got a ticket..) thing about parking laws in Sweden is that you're also only allowed to park on the right side of the road / with the car in the direction of the traffic. This has the benefit of that when you're leaving the street parking, you are sitting close to the lane and can look behind you for coming cars and only cross one lane. Compared to parking on the "wrong" side, where you're sit…

As a Swede it amazes me that some countries allow parking "in the wrong direction". I've never even thought about it, and I don't know if it's a written rule (I'm sure it is, just it;s been a long time since I got my license).

Over here in Poland it's allowed in areas of "low traffic" - a term not defined anywhere in the law.

I did it the other day and it felt illegal.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#73

Post by imajoredinecon »

noduerme wrote: post #40
matsemann wrote: post #7

One surprising (after we got a ticket..) thing about parking laws in Sweden is that you're also only allowed to park on the right side of the road / with the car in the direction of the traffic. This has the benefit of that when you're leaving the street parking, you are sitting close to the lane and can look behind you for coming cars and only cross one lane. Compared to parking on the "wrong" side, where you're sit…

Where do you live?! You couldn't park facing the wrong way in any big city in America, either. Maybe on small residential streets it's not always enforced.

I learned to drive in Seattle, where it's 100% allowed, and then moved east and almost got ticketed my first day in my new city.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#75

Post by tsimionescu »

checkyoursudo wrote: post #48
Novosell wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you trying to make a point or..? It's a bit unclear. People can have multiple languages they're native in, that doesn't mean we should try to replace every language with English.

> that doesn't mean we should try to replace every language with English Where did I say that everyone should speak only English? I do not care what language people speak. > Are you trying to make a point or..? Why are you being unkind? Or hostile, or whatever this is? I was asking a question. I understand that people think they will lose something if they speak a different language. My native language is not the sam…

Speaking a different language than your great great great grandfather ("a few generations ago") is not always very impactful, though even this means you can no longer read letters or poetry or novels that they may have written or just loved. You can no longer understand laws that they might have obeyed, understand speeches that influenced them, and so many other things that keep a culture going beyond generations.

However, that pales in comparison to what the transition means, not speaking the same language as your grandparents. You get a huge gulf of distance from relatives who, for the majority of humanity, are some of their most beloved and close relationships.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#76

Post by Falkvinge »

nkozyra wrote: post #69
user20180120 wrote: post #53

Making everyone speak English should not happen! We need to understand that the language you are able to think in - limits your thinking. Some languages have things you cannot translate into English. These non translateable concepts do not exist in the Western world view point.

I'm curious about examples. I know many languages do not have word::word translations, but a concept that cannot be translated -- even if it needs a full sentence, is a very different thing.

It's like how the Inuit have 35 words for "snow", or the Swedish have 51 words for "tax evasion". Some cultures have a need for nuances that necessarily gets reflected into the local language, nuances which will be lost when bluntly translating into the one category-level word in English.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#77

Post by tsimionescu »

bsza wrote: post #54
mg wrote: post #2

Maybe the world should standardize on: Driving on the right Speaking English The metric system The 2024-06-09 date format The Celsius scale The 24-hour clock

> Speaking English That’s the opposite of what we should do. If a plant monoculture is susceptible to diseases, then a language monoculture is susceptible to mind-viruses. What would the world look like now if every country spoke German in 1933?

Mostly the same as today, if that was the only difference?

Same language is a result of cultural similarity much more so than a cause for it. If there is no political or cultural pressure to speak the same language, they relatively quickly diverge.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#78

Post by neontomo »

nkozyra wrote: post #69
user20180120 wrote: post #53

Making everyone speak English should not happen! We need to understand that the language you are able to think in - limits your thinking. Some languages have things you cannot translate into English. These non translateable concepts do not exist in the Western world view point.

I'm curious about examples. I know many languages do not have word::word translations, but a concept that cannot be translated -- even if it needs a full sentence, is a very different thing.

There are words/concepts that require you to have lived in that culture for some amount of time to understand the cultural baggage connected to the word, and how the word actually describes a part of the culture. As a Swede, one such word for me is `lagom`, which is often translated as `just right`, but this is a cop-out that doesn't do it justice.

To understand it you must know, on a deeper level why a Swede values things being lagom, and this is surprisingly hard to put into words because it involves history, language, value systems, social patterns and even concepts like gratitude towards simple things. This word encapsulates a really big aspect of Swedish culture, making it impossible to translate accurately.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#79

Post by falcor84 »

constantcrying wrote: post #20
falcor84 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My understanding was that the parent recommends standardizing the native language throughout the world, rather than enforcing ESL.

Sure, but how would I teach my children English as a first language, when my English is only ESL. And even if I could, I would never do that, as a diversity in languages directly leads to a diversity in thought.

Diversity in thought is great, but I don't think that distinct native languages are a prerequisite for that. Throughout history, the societies that were able to achieve the greatest accomplishments, according to most any measure, are those with the most people using the same language.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#80

Post by bloomingeek »

In early 2001, my wife and I visited the beautiful country of New Zealand. The travel books told us to be aware that traffic flows opposite from the US. When we collected our rental car in Invercargill, there was a sticker near the steering wheel that read: "To stay alive, drive on the left!".

We had a good laugh and drove away from the airport. We soon discovered that the raised middle finger was international. :)

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