this post was submitted on 18 Jun 2024
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Image of the introductory coursework for people wanting to learn English.
It's crazy how the eldritch amalgamation that is the English language can have zero rules, yet a dozen unwritten ones of what you can and can't say. Good luck threading the needle if you aren't up to date with the latest cultural evolution in America. Add on top that the kids keep inventing sentences worth of new acronyms.
I get what group of people the article is poking fun at, one of them is on proud display in the comment section. Though I still feel people should have a better understanding that as the Internet's lingua franca you'll encounter people from a wide range of backgrounds, and their grasp of the language and culture will vary.
I can certainly see it being a struggle for non native English speakers or English speakers from other cultures. Referring to women as females is one of those things thats accurate according to the language, but a lot of bigots have figured out that they can use common words as slurs and people are slower to catch on. Female is unfortunately one of those words; it evokes big "I see you as livestock" energy
Yeah. I think a fair few people misunderstand the intent of my comment. I agree that the connotation of "female" makes it a word one should be conscious about its usage.
I was strictly speaking of how non native speakers of English may struggle with keeping up with what's socially correct English according to the wider Internet culture.