(Still OT) Nationalism, language and monoculture [was Re: Python Worst Practices]

[Steven D'Aprano]

Marko Rauhamaa wrote:

> Steven D'Aprano <steve+comp.lang.python at pearwood.info>:
> 
>> Care to enlighten us then? Because your anecdote doesn't appear to
>> have even the most tenuous relationship to this discussion.
> 
> English-speaker, when you name things in your Python programs, you had
> better stick to American spellings.
> 
> Even more important, when you talk about Python or other computer stuff
> to a non-English-speaker, try to emulate the accent most people around
> the world are most familiar with, American English. If you find that
> overwhelming, try to speak like a BBC newsreader. Your native accent can
> be very difficult to understand.


Yes, that's exactly what I thought your point was. So I am utterly perplexed
why you said: 

"No, the ultimate irony is that people don't understand what is being
talked about."

and gave an irrelevant anecdote about using a source's claim to divinity as
evidence of divinity. It seems to me that people in this thread *do*
understand what is being talked about, but just disagree with your
conclusion about making American English the mandatory spelling for
programs.

As for your comments about spoken accents, I sympathise. But changing
accents is very hard for most people (although a very few people find it
incredibly easy). Even professionals typically need to have voice coaches
to teach them to change accents successfully. One of the problems is that
most people don't hear their own accent. My wife usually has a fairly
generic English accent that most people think is American, but within
seconds of beginning to talk to another Irish person she is speaking in a
full-blown Irish accent, and she is *completely* unaware of it.




-- 
Steven