Is that the new, “If you do it, you’ll go blind”?

That movie is so relatable

Aspiration depends on position in a word in English and doesn’t hold any semantic or grammatical meaning, but in other languages, an aspirated consonant can completely change the meaning of a word.

It reminds me of how Hindi/Urdu use v and w. Which sound is produced depends on where it is in a word, but to native speakers, both v and w may sound the same. That’s why Hindustani ESL speakers tend to switch between the two in ways that don’t make sense to native English speakers.

It helps me wrap my mind around it to think of how English has two different ways of pronouncing L - there’s “light” L at the beginning of words (love, listen, like.) Then there’s “dark” L used at the end or sometimes in the middle (full, ball, visible.) The word “little” provides an example of both types (and if you pronounce it with a glottal stop for the “tt”, such as in a Cockney accent, the word is basically “light L, glottal stop, dark L.”)

Of course, aspiration itself also works as a way to understand it, since aspirated sounds make a difference in Hindustani, but English spelling treats them interchangeably. However, that difference is too hard for many of us to distinguish, so I find that comparing L sounds is easier for English speakers to recognize as a comparison.

The more I learn other languages, the more annoyed I get at the Great Vowel Shift in English. We could’ve been aligned with so many other languages, but no, we just had to be different.

It’s wild, since English has such a vast vowel inventory that we can pronounce a lot of words in other languages, but since we read letters differently, many people end up with accents that don’t need to exist. Consider people pronouncing Spanish words with English vowels, even though all standard Spanish vowel sounds are already part of the standard English repertoire.

Which makes it funny when I hear fellow English speakers knock on French spelling. At least I can reasonably assume what a written French word is supposed to sound like. English doesn’t give us that luxury.

“Apples, I love not”

It’s funny how learning different grammar can change the way you think. I read this and think, “Ah yes, perfectly normal Japanese word order. Topic first, with verb + negation at the end.”

I have to be careful when I talk sometimes, because my mental grammar structure is all over the place now.

Or ‘left’, which can mean remaining (“I only have three left”) or departing (“They left.”)

I remember learning Spanish in school. Discovering the difference between “dejar” and “irse” drove this home for me. Dejar - to leave [a thing somewhere.] Irse - to leave [a place.] (“Salir” also works for the latter meaning, but it can mean more of “to go out.”)

“Ella se fue y dejó el libro en la mesa.” (“She left and left the book on the table.”)

Speaking of “driving (a point) home,” I’d say one of the weirdest/most interesting quirks of English is how many idioms we rely on.

Depends on what I’m doing. It’s usually one voice, but if I’m trying to think through something or if my ADHD is turned up, I get what I call “the committee.” For thinking through something, different perspectives all chime in, and I like to imagine it like some kind of round table debate. I “talk” with myself through ideas, and sometimes I change my mind about what I do because ultimately I know the most sensible talking point is the right one.

If my ADHD is behind it, though, then it’s more like a room full of people all pointing out different things at the same time. One’s complaining that the noise outside is too loud. Another’s distracted by the birds out the window. Another voice is debating what I should eat next (even if I’m not hungry.) Yet another is trying to remember the lyrics to a random song. Then the “responsible adult” of the group is trying to get everyone else to STFU and focus on the task at hand.

I find that caffeine goes a long way in getting the committee to chill and listen to each other. It’s not too surprising that stimulants get them all in line, but it’s still interesting to experience.

Meanwhile, at my parents’ old house, I had painted a bedroom so each wall represented a different season, complete with a mural of a colorful tree losing leaves for the autumn side (since it’s my favorite season.)

When a couple bought it last year, they fell in love with it. My old “seasons” room is being turned into a nursery. My mom recently shared a post by the buyer with me, where she said something along the lines of, “Spending our first summer in our dream house!”

Thank goodness no “flippers” ever got their hands on it.

The heat treatment was the only thing that worked when I had to deal with those little fuckers. I’m sorry you had to deal with them, but I’m glad they’re gone now. Those things aren’t just physically irritating, they fuck with your head.

And yet we’re having shit get censored everywhere else because aDvErTiSeRs. Clearly something doesn’t add up here.

Try as I might, I can’t imagine it that way. Got an illustration?

FIFA ball does not look happy

That feeling when you’re trying to browse through a creator you like’s page for videos you haven’t seen yet, but you have to scroll past the dozens and dozens of things you’ve already watched, which each take time to load their thumbnails, making the task drag on for ages.

Which sucks when you’re the kind of person that craves novelty. Just because I watched a nature documentary about sharks doesn’t mean all I want to watch are shark videos. YouTube doesn’t seem to understand that.

Thankfully, a lot of people gave really good suggestions when I made this Ask Lemmy post a few months ago. I’m still working my way down the list. Whenever YouTube search fails to give me something new or interesting, I check back on that page and pick a channel somebody suggested. Otherwise, the algorithm gets real stale, real quick.

Ironically, I’d spend more time on YouTube if I could find something I’d actually enjoy watching. If I find myself scrolling on end without finding anything good, I turn off the TV and go do something else.

Their responses are clear and methodical, giving the impression that OP is genuinely trying to discuss a potentially-tricky subject in a calm, rational manner. If they were here to “stir up shit,” surely they’d be responding in a way that encourages more drama. From the evidence, I don’t believe that’s their intent at all.

Sometimes people want to discuss difficult topics, even if there’s a risk of people taking it the wrong way. I’d say OP’s doing a decent job encouraging civility, and that’s something I wish we could see more of online.

That’s the neat thing - you don’t! For the same reasons that some people in your country will continue to hold their own stubborn beliefs about other people despite all evidence to the contrary, some people in other countries will do the same to you.

I never fit in with my home culture. For me, that’s racist, fascist Americans. Even as a kid I wasn’t accepted by my peers, school admin, and even my own mother. Having grown up under that, and becoming myself despite it all, some of those people (my mother at least) have come around. But honestly, I wouldn’t count on it.

The best you can do is keep being yourself (I know, cliched, but seriously) and live by example. Take it from someone with a lifetime of dealing with this - attempting to convince people doesn’t work. However, those who are open-minded will see you as you are and note you as one of “the good ones.” Instead of trying to change the mind of someone who’s dead set on seeing you as an enemy, focus on the people who already understand that it’s wrong to define a group of demographically-related people by the actions of a few.

The title is such nonsensical slop in itself. Wtf about hanging out in a litter box would make a cat “king”?