Not The Onion

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kescusay@lemmy.world

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Israel minimizes civilian casualties more than anyone in history (m.jpost.com)

submitted 9 months ago by snek@lemmy.world to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

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[–] snek@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Thanks, even though I'm a non-native speaker with a degree in English and another in a linguistics-related field, I don't think this was the case. Sentences can be ambiguous, all they had to do was explain that instead of being rude. They said "banned you from most forums" and I'm somehow supposed to guess they meant news rooms or journalist forums? And also somehow supposed to guess that "banned" refers to banning a journalist or from Twitter or something?

I asked my partner who's a native speaker and they agreed that it sounded off and was unclear. They also didn't think it made sense. So I doubt it has anything to do with my level of English /:

PS: coupled with the fact that this perfectly Not The Onion post is being downvoted to hell plus that sentence made it more confusing. When I write shit online, I try to avoid using "you" when giving examples because I know how easily it can be misinterpreted. It's not being a "non-native", it's just being a good writer. Sorry not sorry.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I don't have a degree in English, and I'm not a native speaker, but I understand and speak at a native level having lived in America for a while and I was married to an American for years.

I understood given the context and idiomatic use of "you" that they meant people in general. Clear as day.

Maybe having a degree isn't a factor in this case, given you don't seem to realize "sorry not sorry" makes you come off pretty obnoxious. Maybe being a native speaker, namely your partner, doesn't have to be a factor either. Some people can't read clues like that. People with Asperger's and such. It's common. These people read the words separately and piece them together, rather than a coherent unit of information.

Point is, they weren't trying to be rude. Trust me.

[–] snek@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Maybe it was an ambiguous sentence? Have you heard of those? Maybe it was a sentence capable of being read in several ways, but your speculation was instead about my English level?

But no no, it must be that I'm not that good at English and that my partner has Asperger’s! This is hilarious because he is literally a writer. What would you like to speculate about diagnosing us with next?

I'm sure you meant well but what you wrote came off the way this here is coming off now.

PS: I doubt Asperger’s is even that common, and I doubt it gives people reading comprehension issues.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

It is technically ambiguous, yes. But given the context, it was not, and people have proven it to you by telling you they got it, and you did not. Simple as that. I added emphasis here to help you as well. 👌

I'm not saying you or anyone else has Asperger's or any other diagnosis, I'm just saying. There's a spectrum. Some people can't read tone very well in writing. And I'm not saying you were bad at English. Just that you didn't pick up on the tone, or assign the right meaning to the word given the context. You do seem to interpret things out of proportion, I can't lie. 🤨 This seems to be a sensitive topic for you, like understanding English and language sort of defines you in some way. Probably given your education and academic success. Sorry to say you weren't able to perform in this situation, but it is what it is.

You can doubt all you want, but do research of you want the truth. I don't know the truth myself here, so... I do have a feeling it's pretty common to be somewhere along the spectrum, even if it's just a little tiny bit.

For the record, I was very aware of how what I wrote came off.

Have a good day.