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Discussion on: Reality of programmer's English skill in non-English-speaking countries?

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andy profile image
Andy Zhao (he/him)

I think you're making a really interesting point and question. In the United States, we learn other languages in school and I think 98% people forget everything they learned. I'm including myself there, too, since I learned Italian for about 7 years and haven't really used it since.

Perhaps there's less of a stigma though when it comes to not knowing another language in the States, since everyone speaks the language. Also, I would think it becomes a non-issue for most people/companies since just about everyone knows English.

I think it's great to write documentation/articles/have conversations in your native language about programming, but perhaps it does disconnect your fellow citizens from engaging with other software.

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saki7 profile image
Nana Sakisaka • Edited

In the United States, we learn other languages in school and I think 98% people forget everything they learned. I'm including myself there, too, since I learned Italian for about 7 years and haven't really used it since.

Interesting. I've had a personal assumption that young people in the U.S. have good skills on Spanish/Italian. Maybe I've been watching NCIS too much? 🤔

Perhaps there's less of a stigma though when it comes to not knowing another language in the States, since everyone speaks the language. Also, I would think it becomes a non-issue for most people/companies since just about everyone knows English.

Stigma is a very good word to discuss about this issue. I was born in Japan, but I've grown up in China and Singapore. I felt like they take the 2nd language very seriously. In my elementary school, 90%+ of teachers could speak both English and Chinese. They even said "That's normal."

I think it's great to write documentation/articles/have conversations in your native language about programming, but perhaps it does disconnect your fellow citizens from engaging with other software.

I think the most famous scene at where this 'disconnect' being mentioned was the session called "Japan: A Forgotten Power?" on Davos Debate, World Economic Forum, 2008.

There's a book about this session, but sadly it's written in Japanese and I couldn't find any public translations.

The session was basically saying that people won't take the issue as an issue, because they are so much comfortable inside their disconnected community.