• hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de
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    2 months ago

    FYI

    According to Wikipedia the percentage of English speakers located in the US is lower that 20%. Does this mean that only 1 in 5 users is from the US?

    Population of the US: 334.914.895, Population of Europe: 745.173.774. 334.914.895/745.173.774 = 0,449%

    English Speakers in the US: 297.400.000. English Speakers in Europe: 260.000.000. So you have about 37,4M more English speakers in the US than in Europe.

    • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      The average American uses only English language forums.

      The average European who speaks English will probably spend some portion of their time using whatever their native language is.

      The average English speaker in Africa is not as likely to have an Internet connection.

      The average English speaker in China is likely to not be able to access English social media sites (great firewall).

      Many English-speakers in India post online in a mix of English and Hindi that non-Indians find difficult to comprehend.

      You’re correct that the claim that the US is ¾ the population of Europe is erroneous. But it is ¾ the population of the EU. I’ve corrected this.

      • hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de
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        2 months ago

        I admire your determination to bend your perception of facts to fit your narrative.

        • Russia, Kanada, Australia, South America? Apparently they ceased to exist.
        • Africa? They still live in mud and abject poverty. There is no electricity nor Internet.
        • China? They’re 100% locked in. (No bots no nothing.)
        • Indians can’t write proper English (a bit rich coming from an USAmerican)
        • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Surely you have a bit more thinking power than that. If you gave each of your bullet points a mere five seconds each of critical thought, you wouldn’t have made this ridiculous comment.

          Those countries you mentioned? Of course there are people living in them. But there aren’t as many English-speakers as in America. I didn’t say all, I say most (this will be a recurring theme).

          With the exception of southern Africa (76%), the rest of Africa has Internet penetration rates below 50%. As low as 27% in east Africa. Remember, I didn’t say all, I said most.

          China’s great firewall prevents most people from accessing the outside Internet, and many Chinese people don’t care to. I know this, because I’m fucking Chinese. Is it possible to circumvent? Sure, if you’re willing to play VPN whack-a-mole with the CCP or are lucky enough to be the 1% of China that lives in Hong Kong or Macau. But again, I said most, I didn’t say all.

          You also clearly have never been on any forums populated by Indian users if you think that I’m only saying Indians use unintelligible English on the Internet because I’m racist. They code-switch between English and Hindi. If you don’t know Hindi, you won’t understand it. Are all posts like this? Of course not. But a great deal are. I never said all, I said most.

          Here are random top comments from the top posts of Reddit’s r/Indiasocial that show what I’m talking about:

          Kal bolne ja rha Hu usko . Want to get it over it once and for all been bugging me since some time . No boldiya toh sahi hai Padhai kar lunga .

          Kassh bta pata mummy ko apni sab problems. Bta bii nhi pata kyuki woh chinta karengii

          OP ke AAnde jalwa diye

          Folks, look what I found during cleaning today😭🥺🥹

          I am so happy that my mom has still kept all of stuff in the store room. Woh bhi kya din the🥹🥹

          Bhai hamare side ke Ghar mein kirayedar rehte Hain. To un baccho kii ball hamari chat ya backyard mein aa jati thi aur mere ek Purina badi wali thaili bharke balls bahut variety Hain par mummy nikalne NAHI deti.

          Time to leave this sub. Har dusara post my gf/bf made this, i went for date, gift given by my bf/gf. Had hai

          And also, I don’t use American English. I live in America but I am a Hongkonger and use British English.

          • hessenjunge@discuss.tchncs.de
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            2 months ago

            They code-switch between English and Hindi. If you don’t know Hindi, you won’t understand it. Are all posts like this? Of course not.

            You’re so close. Let me give you another hint: What do you think every other regional sub looks like? (I speak multiple languages, so I’ve been to multiple regionals - including in Languages I don’t really speak)

            Also, yes it is a bit racist to assume that Indians are only able to converse in an Hindi/English mix and unable to converse in proper English. On top of that it is a bit stupid to assume all of India speaks Hindi - e.g. most of Bengalurians speak Kannada.

            But there aren’t as many English-speakers as in America. I didn’t say all, I say most (this will be a recurring theme).

            You’re correct. It’s a recurring theme. You have been made aware by multiple people now that you over-inflate the percentage of USAmericans among the users of English-speaking forums and that you have been incredibly ignorant about it.

            I think none will dispute that US located users are in the majority - the majority is however not as big as you make it out to be. (and your reasoning is - for lack of a better term - atrocious)

            • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              The only thing I am claiming is that a majority or large plurality of English language Internet users are American, meaning if you are to assume a country of origin (note: if), assuming the user is an American is the one most likely to be accurate. I think I’ve said enough on the matter.

              If you disagree, that’s fine but I’m tired of this conversation.