fossilesqueMar 8

Hegseth declares, 'I only speak American' to room full of foreign leaders

https://mander.xyz/post/48581961

Hegseth declares, 'I only speak American' to room full of foreign leaders - Mander

Lemmy

Show threadFrenchgeekMar 8
“Don’t worry: We will make sure to use only small words for you”
Show threadtouristMar 8

I don’t speak American

Can someone translate

Show threadIratePirate

This man said that his severe lack of

  • education
  • basic decency did not allow him to
  • speak any other language than the one he was born with
  • know that this language is called “English”, and an “American” language does not exist
  • realise this was a flaw rather than a badge of honour proudly to be worn in a diplomatic context.
Mar 8 at 9:04pmWeb
Show threadYiddishMcSquidishMar 8
Slight disagreement on there not being an american language. We actually have a bunch of native languages, one of which was used to help code communications during WWII.
Show threadIratePirateMar 8

You’re the best kind of correct - technically correct.

And yet, if you happened to be a speaker of Navajo, Sioux or Algonquin, you’d say just that. You wouldn’t say “I speak American”, just like a speaker of Flemish, Albanian or Finnish would not say “I speak (Indo-)European”. It’s a description of the geographic origin or the broader language family, but not a category useful to indicate any specific language like Drunk Pete is trying to do here.

Show threadYiddishMcSquidishMar 8
That’s a fair assessment.
Show threadShankShillMar 8
I spoke language once.