A willingness to look stupid is a core requirement for learning languages. I look stupid everyday.

6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

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FreePalestine1 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I actually don't like this statement. I'd rephrase it because trying to speak in a language doesn't make you look stupid, or at least it shouldn't. Saying "I look stupid everyday" just reinforces that there is something inherently stupid about not knowing a language and trying to learn it. If anything trying to learn a language when it's not a requirement for something, is really anything but stupid.

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rvrs 10 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Whether you like it or not you will look stupid to native speakers. It's a subconscious bias

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tayo42 9 hours ago | parent [-]

Idk if that's universal, when I run into people who struggle with English or just don't know it my first thought has never been this is a stupid person.

	▲	klausa 8 hours ago \| parent [-]
		"Looking stupid" and "being a stupid person", or even "coming off as a stupid person" are not the same things.

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dworks 9 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

No, it does. Even if the audience knows that your English or other languages is perfectly professional, speaking Chinese at a lower level does leave a certain negative impression.

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zephen 9 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I think the phrasing is fine. It's self-aware. It acknowledges that stupidity, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

"Looking stupid" is not the same as "being stupid." It could be very smart indeed, depending on your circumstances, to learn an additional language, and the point being made is that when going out in public and speaking it in front of native speakers, ridicule is not unexpected, and should be embraced.

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orthoxerox 6 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

True. When we were in Italy, my wife couldn't say a single phrase in Italian because she was afraid she might make a mistake. I knew not making one would be impossible, so I just geared down to "barbarian" to get my point across.

"Good morning. Tickets destination Grossetto, please. Two adults, one child. Six years. Yes, return. Card acceptable? Thank you."