[ExI] chinese synthesis

[spike]

>... On Behalf Of Giulio Prisco
Subject: Re: [ExI] chinese synthesis

On Sat, May 25, 2013 at 6:52 PM, Anders Sandberg <anders at aleph.se> wrote:

>>... the locals just switch to international mode and respond in English

>...Without understanding that this can be perceived as very rude and
offensive by foreigners trying to practice a language. Last time this
happened to me I replied with an extremely rude variant of "fuck you
asshole" in a third language foreign to the locals.
_______________________________________________


Ja, but note that the cultural divide I mentioned with the Japanese
motorcycle mechanic shows that the notion of rudeness does not match between
cultures.  I can assure you he never intentionally made a comment on that
forum that was insulting or rude, and no one made one back to him, but he
kept thinking he had offended us, and was always falling all over himself
apologizing.  He seemed like such a sincere, nice young man, the Japanese
counterpart of Anders except with grease all over him instead of ideas.

So part of what I am suggesting is that we come up with a simplified variant
of whatever is our native language that transliterates into any other
simplified variant of other native languages.  It has very little cultural
stuff in it, no deities, few or no political terms, the terms for sexual or
bodily functions would sound like a surgeon straight out of medical school,
lots of engineering and technical stuff, plenty of already-international
terms such as the fields of mathematics have in such profusion.

spike