2026-10-14 English
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I write in English, both at work and at home. I read a ton of English.
It's still my second language as far as proficiency is concerned. I
guess it's also only the fourth language I learned, growing up.

When people tell me about the correct pronunciation of this or that,
or make fun of somebody who doesn't speak their British or American
variant of English, I usually like to point out that the majority of
English speakers probably live in India. English is for everyone. All
languages are for everybody.

Sometimes we learn a language and learn about the culture of a certain
country. When I grew up, we learned English and learned about England.
We learned French and learned about France. It is only now that I
realize how toxic this is. What a colonizer mindset!

It's probably why I don't react well when people talk about German
this or German that or Germans here and Germans there. Just Germans?
Or German-speaking? I am a former Austrian living in Switzerland with
a handful of German ancestors. Of course it's not just Germany. The
language is for everybody.

Today I saw a crushing comeback to somebody who was making fun of
grammar mistakes:

> "You speak English because its the only language you know. I speak
> English because its the only language you know. We are not the
> same." -- MeisterVaxl

#Languages #English #German #Humor