[EuroPython] Language Advice for Speakers?

[Marius Gedminas]

On Sat, Jun 28, 2008 at 11:19:40AM -0700, kirby urner wrote:
> Having attended EuroPython last year as a USA "English" speaker, I'd
> have to say Euros are quite good at English, used as a compromise, but
> that native speakers have this nasty habit of speaking as quickly as
> possible, especially during lightning talks, which is disrespectful
> and/or insensitive and/or unskillful.
> 
> I think geeks in general like to rattle off at high speed, part of how
> they built a reputation as geeks, a lot of 'em, i.e. "fast talk" is a
> tool of the trade, but in an international conference I'd say the
> number one rule of thumb would be to *slow down* -- especially if
> you're from the UK as I have a hard time understanding those heavy
> accents :-D

Agreed, the first tip is "speak slowly and clearly".  The first two tips
are...  I'll come in again.

I personally believe the high-speed rattling comes from suppressed panic
("if I stop to think that I'm talking to a room full of people, I won't
be able to start again!") rather than a desire to show off.

> As a former resident of Manatee County, FL, I confess not
> understanding your "Oh the huge Manatee" allusion, though I bet Google
> would help me out there, if it's a joke others know.

Google tells me this is a meme of some kind of which I was entirely unaware.

> Also, I wouldn't say "ESL" as that implies "second" whereas POV's
> Aistė Kesminaitė, a Lithuanian, speaks fluent Polish, German, French
> and I forget what else besides English, no idea in what order she
> learned them.
> 
> It's mainly Americans who are mono-lingual, and so come across as
> semi-retarded in Europe, but we compensate in other ways, such as by
> being extra loud. ;-D

People from England are also often surprised others can speak more than
one language.  I'm often surprised at their surprise.  Doesn't everyone?
:-)

> Here're some blog posts re Vilnius from last year, if you want some
> tourism ideas (I recommend the TV tower, which I walked to, but don't
> expect to take pictures (no photos allowed from the rotating beer
> joint)):
> 
> http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2007/07/europython-hqs.html
> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2007/07/glass-ship.html
> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2007/07/vilnius.html
> http://controlroom.blogspot.com/2007/07/sunday-in-vilnius.html
> http://worldgame.blogspot.com/2007/07/slow-food-nation.html
> 
> You'll note in that last post how I went into culture shock, not
> having been outside the US for awhile:  one forgets how we take
> obesity for granted in the USA.  I gave up beer for a whole year as a
> result, not wanting to be as fat as that guy in the picture (me).

When I was in Boston I noticed that the servings in all the restaurants
seemed to be about 50% too large for me.

Marius Gedminas
-- 
It's possible to describe anything in mathematical notation. I recall seeing
some paper once in which someone had created a mathematical description of C.
(I forget whether or not this included the preprocessor.) As an achievement,
this is somewhat like building a full-size model of the Eiffel Tower out of
tongue depressors. It's clearly not the act of a talentless man, but you have
to wonder what he said when he applied for his grant.
                -- Mencius Moldbug
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