City of Champions, Influence of English, Wisdom of Seneca
Three Point Thursday
Boston sports is wicked smart.
I was born in Massachusetts in the year 2000. Since then, the Patriots have won six Super Bowls, having been there eleven times, and are on the cusp of their seventh ring. The Red Sox have won three World Series, and the Celtics have won two NBA championships, having made it to the Finals four times. We Boston sports fans are so damn spoiled. These organizations just know what they are doing. It just means more up north.
Be grateful for your native English and be patient with learners.
Native speakers of English don’t realize how lucky they are that English is their mother tongue. English is essentially the global language, and this was not always the case. For some time, French was the primary international bridge language for business and diplomacy. Long before that, it was Latin during the reign of the Roman Empire. With the decline of French influence and the rise of British and later American power, it became English. Nowadays, there are approximately 1.5 billion total speakers of English. Remarkably, only approximately 400 million are native speakers. As a native English speaker, not worrying as much about your skill, accent, and vocabulary as a non-native speaker is a huge advantage in many respects. In fact, there are many who dream of understanding and expressing themselves well in English to gain access to the economic advantages and cultural richness that go along with it. Something that always bugs me is when someone calls a person an idiot because “they barely know English.” Are they an idiot or are they just nervous to use a different language? Before you criticize someone’s English, consider how you would sound trying to speak their language. By realizing this, you can help people out. And help yourself out. Who knows? The person struggling to speak English with you might have an incredible level of brilliance when speaking their native tongue. That is one reason among many to be patient, not frustrated, when someone is a beginner on their English language journey.
Study ideas you disagree with.
“Yes, I actually make a practice of going over to the enemy’s camp – by way of reconnaissance, not as a deserter!”
— Seneca, Letters from a Stoic
Love the picture❤️