ABC News' Day 100 interview with President Donald Trump went off the rails after reporter Terry Moran refused to accept Trump's false assertion that an altered photo was real.Trump and Moran were discussing the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the Maryland resident who the administration admitted was ...
Remember not a lot of the world speaks English. When I talked to some of my Japanese friends and language exchange partners prior to this election they weren’t sure about trump but typically described him as someone who was a powerful leader
Also keep in mind that they generally are super polite and in that “if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all” space. Except for a small handful I’m very close with even now they won’t say much bad, will just ask “how are things in America”, “what’s the perception of him in America”, etc and will artfully dodge the question of “what’s the perception of him in Japan. Except for my one friend who’s more outspoken and we are a bit closer, who is like “end the trade alliance and force all the military bases to close!”
But to my original point much of his crass and idiotic behavior doesn’t necessarily translate well and usually doesn’t make the news on NHK. It’s kind of similar to how American news headlines do him so many favors. If you only know trump through Washington post, NYT, etc headlines he sounds so much more competent than he is. But if watch him speak you realize he is just so goddamn stupid
There are 1.5 billion English speakers. It is the most spoken language in the world
So yes, lots of people speak English
Okay? How is that relevant. I was making a point that there are many people who don’t speak English.
While what you say is objectively true what I say is also true. Further, the number of people who do not speak English (roughly 6.5 billion) dwarf the number who do. America and the English language do not define the entire world.
Further, the local English speaker is not always proficient enough to articulate the meaning of what is being said into the local tongue. Even for someone who is a fantastic translator interpreting someone like trump, who constantly utilizes colloquial speech and idioms, is a goddamn nightmare.
You inferred that his words, because they were in English, do not reach everyone. They do.
Those 1.6 billion includes many who disseminate his words in their own native tongue
It’s common knowledge that for propaganda of any sort one needs those who speak local dialects directly employed. And there are people who target every word of his into the local dialects of whoever they want to hear the message. That’s basic marketing.
The curse of the interconnected world is that everyone can be magnified everywhere instantly. Even megalomaniacal egomaniacs.
So while , sure you’re technically correct, it’s also incorrect to assume that because most of the world doesn’t speak English as a primary language , that his words aren’t delivered to their ears. Whatever he wants heard by everyone, is heard by everyone.
His point was that the translations are filtered and refined by media, particularly in foreign languages.