Non-native English speakers in OS communities: A True Story
summary
OpenStack contributors (examples: Tempest, Keystone) report specific communication barriers: Japanese contributors often avoid saying “no,” favor perfection, and use flat intonation; Chinese contributors cite Confucian politeness and grammar/pronunciation gaps; Brazilian contributors note directness and phoneme differences like /θ/. Practical fixes include Google Translate and online dictionaries for reading, one-to-one practice and self-practice for speaking, immersion and reading more vocabulary, and community actions: slow down, use simple sentences, be patient, and never make fun of imperfect English.
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chapters (14)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:24FOSS Who are we?
- 2:09FOSS What is this talk about? • Experiences
- 3:25FOSS Masayuki - Japanese
- 10:20FOSS Dong Ma - Chinese
- 13:33FOSS Samuel - Brazilian
- 16:19FOSS Reading
- 18:52FOSS Writing
- 20:23FOSS Listening
- 23:16FOSS Speaking Vocabulary
- 25:18FOSS Overcoming obstacles
- 28:32FOSS Newcomers
- 32:14FOSS Native Speakers
- 33:54FOSS Questions?
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