Hacker News Reader

Hacker News

Comment by Grustaf | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

Grustaf

Not very obscure, but sure.

View on HN

Why isn’t it obscure? Because you know it?

I mean Terry Pratchett (very popular English language author) wrote a book literally called Jingo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingo_(novel)

It's not a word you'd hear every day but it's a word I'd bet on the majority of genuinely literate people to understand.

The HN filter bubble truly can be a staggering thing sometimes. I never knew I wasn't genuinely literate, but you learn something every day.

They said that the majority of genuinely literate people will know it, that doesn't say anything about you.

It's still staggeringly elitist and unaware to assume that "genuinely" literate people (whatever that means) should not only know of Pratchett but also know his entire bibliography by heart. While it may come to a shock for English speakers from the UK and the US, not everyone that speaks English are American or British, and may not be primarily interested in literature from those countries.

Genuinely literate people mostly know Pratchett, it's a extremely well known author consistently topping charts whose books are available in nearly every language of the world, very popular in Russia as well as Finland as well as Czechia and elsewhere. It shocks me (a Czech person) you'd claim otherwise, some of his books are actually required reading here - we read foreign literature just as much as local. It never struck me as elitist, this is pure merit - you're making it about nations but it's just about Pratchett being that good.

Looked up that book on two different online stores in Sweden cdon and bokus. On both of them the book had zero reviews. Are swedish people not literate?

How many books at all have reviews on Bokus? Never seen any.

Not that I’d want to put Pratchett in the literary canon, just making a point about Bokus.

Yeah bokus is kind of weird. I meant adlibris, my bad

I am very sure Pratchett is well known even in Sweden. What are the reviews for Romeo and Juliet? And again - not knowing Pratchett doesn't say that one isn't literate. The statement is "most genuinely literate people will know Pratchett". Stop being so defensive for nothing, nobody is attacking your intellect here...

My bad, meant adlibris not bokus. Bokus has 3 reviews on it. But here's the difference on adlibris.

https://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/romeo-and-juliet-97804862755...

https://www.adlibris.com/se/bok/jingo-9781473200258

Besides not really sure how I am being "so defensive"? I made one comment agreeing with somebody

> Are swedish people not literate?

You're turning my statement around and perceive it as if I was suggesting Swedish people are not literate. That's not what I'm saying yet you're defending the Swedes.

You made a broad statement and I used it to ask a broad question

> It's still staggeringly elitist and unaware to assume that "genuinely" literate people (whatever that means) should not only know of Pratchett

The comment you're referring to didn't say that, or suggest it. So this is one red flag for your "genuine" literacy :)

Your assertion about what a majority of literate people know is almost surely false.

If it's relevant my cat is name Jingo.

Wanted to name mine Greebo but was over-ruled.

In hindsight probably a good idea, not a self-fulfilling prophecy you'd want.

I heard the word throughout my (American) upbringing - it might not be used as much internationally but it's definitely not obscure by any stretch.

I think it might be used more in places that have history with European (maybe just British?) Colonialism.

It’s not that it’s obscure because you do not know it, that’s for certain.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com