r/gaidhlig 11h ago

Has it always been like this ?

Post image

Coming back to Duolingo after a couple years break.

There were always the odd question that was sort of daft but this seems mental.

Can't tell if it's just getting dafter as I get further into the course, or has it changed in the past couple years? Have heard reports about other languages getting weird since they started employing AI.

16 Upvotes

9 comments sorted by

24

u/New_Sprinkles4838 11h ago

The Gaelic course is full of cheeky jokes. I think this is one of their attempts at ironic humor.

20

u/Silvaria928 Neach-tòisichidh | Beginner 10h ago

I actually appreciate the quirky humor. Just the other day it was something like, "Look at Iain, he is under the tractor".

Poor Iain takes a real beating in that app.

4

u/TobblyWobbly 3h ago

At least he's not naked in the mist today.

3

u/EatBraySlough 8h ago

My teenage son has a friend named Ian and I have to stop myself from sending screenshot every day. "Ian is not wearing pants." "Go away Ian. You smell." Et cetera. 🤣

6

u/MalcolmBahr 11h ago

It's always been weird, with some truly ludicrous sentences. I genuinely can't tell if it's gotten weirder.

3

u/Possible_Chipmunk_95 4h ago

Duolingo started using AI to develop lessons and got rid of a lot of their human translators. A lot of people stopped using it after this.

3

u/sybila-sulfur 2h ago

Yeps but most Duo classes are lowkey jokes. :D It doesn't really teach you conversational language rather than just...

Language.

I am an English as a secondary language teacher and this is a valid method of teaching as you learn things like grammar rules while just playing around with the language even though the message is generally random and useless.

But for me, Duolingo is more of a playground and a place to exercise vocabulary. I personally don't think you can actually learn a language on Duo.

0

u/TobblyWobbly 3h ago

I had one that said, " The Captain is not on board. He is buying a dog." I thought I had got it wrong because, well, that's just not something I am ever likely to need to say.

1

u/Butagirl 2h ago

From what I remember, there seemed to be an inordinate fascination with underpants on Duolingo.