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In The Terminator, the T-800 arrives in 1984 and acquires a disguise from some punks.

During the altercation is told to "go away" with specific language.

Screenshot from The Terminator in which the antagonist is told by a gang of punks "fuck you asshole"

Later on, at its HQ he tells the landlord to "go away" with the same language.

Screenshot from The Terminator in which the antagonist tells a character out of shot "fuck you asshole"

The POV shot shows this option at the bottom of the list, implying it was added later than other responses.

Screenshot from The Terminator, POV of the antagonist containing several possible responses

This makes sense, being able to learn and adapt to how a group of humans speak, will help them blend in.

However, in Terminator 2: Judgement Day, in the CPU switch deleted scene, the "Uncle Bob" T-800 states:

My CPU is a neural-net processor; a learning computer. But Skynet presets the switch to read-only when we're sent out alone.

Screenshot of Terminator 2: Judgement Day of the protagonist explaining how Skynet configures its CPU

The Terminator was sent to 1984 alone, why was its CPU apparently set to read-write?

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    Since that's a deleted scene, can it be considered canon? It contradicts the events of Terminator 2 as well ("I know now why you cry" etc)
    – F1Krazy
    Commented Jun 21 at 15:20
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    @F1Krazy It actually doesn't, since they remove that lock in that deleted scene. In fact the deleted scene is what makes the Terminator's transformation into more human behaviour over the course of the movie make sense in the first place.
    – Napoleon Wilson
    Commented Jun 21 at 16:19
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    @OldPadawan It seems to be a Director's Cut of kinds. But it does seem quite prevalent, these days it's usually the version that's shown on TV here, too. I can highly recommend it, though. In fact I consider it a great example of a Director's Cut that genuinely adds to and completes the original film and adds context to scenes that otherwise tend to sit a bit out of place. The above scene is a great example of that.
    – Napoleon Wilson
    Commented Jun 21 at 18:34
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    Not sure if this can be an answer but what if the Terminator scenario is that it is simply a child-like list because it is simply a 'fake being a human better' subroutine, as in it is not really learning, just using its experiences to complement its infiltration better. That is, it is not learning at all. It's just building up better responses based on interactions but it is not learning from it all. The flip switch in T2 allows it to actually learn, gauge and respond better, not just to infiltrate but to better its programming. The T1, in read-only mode would never 'better' itself.
    – blobbymcblobby
    Commented Jun 21 at 21:04
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    - That said, theatrical T2 needs to have the scene cut otherwise T:DF falls at the first hurdle. IIRC anyway
    – blobbymcblobby
    Commented Jun 21 at 21:04

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In brief, the scene you're referring to from T2, where John sets the Terminator's CPU to read-write was cut from the theatrical release and is thus considered to be non-canon, although it did make it into the Director's Cut on the DVD release.

Even if it were the case, the reality is that T2 was written and conceived five years after The Terminator and thus the choices made in the original film would be considered to be, at best, retconned.

I guess you could argue that the Terminator is merely responding to its surroundings (like protective camouflage) rather than actually learning any foolish notions like loyalty, friendship or mercy.

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