Ray, What communities were you in on the Eastern Shore? I spent a lot of time there in the late 70's, mostly Snow Hill and Ocean City.
Bill On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 10:20:05 -0400 "Ray Evans Harrell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > Several years ago I was singing the Villon Ballades of Claude > Debussy. It > was in archaic French a language no longer spoken in France. The > first > time I went to Montreal I found that I could understand some of what > they > were saying because it was like the Francois Villon poetry. I was > delighted much as I was when I heard the Shakespeare phonetics on > the > Eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. > > REH > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Ed Weick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "Keith Hudson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "pete" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 9:38 AM > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Chinese as the world language? was: Re: > [Futurework] Languages (fwd) > > > > Keith: > > > > > I'm sure you must be right. However, Quebecian French will die > in the > end > > > if Quebec wants to stay in the mainstream of the developed > world. When > is > > > another matter. It's interesting that the French Academy have > given up > > > their long-time attempts to exclude American and English word > imports. > > > Almost all middle class Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Dutch and > > > what-have-you can speak fairly fluent English because that's > the > language > > > of modern commerce and science. Almost no middle class > Englishmen could > > put > > > more than a sentence or two together in another language. Once > upon a > time > > > I used to be able to read Simenon and Pushkin in their own > languages > > fairly > > > comfortably -- and enjoyably, too -- but I could never speak > the > > languages. > > > > One has to appreciate that there is a difference between street > French and > > the French spoken by the educated. My understanding is that the > latter > > speak French, as in France, with perhaps some minor differences. > My > neice's > > daughter, who attends the French language University of Montreal, > is off > to > > the Sorbonne next year. She's already done some of her studies in > France > > and has encountered no problems. > > > > It's interesting how languages evolve. When I was in Jamaica a > few years > > ago, I had to go way back into the hill country to talk to some > elderly > > people who had lived there all their lives. Though they spoke > English, I > > could barely understand them. Another generation or so of > isolation, and > I > > might not be able to. > > > > Ed Weick > > > > > > > > > > > At 10:39 22/08/2003 -0400, Ed Weick wrote: > > > >(KH) > > > >But surely, Prof Daniel Abrams' thesis is *not* valid. He is > trying to > > > >maintain that minority languages can be protected. I > originally wrote > > > >that this is not possible. PW, EW and I have each been saying > that once > a > > > >new way of life becomes communicable, tradable and > geographically > > > >possible, then minority languages disappear. Prof Abrams would > do > better > > > >to spend his time and research money in recording as many > minority > > > >languages as possible for future study and analysis, than > trying to > save > > > >them in the here and now while our present type of economic > system is > > > >still sweeping the world. > > > > > > (EW) > > > >Much would seem to depend on the size, status and power of the > linguistic > > > >group. There is no doubt in my mind that Quebec will maintain > French > and > > > >do its governing and business in French in the foreseeable > future. The > > people > > > >it will deal with in Ottawa will have to be able to use > French. > > > > > > I'm sure you must be right. However, Quebecian French will die > in the > end > > > if Quebec wants to stay in the mainstream of the developed > world. When > is > > > another matter. It's interesting that the French Academy have > given up > > > their long-time attempts to exclude American and English word > imports. > > > Almost all middle class Frenchmen, Germans, Italians, Dutch and > > > what-have-you can speak fairly fluent English because that's > the > language > > > of modern commerce and science. Almost no middle class > Englishmen could > > put > > > more than a sentence or two together in another language. Once > upon a > time > > > I used to be able to read Simenon and Pushkin in their own > languages > > fairly > > > comfortably -- and enjoyably, too -- but I could never speak > the > > languages. > > > > > > Although I think that English is a strong candidate as a world > language, > I > > > wouldn't bet on it. Chinese is a much stronger candidate in the > longer > > > term. It is basically easier to learn than most others. It has > lost all > > the > > > appendages that other languages still have -- conjugations, > declensions, > > > irregular verbs, subjunctives, ablatives, and so on -- > nightmares that > > > plagues learners of most other languages. Chinese has also lost > > > inflections, cases, persons, genders, degrees, tenses, voices, > moods, > > > affixes, infinitives, participles, gerunds and articles. It lost > all > these > > > in the course of several thousand years of a largely unified > culture and > > > literature. There are no words of more than one syllable and > every word > > > has only one form. It proceeds by means of subject and predicate > -- > that's > > > all -- and explicates by means of metaphors. Thousands of them. > Tens of > > > thousands of them. More poetry has been written in Chinese than > in any > > > other language. > > > > > > Chinese is just about the most finely chiselled language in the > world -- > > > the most fully developed. And when China gets to the forefront > in > > science, > > > technology and commerce I think it will probably whop the > confused and > > > convoluted language that we call English (much as I love it). > > > > > > Keith Hudson > > > > > > > > > Keith Hudson, 6 Upper Camden Place, Bath, England, > > > <www.evolutionary-economics.org> > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Futurework mailing list > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Futurework mailing list > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > > ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! 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