Arthur, I love gwang dainy aeshyan.
Bill On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 15:50:46 -0400 [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > We spent about 6 or 7 summer holidays in Fenwick Island, De. I > noticed the > change in language as I approached Chesapeake Bay. I believe it was > in > Chrisfield (where the ferry boat leaves) that I began to have > problems > understanding what people were saying. > > arthur > > -----Original Message----- > From: William B Ward [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Saturday, August 23, 2003 7:05 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Chinese as the world language? was: Re: > [Futurework] Languages (fwd) > > > 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! > Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! > Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! > _______________________________________________ > 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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