Greetings all, Chrisfield is the ferry port to Smith and Tangier Islands. I have good friends on Tangier, and the accent there (as on Smith) is not particularly peculiar. At one time it was said that it was Shakespearean, but I think that was a great exaggeration. In any event, whatever unique accent there was must be rapidly fading. The children go to school on the 'mainland' -- the Eastern shore -- traveling back and forth by ferry each day, and families are leaving the islands -- especially Smith, which is not faring as well as Tangier -- while newcomers are finding there way there for, sad as it may seem to some of the traditionalists, vacation homes. The islanders still focus on fishing however, and it will be a long time before that disappears. Soft-shell crabs have become a prized produce, being exported all over the world.
I usually go to Tangier by sailboat, tie up at one of the docks, and in the morning one of my friends comes by in his skiff as the first light breaks gray in the eastern sky, I step off my stern, and off we go to his crab-pots... Cheers, Lawry > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of William B Ward > Sent: Mon, August 25, 2003 5:26 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [Futurework] Chinese as the world language? was: Re: > [Future work] Languages (fwd) > > > 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! > 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 > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
