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Language and Asshattery

Started by Cainad (dec.), November 14, 2007, 03:47:58 AM

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Bebek Sincap Ratatosk

Quote from: Nigel on November 14, 2007, 04:17:34 PM
Some of the many reasons I think Spanish should be taught as a second language in schools (were there no budget constraints):

1. It's an easy language for English-speakers to learn
2. It's already pretty ubiquitous in the US, so almost everyone would have the opportunity to stay fluent in it past high school
3. Learning a second language while young makes it easier to learn additional languages later on
4. Learning a second language while young appears to make kids smarter... at least, that's what "they" say.

Vroooommm goes the correct motorcycle
- I don't see race. I just see cars going around in a circle.

"Back in my day, crazy meant something. Now everyone is crazy" - Charlie Manson

Xooxe

Quote from: triple zero on November 14, 2007, 02:47:22 PM
if you wanna learn Dutch, don't come to the Netherlands :) at the first hints of you having trouble with the language most dutch (especially the younger generation) will switch to english at the blink of an eye (and sometimes speak it better than some americans ;-) ), and you have to beg them for the patience to speak Dutch again :)

Yeah, you're bastards like that. My parents lived in the Netherlands for a while so I tried to learn and use bits of Dutch when I'd go to visit. No one would let me. All I can remember now is "slagroom" means cream.

Oh yeah, Cain - one of your threads got me interested in learning Russian.  :)  Once you get past the Cyrillic it's actually pretty fucking simple to learn.

I'm also trying to learn bits of Norwegian too, however useless it probably is.   :wink: Thankfully it's not as bizarre as Dutch.  :lulz:

Cramulus

I don't have anything substantial to add at the moment but I'm really digging this thread.


000-

The Language Instinct is a hell of a read, isn't it? Steven Pinker is a personal hero of mine.

He is also the founder of the Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists™:
http://www.improbable.com/projects/hair/hair-club-top.html

As a side note, when I visited Europe (and drove from Amsterdam to somewhere near the Black Forest in Germany), I met a lot of Europeans. Most spoke fairly passable English, but I was particularly impressed by my friends from the Netherlands and Belgium, who spoke English with what sounded to me like an American accent.

Triple Zero

i'd probably take on a british accent if i were talking with a british. i dunno. actually no, i usually don't make much effort to hide my dutch accent :)
still one of my plans though, meeting up with some (any) native english speakers in order to mimick the accent, see if i can do it :)

as far the book, yeah, i'm enjoying it a lot. a friend of mine lent it to me, ages ago, she thought i would enjoy it very much (which is true), and then it ended up a stack somewhere because i always felt i had a more interesting book to read :)
Ex-Soviet Bloc Sexual Attack Swede of Tomorrow™
e-prime disclaimer: let it seem fairly unclear I understand the apparent subjectivity of the above statements. maybe.

INFORMATION SO POWERFUL, YOU ACTUALLY NEED LESS.

stromcrow

Quote from: triple zero on November 14, 2007, 02:47:22 PM
i got a few things to say about this .. first, if you wanna learn Dutch, don't come to the Netherlands :) at the first hints of you having trouble with the language most dutch (especially the younger generation) will switch to english at the blink of an eye (and sometimes speak it better than some americans ;-) ), and you have to beg them for the patience to speak Dutch again :)
I once knew some guys who tried to learn German here in Austria. After they knew some basics they were a little bit despaired, because they still couldn't understand people on the streets, since no one was speaking the standard German they'd learned in their courses.

Cain

Oh, fuck yeah.  I know that problem.  Mainly from Spanish, but still...

Xooxe, thats good to hear.  I was going to give Russian another shot this summer.  I know two half Russian people as well, one or the other is bound to give me tips.