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Post by Handyman on Nov 17, 2022 14:41:57 GMT
According to the scholars the first settlers here spoke Celtic, which was spoken right across what is now classed as Europe as far as Turkey, and the Baltic. The Origins of Welsh and Cornish Language come from that time, The Celtic language didn't arrive until some time between 1000-600 BC. There have obviously been people on these islands a lot longer than that. Nothing is known about the languages spoken before that time but it is not true to say the first settlers here spoke Celtic. Celtic is an Indo-European language which went into sharp decline as the Roman Empire spread across the continent and now only survives in those places not fully subjugated by the Romans ie Scotland, Wales. Cornwall and Brittany. The most likely Bronze age language spoken here is probably some form of Basque. I can only go by what I read put forward by the scholars, the language of this small island was added to constantly from the first settlers onwards, Romans, Anglo Saxons, then the Normans, now there are over 300 different languages spoken in the UK |
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Post by Montegriffo on Nov 17, 2022 14:44:56 GMT
The Celtic language didn't arrive until some time between 1000-600 BC. There have obviously been people on these islands a lot longer than that. Nothing is known about the languages spoken before that time but it is not true to say the first settlers here spoke Celtic. Celtic is an Indo-European language which went into sharp decline as the Roman Empire spread across the continent and now only survives in those places not fully subjugated by the Romans ie Scotland, Wales. Cornwall and Brittany. The most likely Bronze age language spoken here is probably some form of Basque. I can only go by what I read put forward by the scholars, the language of this small island was added to constantly from the first settlers onwards, Romans, Anglo Saxons, then the Normans, now there are over 300 different languages spoken in the UK |
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Post by Steve on Nov 17, 2022 15:00:32 GMT
For the benefit of posters who think kids should be taught a foreign language at school, here's a thought you should consider; 20% of kids leave school 'functionally illiterate', in other words, they are able to read and write but below a level of competence needed for everyday living. And you think they should be taught a foreign language? Schools should concentrate on 'English' literacy and numeracy skills that prepare kids for life after school. This trendy notion that leaving school with the ability to order a cup of coffee in French is a necessary life skill, when they don't even understand basic English is absolute nonsense. But without the functionally illiterate who will we find to fill the ranks of the British Army?   |
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Post by Montegriffo on Nov 17, 2022 15:13:19 GMT
I jest of course but would like to add that when we had the troopers of the Household Cavalry come to the training camp I worked at they had a rather sexy tutor named Charlie giving daily lessons on reading and writing to a class of about 30 illiterate men.
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Post by Pacifico on Nov 17, 2022 17:27:06 GMT
I have been to many different countries all over the world and I have to say that whenever I have asked in a bar for 'two beers please' (in English) I have always received what I asked for. Foreign languages are vastly overrated..  |
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Post by jaydee on Nov 17, 2022 18:49:28 GMT
Are you annoyed it has nothing to do with England. Your delusion shattered. Och Aye the noo Jimmy. Te He. FFS Nonsense. You speak English because the English are superior to the Scottish. It's no mystery. We are better than you, but we are also compassionate and feel sorry for British people in the cold wet and windy northern reaches of Great Britain, which is why we give you lots of money every year, most of which is pissed up the wall by your clan leader, wee Jimmy Sturgeon. Well if wee Jimmy Sturgeon manages to underspend when she is pissed. It goes to show the the state of the fascist wankers in Westminster. Did you attend your local remembrance parade. Kidding on you were a real soldier. And scarymary wants to know if you still know what day of the week it is. She is worried about the state of your mental health. And have you overcome the effects of having to pay for drinking your own poo. And of course the problem with mouldy houses in bankrupt England. Now as I understand totally out of control. For Britain read bankrupt England. www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/uk-news/british-houses-damp-mould-condensation-22070600 |
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Post by Red Rackham on Nov 18, 2022 13:19:44 GMT
I jest of course but would like to add that when we had the troopers of the Household Cavalry come to the training camp I worked at they had a rather sexy tutor named Charlie giving daily lessons on reading and writing to a class of about 30 illiterate men. That's bollox. You can't join the army if you're illiterate. Although I accept standards have fallen, these days you can join if you're a poof. |
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Post by Red Rackham on Nov 18, 2022 13:28:42 GMT
Nonsense. You speak English because the English are superior to the Scottish. It's no mystery. We are better than you, but we are also compassionate and feel sorry for British people in the cold wet and windy northern reaches of Great Britain, which is why we give you lots of money every year, most of which is pissed up the wall by your clan leader, wee Jimmy Sturgeon. Well if wee Jimmy Sturgeon manages to underspend when she is pissed. It goes to show the the state of the fascist wankers in Westminster. Did you attend your local remembrance parade. Kidding on you were a real soldier. And scarymary wants to know if you still know what day of the week it is. She is worried about the state of your mental health. And have you overcome the effects of having to pay for drinking your own poo. And of course the problem with mouldy houses in bankrupt England. Now as I understand totally out of control. For Britain read bankrupt England. www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/uk-news/british-houses-damp-mould-condensation-22070600 No, I didn't attend a remembrance parade this year. I replaced the union jack with a remembrance flag which was up for one week and watched proceedings on TV. And you can tell scarymary thanks for her concern and that my mental health is fine, lol. |
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Post by Montegriffo on Nov 18, 2022 13:33:52 GMT
I jest of course but would like to add that when we had the troopers of the Household Cavalry come to the training camp I worked at they had a rather sexy tutor named Charlie giving daily lessons on reading and writing to a class of about 30 illiterate men. That's bollox. You can't join the army if you're illiterate. Although I accept standards have fallen, these days you can join if you're a poof. ...and yet it was such a problem in the Household Cavalry that it was necessary to employ a civilian tutor to teach troopers to read and write. I had a few conversations with Charlie and she certainly regarded her pupils as functionally illiterate. Not that surprising from a bunch of lads who had fallen out of our education system and who's career prospects were improved immeasurably by joining the army and mucking out stables. |
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Post by patman post on Nov 18, 2022 13:47:47 GMT
A Japanese colleague says that once he'd learned one Indo-European language, others were reasonably simple to operate in. He's shown this several times when we've had meetings with people of various nationalities.
For me, the benefit of having other languages is that they sharpen the ability to appreciate, reason and think in different ways...
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Post by totheleft3 on Nov 18, 2022 18:04:51 GMT
I jest of course but would like to add that when we had the troopers of the Household Cavalry come to the training camp I worked at they had a rather sexy tutor named Charlie giving daily lessons on reading and writing to a class of about 30 illiterate men. That's bollox. You can't join the army if you're illiterate. Although I accept standards have fallen, these days you can join if you're a poof. In the 1980s I applied to join the Army me being illierate had no bearing on my Application i failed due to medical condition |
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Post by Red Rackham on Nov 18, 2022 18:23:27 GMT
That's bollox. You can't join the army if you're illiterate. Although I accept standards have fallen, these days you can join if you're a poof. In the 1980s I applied to join the Army me being illierate had no bearing on my Application i failed due to medical condition How did you form fill? Apart from that, when I joined in 1977 I was sent to the recruit selection centre at St Georges Barracks, Sutton Coldfield [Since closed] All recruits from England Wales and Northern Ireland were sent there for three days. I believe Scottish lads went to a selection centre in Stirling. Those three days were spent doing physical and written tests. The results of those tests determined what regiment or corps you joined. Quite clearly anyone who was illiterate could not have completed the tests and therefore could not have joined the army. My brother went through the same process in 1979. TTL, being illiterate would have precluded you from joining the army. |
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Post by totheleft3 on Nov 18, 2022 18:34:12 GMT
In the 1980s I applied to join the Army me being illierate had no bearing on my Application i failed due to medical condition How did you form fill? Apart from that, when I joined in 1977 I was sent to the recruit selection centre at St Georges Barracks, Sutton Coldfield [Since closed] All recruits from England Wales and Northern Ireland were sent there for three days. I believe Scottish lads went to a selection centre in Stirling. Those three days were spent doing physical and written tests. The results of those tests determined what regiment or corps you joined. Quite clearly anyone who was illiterate could not have completed the tests and therefore could not have joined the army. My brother went through the same process in 1979. TTL, being illiterate would have precluded you from joining the army. Ok calling my self Illierate might be a bit strong but my glasp of spelling and punctuation was a lot worse then |
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Post by patman post on Nov 18, 2022 19:05:35 GMT
I have been to many different countries all over the world and I have to say that whenever I have asked in a bar for 'two beers please' (in English) I have always received what I asked for. Foreign languages are vastly overrated.. Foreign languages are useful to nationalities other than Brits. One scenario is where barkeep training includes the primary instruction: “learn the phrase ‘two beers please’, because any lone person saying that in English over the bar, is likely to be one of those Brits who like to tank up asap. Understanding this and the probable outcomes gives bar staff time to alert the authorities before all nearby females are groped and assaulted, and the Brit punters vomit all over the place and/or wreck the establishment…” |
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Post by Baron von Lotsov on Nov 18, 2022 21:13:54 GMT
Something I just heard on the radio, the question asked was: should a foreign language be compulsory in UK schools? My take is, no. Of course not. I remember I was forced to take French at school, I didn't want to I could see no purpose in it but it didn't matter. For two years (Cant remember how many lessons a week) I sat in what was called a language lab that was very high tech for the day, this would be 1973/4, while someone tried to teach me French. It was a complete waste of two years. English is an international language, it is not only the language of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Dickens, but it's the language of international business, commerce, science, medicine, and many other key areas, including diplomacy. English is dominant in most regions of the world. Even pilots must speak English. At this point I expect some outraged commie will gleefully point out that Chinese Mandarin is the most spoken language in the world. Yes indeed it is. But it is not an internationally recognised language spoken around the world. I understand why people who don't speak English would want to learn English, but why on earth should an English kid be forced to learn a foreign language. Btw, at the tender age of 19 I discovered it was easy to learn a foreign language. Within 6 months I could speak passable German, OK it may not have been grammatically correct but young fraulines weren't bothered about dotting the i's and crossing the t's. But they did seem very keen on showing me what the big wide world was all about, I was a lamb to the slaughter. Happy days. You are required to speak Mandarin if you hitch a a ride on their space station.
As for French though, I'm with you on that. I too found it a complete waste of time.
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