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Post by Ripley on Oct 1, 2024 20:39:37 GMT
You never know when a foreign language might come in handy. For instance, Afrikaans is a simple, easy to learn minority language spoken in South Africa and Namibia, but since it is derived from old Dutch, it is intelligible to Dutch speakers too. I would say that foreign language skills are never wasted, but the lack of foreign language can be a drawback in some circumstances. Learning a new language is pointless if you don’t need it . Better to learn something that you will use . Your post pretty much confirms my point. I felt no need of Latin before I began to learn it. Now, years later, I see that it illuminated grammar for me and opened up a number of other languages to me. I most definitely needed it. I just didn't know the extent of its usefulness at the time. |
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Post by Bentley on Oct 1, 2024 20:46:57 GMT
Learning a new language is pointless if you don’t need it . Better to learn something that you will use . Your post pretty much confirms my point. I felt no need of Latin before I began to learn it. Now, years later, I see that it illuminated grammar for me and opened up a number of other languages to me. I most definitely needed it. I just didn't know the extent of its usefulness at the time. Maybe you should take up panel beating . You never know when you might need it . Maybe carpet fitting too . |
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Post by Ripley on Oct 1, 2024 21:06:58 GMT
I felt no need of Latin before I began to learn it. Now, years later, I see that it illuminated grammar for me and opened up a number of other languages to me. I most definitely needed it. I just didn't know the extent of its usefulness at the time. Maybe you should take up panel beating . You never know when you might need it . Maybe carpet fitting too . Funny! I have people for that.  |
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Post by Bentley on Oct 1, 2024 21:17:13 GMT
Maybe you should take up panel beating . You never know when you might need it . Maybe carpet fitting too . Funny! I have people for that. So you wouldn’t study it because you don’t need to? Just like the panel beater and Serbo croat or Swahili . Why not study Farriery? It might up new experiences and help keep your memory and brain alive as it ages . Doctors recommend that after all. Maybe you could join a club or make friends with other farriers on the internet. |
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Post by Pacifico on Oct 1, 2024 21:35:29 GMT
It may but that’s not my point and you know it . My point is that there no compelling reading to speak mainland Europe languages in the UK because there is no need to.In parts of Europe there is a need to and there are historical reasons that it happens . For instance the UK was successfully invaded by ether Germany or France then there would be far more French and or German speakers in the UK. Re the Norman invasion of England .. But disregarding that , if there was a need to speak European languages in the UK then more UK people would speak them . There is no need to, today. There may well be a need to in the future as Spanish could become a global lingua franca if Chinese doesn't get there first. The point is not to rest on your laurels and assume that the dominance of English will be permanent. It won't. It's only a question of time. I don't think you understand how central to the world of business English is - and in several areas of the economy it is mandated that English will be the common language. The idea that Chinese or Spanish is going to take over is rather fanciful. |
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Post by Ripley on Oct 1, 2024 21:36:57 GMT
Funny! I have people for that. So you wouldn’t study it because you don’t need to? Just like the panel beater and Serbo croat or Swahili . Why not study Farriery? It might up new experiences and help keep your memory and brain alive as it ages . Doctors recommend that after all. Maybe you could join a club or make friends with other farriers on the internet. Point taken. I would just say that while I can hire people to install carpeting or do panel beating, language is not usually contracted out. However, I absolutely concede that it is not for everyone. As I said earlier, if it's not your thing, it's not your thing. |
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Post by Bentley on Oct 1, 2024 21:42:04 GMT
So you wouldn’t study it because you don’t need to? Just like the panel beater and Serbo croat or Swahili . Why not study Farriery? It might up new experiences and help keep your memory and brain alive as it ages . Doctors recommend that after all. Maybe you could join a club or make friends with other farriers on the internet. Point taken. I would just say that while I can hire people to install carpeting or do panel beating, language is not usually contracted out. However, I absolutely concede that it is not for everyone. As I said earlier, if it's not your thing, it's not your thing. Indeed. Now we have put that one to bed ,I concede that learning a language can bring advantages. For instance one man that I worked with decided to learn Lithuanian due to the number of Lithuanian women who worked with us and ended up marrying one .👍 |
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Post by johnofgwent on Oct 1, 2024 21:52:12 GMT
I’m speaking as the victorious invader … . No. You aren't. My welsh and English history can be a bit sketchy , but as I understand it , the "victorious invader" of Wales was the Norman French , not the English , who themselves at the time were nothing more than a conquered nation whose language was to disappear. So therefore why aren't you speaking in French? To go. back to my earlier point , you want to be British , but dont want to speak British . Very strange. Shouldn't the cottage burners be telling you to fuck off to another country if you dont want to speak the native language of your grandmother? Oh dear. Thomas, my father's side of the family hails from Henry de Veysey, NORMAN KNIGHT who came over with William The Bastard. Well that's what we called him. The Norman French landed on the french shores frm england some time earlier, and helped themselves to Normandy as the french men ranoff to the Ile de France.... I do speak french, and with the accent of a Picardian Peasant. I made sure my grand daughter could speak french before she went to school to have her vocabulary imposed by the terrorist reservoir bombers.
And as I have pointed out, when i let the BBC scan my DNA and later my MITOCHONDRIAL DNA it revealed some of those willy wooly welsh women had a bit of a thing for flaxen haired blue eyed Vikings as there are traces of Norse DNA in my MITOCHONDRIA which came all the way down from the welsh princes................ so some of those women were clearly up for a bit of Viking
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Post by johnofgwent on Oct 1, 2024 22:05:53 GMT
We are not lazy or arrogant we are simply not taught foreign languages early enough in our schools. The curriculum is to blame, not our ethnic traits. And the curriculum is the fault of political morons. I agree that is the case now.
It wasn't always like it.
Until the age of about eight or nine i was being spoken to in three languages (english french and welsh) and that was the case long before i was in school.
One of Sarah's early school years schoolfriends used to speak in sentences half english half norwegian.
My exposure to trilingualism continued until i was eleven.
As soon as i entered secondary school bigotry on the part of the welsh teachers cut in - they focussed solely on those who spoke the language at home and threw all sorts of shit like the case changes and letter changes at us who didn't, with no explanation, hoping we would give up in despair, which we did, laving them to focus on giving their pet pupls a language to use behind our backs.
By this time my maternal grandfather had been dead some three years. My maternal grandmother gave up using welsh after he died.
I refocussed on french and german, which was useful at trade fairs later, and in sixth form, Latin, which was invaluable for my bioscience studies. I quickly found it's ok to sell a radar guided missile to a frenchman or a german, but most welshmen wanted them to blow up prince charles ...
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Post by Ripley on Oct 1, 2024 23:43:13 GMT
There is no need to, today. There may well be a need to in the future as Spanish could become a global lingua franca if Chinese doesn't get there first. The point is not to rest on your laurels and assume that the dominance of English will be permanent. It won't. It's only a question of time. I don't think you understand how central to the world of business English is - and in several areas of the economy it is mandated that English will be the common language. The idea that Chinese or Spanish is going to take over is rather fanciful. I don't think you understand that Greek, Latin and French were linguae francae long before English ever was. In time to come, another language will dominate, and another after that. It won't happen in your lifetime but it will happen. |
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Post by Pacifico on Oct 2, 2024 6:53:46 GMT
I don't think you understand how central to the world of business English is - and in several areas of the economy it is mandated that English will be the common language. The idea that Chinese or Spanish is going to take over is rather fanciful. I don't think you understand that Greek, Latin and French were linguae francae long before English ever was. In time to come, another language will dominate, and another after that. It won't happen in your lifetime but it will happen. That was back in the day before there was so much international business and commerce. English is now baked in by International Law - you would need a very good reason to replace to something that is already working well with something else that would cost a fortune and achieve no actual improvement. |
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Post by thomas on Oct 2, 2024 7:22:19 GMT
do you see the bit in your wiki quote where is specifically mentions Gaelic , with the number 8 next to it benny.? I explained earlier to you , about germanic and Celtic Scots. you seem confused , and annoyed. Take a deep breath , and read what is being written in European English , rather than what you think is being written. It’s you that’s confused and terribly annoyed by thr look of it . After all you seemed to be so triggered that you missed this question . If you have evidence that there is a high uptake of Scots learning or have learned the native Scot language then post it .
Or did you ?😁 its roughly about 45 % of Scotlands population that can read write or speak Scots .(2022 figures) Dont worry benny I do understand the confusion regarding Celtic and germanic Scots . |
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Post by thomas on Oct 2, 2024 7:25:35 GMT
No. You aren't. My welsh and English history can be a bit sketchy , but as I understand it , the "victorious invader" of Wales was the Norman French , not the English , who themselves at the time were nothing more than a conquered nation whose language was to disappear. So therefore why aren't you speaking in French? To go. back to my earlier point , you want to be British , but dont want to speak British . Very strange. Shouldn't the cottage burners be telling you to fuck off to another country if you dont want to speak the native language of your grandmother? Oh dear. Thomas, my father's side of the family hails from Henry de Veysey, NORMAN KNIGHT who came over with William The Bastard. Well that's what we called him. The Norman French landed on the french shores frm england some time earlier, and helped themselves to Normandy as the french men ranoff to the Ile de France.... I do speak french, and with the accent of a Picardian Peasant. I made sure my grand daughter could speak french before she went to school to have her vocabulary imposed by the terrorist reservoir bombers.
And as I have pointed out, when i let the BBC scan my DNA and later my MITOCHONDRIAL DNA it revealed some of those willy wooly welsh women had a bit of a thing for flaxen haired blue eyed Vikings as there are traces of Norse DNA in my MITOCHONDRIA which came all the way down from the welsh princes................ so some of those women were clearly up for a bit of Viking
you have told me all this before John , and as usual its another side swerve to your point regarding speaking English in Wales or telling those who dont to fuck off. Im sorry John , but who really gives a shit about your mixed heritage ? It's not really different from many people , we are all mixed and descendants of migrants somewhere along the line. Surely that mixed heritage should therefore teach you to be more tolerant of people and languages , but the opposite areas to be the truth. |
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Post by thomas on Oct 2, 2024 7:29:56 GMT
I don't think you understand that Greek, Latin and French were linguae francae long before English ever was. In time to come, another language will dominate, and another after that. It won't happen in your lifetime but it will happen. That was back in the day before there was so much international business and commerce. English is now baked in by International Law - you would need a very good reason to replace to something that is already working well with something else that would cost a fortune and achieve no actual improvement. american English ,not british English for obvious reasons. As long as the yanks keep English as their language , and dont become hispanic speaking , then English for the foreseeable future will remain as the world foremost business and scientific language , but as American English continues to diverge , in pronunciation and spelling im sure its going to cause a lot of upset with the purists back in Blighty. On our old forum as John of gwent will remember , we had an americanism section , party in piss take , and party because certain folk hated it and had the hump. I think Ripley is spot on. Perhaps not in our lifetime , agreed , but eventually languages , just like nations , all have their turn at the top of the tree. |
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Post by Pacifico on Oct 2, 2024 7:43:37 GMT
That was back in the day before there was so much international business and commerce. English is now baked in by International Law - you would need a very good reason to replace to something that is already working well with something else that would cost a fortune and achieve no actual improvement. american English ,not british English for obvious reasons. As long as the yanks keep English as their language , and dont become hispanic speaking , then English for the foreseeable future will remain as the world foremost business and scientific language , but as American English continues to diverge , in pronunciation and spelling im sure its going to cause a lot of upset with the purists back in Blighty.
I doubt that - as the decades have gone by the UK has moved ever closer to US culture. You would struggle to find many people these days worried about the intricacies of American English vs British English. That process is not going to be reversed. |
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