Posted on 10/28/2008 6:30:12 PM PDT by big black dog
If you want to flame me, you can do so rightfully, as I am posting this from the viewpoint of a casual observer rather than an a knowledgeable linguist.
But here I go:
The easiest items to adjust for are nouns. You just plug in a noun in one language for another. Perhaps there are are languages with "easier" nouns than English but I don't know why or how. However, this is not the problem.
The Romance languages have two difficulties. How to use the personal or impersonal "you" term. (In English it's left generic) It varies widely between cultures and it can be very easy to inadvertently insult somebody. And then there is the comparatively extremely complex conjugation of verbs compared to the English Language.
The complex symbolic languages of the Asian nations don't relate well at all (at present) to the Phoenician alphabet type technology in the world. Especially troublesome are preparing cost worthy machines that use this language.
I can't speak for or against the language and alphabet of the Cyrillic nations, but it is not something most of the world seems inclined towards.
Literacy in English should be stressed among all other languages.
Interestingly, Mädchen, the German word for "girl," is neuter, as is Fräulein ("Miss").
Mr Waugh is a great writer from England. He will tell you how to be great writers.Well, I said, well. I have spent fifty-four years trying to learn English and I still find I have recourse to the dictionary almost every day. English, I said, warming a little to my subject, is incomparably the richest language in the world. There are two or three quite distinct words to express every concept and each has a subtle difference of nuance.
This was clearly not quite what was required. Consternation was plainly written on all the faces of the aspiring clerks who had greeted me with so broad a welcome.
What Mr Waugh means, said the teacher, is that English is very simple really. You will not learn all the words. You can make your meaning clear if you know a few of them.
The students brightened a little. I left it at that.
Evelyn Waugh, A Tourist in Africa.
is russian the language of modern commerce world wide?
Right?
-PJ
Russian has a decent chance of surviving for another hundred years or so. French does not. Ideographic languages will survive for some centuries, I'm sure, based on huge local use, national pride, and inertia.
Apologies. ‘’Pigdin’’, twice.
I didn't have any problem with three genders as opposed to two. My biggest problem was the strange overlap of articles. Is there any reason why die is used in feminine and plural nominative and accusative, while der is masculine nominative, feminine dative and feminine and plural genitive? Six words are spread over 16 pairings of gender and case with no logic I ever really found. I memorized it for tests, but I never really learned it.
M F N Pl
Nom: der die das die
Acc: den die das die
Dat: dem der dem den
Gen: des der des der
English has always been the language used in the international air traffic control system.
A pigdin is a loud noise made by a hog.
Pidgin is, I believe, the word you want.
Ist das nicht ein lotta fun?
Ya, das ist ein lotta fun!
(ducking smoothly, und ;^) ...)
When I was studying Russian in the 1970's, I don't recall "shavovat'"--it must not have been considered standard at the time. However, "telefonirovat'" (to phone) was gaining acceptance.
I don’t know much about German, but I understand that most Romance languages assign masculine or feminine gender to inanimate objects such as tables or cars. How ridiculous.
“why dont we just use the language that every commercial pilot uses at every international airport”
We do, it’s called english!
You had better comply even if you are a private pilot!
Verbs so constructed invariably follow the ordinary conjugation of any native Russian ''-ivat' '' or ''-ovat' '' verb, e.g. just as razgovarivat', to converse, to chat.
It is what it is, right?
;^)
Does Esparanto have gender for its nouns? Wondering because I see the latin feminine article “la” there.
It's also used througout the airline industry. In 1972, when I flew from East Berlin to Moscow on an East German airliner, the tag on my suitcase read MOW--the designation for Sheremetevo Airport, which is based on the English spelling of the name of Russia's capital. At the time, it struck me as odd that English would be the language of air travel in the East Bloc.
I agree it is what it is, but no reason exists for such a rule in the 21st Century.
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