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Loss of Language
Topic Started: Feb 19 2009, 08:56 PM (736 Views)
Quagmire
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Senior Carp
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 05:43 AM
... I find it quite remarkable how many typical American character traits are reflected in American-English usage.

....fvck that. :rolleyes2:
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Quagmire
Feb 20 2009, 08:13 AM
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 05:43 AM
... I find it quite remarkable how many typical American character traits are reflected in American-English usage.

....fvck that. :rolleyes2:
Yeah no s**t.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Gee whillikers.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Wheee doggies!
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
23 Skiddoo!!!!!!
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Klaus
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HOLY CARP!!!
Phlebas
Feb 20 2009, 06:58 AM
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 05:43 AM
I find it quite remarkable how many typical American character traits are reflected in American-English usage.

Well, shoot! That doesn't make any sense at all.
Why not?

I mean, to talk about character traits of a whole nation is not really possible, but I'd for example say that pragmatism and straightforwardness are two such traits that are visible in both the language and the culture.
Trifonov Fleisher Klaus Sokolov Zimmerman
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 05:43 AM
There is a lot that can be done for more common languages, though. For example, many German schools offer courses in local dialects of German. On a more global scale, it is also useful to have mandatory 3rd or even 4th foreign languages at school - which relieves the pressure to have only one global language.
Yes, I see the languages that only a handful speak, dying out for sure. Which is why I think it's important to keep other more 'common' languages alive; one's culture is related to language. There's so much more to language than just communicating information. The inriguing way languages other than our own phrase things, their idioms; that's part of who they are.

We need to do as Klaus suggests, make it a given that we learn at least a 2nd language. We teach history, social studies, global issues, international studies, etc. to our kids. Language is a logical addition to that.

We'd become a planet of blorby boring humans if we start to all speak the same language, eat the same food, read only the books that chapters puts on display for us........
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 08:35 AM
Phlebas
Feb 20 2009, 06:58 AM
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 05:43 AM
I find it quite remarkable how many typical American character traits are reflected in American-English usage.

Well, shoot! That doesn't make any sense at all.
Why not?

I mean, to talk about character traits of a whole nation is not really possible, but I'd for example say that pragmatism and straightforwardness are two such traits that are visible in both the language and the culture.
Don't forget that Americans like their guns, Klaus. :wink:
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Not if you didn't know any different. A lot of us grew up in towns that had an amazing variety of locally owned business, stores, restaurants, etc, and widely varied schools. That's largely gone, and kids born today will grow up knowing that they can go to the same store in Los Angeles they can here. They won't think a thing of chain restaurants because that's what they will know.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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sue
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HOLY CARP!!!
Mikhailoh
Feb 20 2009, 08:40 AM
Not if you didn't know any different. A lot of us grew up in towns that had an amazing variety of locally owned business, stores, restaurants, etc, and widely varied schools. That's largely gone, and kids born today will grow up knowing that they can go to the same store in Los Angeles they can here. They won't think a thing of chain restaurants because that's what they will know.
You don't find that a bit sad, depressing even? Yes, you're right, they won't miss what they've never had, but should we, as a society not think about things like that? Do we really want future generations growing up just shopping at the huge chain malls, eating at the same chain restaurants (both which could conceivably be owned by the same huge corporation), all speaking only one language, dressing the same, etc. We'll bore ourselves to death.
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Certainly I do - but that is only because of my perspective. Theirs will be different, as each generation is these days. They'll find different things to focus on, and hopefully some of the the things that have been with us for thousands of years - war, disease, starvation, slavery, will become increasingly rare. Not a bad tradeoff.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Phlebas
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Bull-Carp
sue
Feb 20 2009, 08:38 AM
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 08:35 AM
Phlebas
Feb 20 2009, 06:58 AM
Klaus
Feb 20 2009, 05:43 AM
I find it quite remarkable how many typical American character traits are reflected in American-English usage.

Well, shoot! That doesn't make any sense at all.
Why not?

I mean, to talk about character traits of a whole nation is not really possible, but I'd for example say that pragmatism and straightforwardness are two such traits that are visible in both the language and the culture.
Don't forget that Americans like their guns, Klaus. :wink:
Thanks, Sue. You got the lame joke.
Random FML: Today, I was fired by my boss in front of my coworkers. It would have been nice if I could have left the building before they started celebrating. FML

The founding of the bulk of the world's nation states post 1914 is based on self-defined nationalisms. The bulk of those national movements involve territory that was ethnically mixed. The foundation of many of those nation states involved population movements in the aftermath. When the only one that is repeatedly held up as unjust and unjustifiable is the Zionist project, the term anti-semitism may very well be appropriate. - P*D


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Renauda
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HOLY CARP!!!
Everyone should communicate in ქართული ენა
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Thai?
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Renauda
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HOLY CARP!!!
Nope. Keep guessing
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George K
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Finally
"Can I guess? Huh? Can I?" asked, George.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Renauda
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HOLY CARP!!!
Let the others have a chance Giorgi.
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Doesn't look like Lithuanian to me.
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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George K
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Finally
Mikhailoh
Feb 20 2009, 09:24 AM
Doesn't look like Lithuanian to me.
It isn't.
A guide to GKSR: Click

"Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... "
- Mik, 6/14/08


Nothing is as effective as homeopathy.

I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles.
- Klaus, 4/29/18
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Phlebas
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Bull-Carp
Some Georgian language, IMO. Not sure what it's called though, but I've seen the squiggly things before.
Random FML: Today, I was fired by my boss in front of my coworkers. It would have been nice if I could have left the building before they started celebrating. FML

The founding of the bulk of the world's nation states post 1914 is based on self-defined nationalisms. The bulk of those national movements involve territory that was ethnically mixed. The foundation of many of those nation states involved population movements in the aftermath. When the only one that is repeatedly held up as unjust and unjustifiable is the Zionist project, the term anti-semitism may very well be appropriate. - P*D


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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Phlebas
Feb 20 2009, 09:35 AM
Some Georgian language, IMO. Not sure what it's called though, but I've seen the squiggly things before.
George? You know anything about this?
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
Its acryllic.
"Any man who would make an X rated movie should be forced to take his daughter to see it". - John Wayne


There is a line we cross when we go from "I will believe it when I see it" to "I will see it when I believe it".


Henry II: I marvel at you after all these years. Still like a democratic drawbridge: going down for everybody.

Eleanor: At my age there's not much traffic anymore.

From The Lion in Winter.
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Qaanaaq-Liaaq
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Senior Carp
There goes Navajo. The Navajo language was used for cryptography during World War Two because there’s no written form of it, only a spoken form. Oh well, we’ll just have to make do with RSA for crypto using a computer instead.

We once had a discussion in our college Spanish course concerning the entry of words into the Spanish language from other languages. As I remember, some Spanish language institutes are very protective about their language. They don’t want publishers to print Spanish language dictionaries to include non-Spanish adopted words.

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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
The French are like that: le trench coat, le chewing gum, le must de Cartier...
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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ivorythumper
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I am so adjective that I verb nouns!
Phlebas
Feb 20 2009, 09:35 AM
Some Georgian language, IMO. Not sure what it's called though, but I've seen the squiggly things before.
It's just "Georgian" -- kartuli ena. :nerd:
The dogma lives loudly within me.
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