8 Mar
2000
8 Mar
'00
11:38 p.m.
I think that trend to continue as long as social activists try to promote
gibberish as language, as the ebonics debacle.
I have always done well with English, and that is my field, where I earned
two degrees, and always regretted not getting another. I do recall,
though, that studying Latin did make things seem much easier to me, if
only because the language forced organised thought. I think German might
function that way also.
I do regret that I never put sufficient effort into my studies to become
really fluent in another language. I studied French, apparently had a
gift for the language, and was on the verge of being able to speak it.
What I really lacked was practise. I never really cared for the
language, though, and never pursued it. On the other hand, the language
I truly loved, Latin, is no longer a truly spoken one, and I learned the
Church Latin pronunciation, which annoys everyone else, to my gratification.
For my MA, I utilised my, by then very rusty Latin skills and also picked
up enough Spanish to read St. John of the Cross.
I do wish I could speak those languages readily, now, as well as German,
which i think is beautiful. And along the way, I dabbled in Italian,
Erse, Greek, Russian, and I have had a reading knowledge of Middle
English pounded into my head.
The key is simply time and practise, and I fully agree contemporary
standards have fallen, which I attribute to the lack of Classics training
in the schools. Also, it seems to be insane to image that one can write
well, without reading quality texts. The writer that most impresses me
these days is Dick Francis, he sets an impressive standard.
On Wed, 8 Mar 2000, Richard Erlacher wrote:
English is my second language, though I've been
using it as my primary
language since I was 6. Because I learned it as my second language, I've
developed into one who's somewhat stilted in his usage of the language, and
also one who's very much aware of the application of grammar, syntax, and
orthography. I am, therefore, thoroughly convinced that American English,
if it follows the current trend, will degenerate into a sequence of
monosyllabic grunts and whines by the time another couple or three
generations have passed. Just look at the more recent additions to the
Webster International Lexicon of the English language: words like "duuhh"
...
Dick
-----Original Message-----
From: Gary Hildebrand <ghldbrd(a)ccp.com>
To: classiccmp <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org>
Date: Wednesday, March 08, 2000 9:37 PM
Subject: languages
M. K. Peirce
Rhode Island Computer Museum, Inc.
215 Shady Lea Road,
North Kingstown, RI 02852
"Casta est qui nemo rogavit."
- Ovid
Interesting dialog on languages . . . .
I myself have barely mastered English, american style. Somewhere along the
way I took three years of French in High School, the result being that my
English grades shot through the roof. Seems learning a foreign language
helps one master English grammar. Maybe the problem is that one can't
speak correct English in the first place.
As for the Morse code, I've talked to many people who's answer was "I
don't
think I can learn the code." It isn't a matter of skill -- five year old
kids have learned Morse code. I call it a case of 'wanna'. If you wanna
you can learn anything. But since the FCC deregulated the Amateur
licencing
structure, getting 5 wpm is fairly easy, if you
wanna.
Gary Hildebrand WA7KKP