"Thee" or "Thuh"? (Page 7): I like watching foreign movies on Netflix - to hear the language and see the culture. One thing that takes me by surprise in just about every foreign movie...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

burkphoto wrote:

I took French in college. Our professor was French... (show quote)

I like watching foreign movies on Netflix - to hear the language and see the culture. One thing that takes me by surprise in just about every foreign movie is the people throwing in some English. "Have a nice day." Or if they talk to a non-native, they speak perfect English.

In one Scandinavian movie, I saw a familiar actor I've seen in lots of American movies. It turns out that he is from a Scandinavian country, so he speaks the language perfectly.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

rlv567 wrote:

And it's being evolved in exactly the wrong direction!!! A lot of that produces something not remotely resembling proper English, or English, at all - and there's nothing wrong with old English!

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

I am willing to bet that you have never read Old English. It is unrecognizable. Find a copy of “Beowulf” in the original and give it a try.

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

jaymatt wrote:

I am willing to bet that you have never read Old English. It is unrecognizable. Find a copy of “Beowulf” in the original and give it a try.

Not THAT old!!!

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jaymatt wrote:

I am willing to bet that you have never read Old English. It is unrecognizable. Find a copy of “Beowulf” in the original and give it a try.

Even Middle English is a challenge. Shakespeare spoke Modern English.

Beowulf
Hwæt. We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing sceaþena þreatum,
monegum mægþum, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Syððan ærest wearð
feasceaft funden, he þæs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum, weorðmyndum þah,
oðþæt him æghwylc þara ymbsittendra
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,
gomban gyldan. þæt wæs god cyning.

Canterbury Tales - Middle English
Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(so priketh hem nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

Stephan G

jerryc41 wrote:

Even Middle English is a challenge. Shakespeare s... (show quote)

And can we have the next stanza in Esperanto?

The official language of the Romanov court was French. The Lingua Franca.

Lastly, "Polyglots of the world [Unite] (Enter your favorite language here) !"

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

jerryc41 wrote:

Even Middle English is a challenge. Shakespeare s... (show quote)

Hey, Jerry--I had to memorize that portion of the Canterbury Tales and recite it with correct affliction to a professor while in college sixty years ago. I can still do it. Don’t ask me why on either count. We had to translate some of Beowulf for the same guy, but that skill is long gone, rightly so.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

jaymatt wrote:

Hey, Jerry--I had to memorize that portion of the Canterbury Tales and recite it with correct affliction to a professor while in college sixty years ago. I can still do it. Don’t ask me why on either count. We had to translate some of Beowulf for the same guy, but that skill is long gone, rightly so.

I took 3 years of Latin in High School. I must say that on the whole it has been useful in recognizing unfamiliar words occasionally. But I can't say I retain much of it.

I never took Greek, but can occasionally recognize Greek roots of words, just from being exposed to a lot of words and sometimes looking them up.

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

DirtFarmer wrote:

I took 3 years of Latin in High School. I must say that on the whole it has been useful in recognizing unfamiliar words occasionally. But I can't say I retain much of it.

I never took Greek, but can occasionally recognize Greek roots of words, just from being exposed to a lot of words and sometimes looking them up.

Something really interesting (to me, at least) - some years ago I lived in Los Angeles and worked in an office toward downtown. The owner of the company wanted a better facility, so he bought what originally was a large house, and contracted to remodel it. He put me in charge of the operation. He wanted an alarm system, but they were not universally available then, so I designed, assembled and installed a very sophisticated system, complete with fire and police calling. When it came to painting the interior of the offices, he hired a Mexican painter, who was recommended by his wife, who was Mexican. This man (always) spoke what was called Spanglish, which was a combination of Spanish and English. I could understand him because of my knowledge of Spanish, but it was a curious "language", because you never could tell from which language the next word was to come - completely intermixed and random, with no rhyme or reason! I do believe, though, that had it been necessary, he could have carried on a conversation in either language only.

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

jaymatt wrote:

Hey, Jerry--I had to memorize that portion of the Canterbury Tales and recite it with correct affliction to a professor while in college sixty years ago. I can still do it. Don’t ask me why on either count. We had to translate some of Beowulf for the same guy, but that skill is long gone, rightly so.

Me, too. I took several Old and Middle English courses, and we had to read and memorize. I can still recite the beginning of the Canterbury Tales.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

DirtFarmer wrote:

I took 3 years of Latin in High School. I must say that on the whole it has been useful in recognizing unfamiliar words occasionally. But I can't say I retain much of it.

I never took Greek, but can occasionally recognize Greek roots of words, just from being exposed to a lot of words and sometimes looking them up.

I took Latin and Greek in high school and college. Interesting. I used to write notes to myself using Greek characters. A knowledge of Latin and Greek is great for figuring out unfamiliar words.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

rlv567 wrote:

I guess there are few serious journalists, because most appear to use something approximating the English language, but deviating in inexcusable ways. (And, as a matter of actual fact, there are VERY FEW serious real journalists, at all!!! - most being agenda driven, with little regard for fact.)

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

Count me as being hopeful that impartial journalism has a future. The folks on PBS do a pretty good job of it.

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

jerryc41 wrote:

I took Latin and Greek in high school and college. Interesting. I used to write notes to myself using Greek characters. A knowledge of Latin and Greek is great for figuring out unfamiliar words.

At one time - years ago, when I was in the 11th grade - my knowledge of English and Spanish enabled me to read (fairly well) a beginning French book, and even a little Italian. Interestingly, though, Brazilian Spanish was so different as to be totally unintelligible to me. But it's all "Greek", now.

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

rlv567 Loc: Baguio City, Philippines

burkphoto wrote:

Count me as being hopeful that impartial journalism has a future. The folks on PBS do a pretty good job of it.

Sorry, but that's your view!!!

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

jerryc41 wrote:

I like watching foreign movies on Netflix - to hear the language and see the culture. One thing that takes me by surprise in just about every foreign movie is the people throwing in some English. "Have a nice day." Or if they talk to a non-native, they speak perfect English.

In one Scandinavian movie, I saw a familiar actor I've seen in lots of American movies. It turns out that he is from a Scandinavian country, so he speaks the language perfectly.

Europeans learn multiple languages to broaden their mobility options. We hosted a German exchange student in 2004-2005. She spoke Russian, English, French, and Spanish, all fluently. She later learned Portuguese and Italian, then Turkish. She became an ambassador to Turkey. She dreams in multiple languages.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

rlv567 wrote:

At one time - years ago, when I was in the 11th grade - my knowledge of English and Spanish enabled me to read (fairly well) a beginning French book, and even a little Italian. Interestingly, though, Brazilian Spanish was so different as to be totally unintelligible to me. But it's all "Greek", now.

Loren - in Beautiful Baguio City

I was under the impression that the language of Brasil is Portuguese.