tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460203489560847658.post2145897397035741048..comments2023-09-15T02:51:31.302-07:00Comments on Vaporback Writer: More EsperantoPernicious Pandahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15398147887114002182noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460203489560847658.post-55533781651932705272009-01-13T15:52:00.000-08:002009-01-13T15:52:00.000-08:00Well, I am one of the "if you are going to li...Well, I am one of the "if you are going to live and work here, LEARN ENGLISH". My family came from Italy and learned English. I would never move to a foreign country and expect everyone to communicate w/ me in my own language. We have a Korean client who has been living in Tacoma since 1986. She cannot speak or comprehend English very well at all. She has to bring her daughter w/ her to translate. Her case has been extremely frustrating b/c she cannot understand a damn thing. She calls and I have no idea what she is saying. That is unacceptable to me, to be in the USA for 22 years and she still hasn't picked it up. You have more patience w/ immigrants than I do. <br><br>The one and only time I ever went to my polling place in San Francisco, I was stunned to see the ballot in at least 16 different languages. My neighborhood was primarily Russian & Chinese. I waited soooo long to vote b/c it was taking everyone soooo long to vote. I have voted absentee since then.<br><br>I have a Bach of Science b/c I sucked so bad at learning Spanish that I did one year of it instead of 2 and that's why my degree is "science" not "arts". Weird.JoJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18165375435543044068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460203489560847658.post-66164764714018423402009-01-13T16:31:00.000-08:002009-01-13T16:31:00.000-08:00I love languages-as you know, and they come pretty...I love languages-as you know, and they come pretty easily to me. However, starting them EARLY is way easier and better. (but it just isn't a priority because it's not on the WASL) Are you grinding your teeth yet?I WROTE WASL!! I am most attracted to French because of the culture and because it's spoken in so many countries all around the world and by so many as a second language. I have spoken with Germans, Africans and Russians in French; they actually DO start learning other languages at a young age, unlike us. As you wisely note, the value of a language is also dependent on its usefulness as a second language, like Esperanto.Margarethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17197599882756386184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460203489560847658.post-58159988750821250842009-01-13T20:52:00.000-08:002009-01-13T20:52:00.000-08:00I'm sorry, but your husband might be on the ri...I'm sorry, but your husband might be on the right track here. witness this:<br><br>http://www.mrklingon.org/<br><br>Mr. Klingon is involved in translating the Bible. THE BIBLE. into KLINGON.<br><br>his site has a number of handy translation tools. if you run into a recent immigrant from Vulcan, for example, or need to order from a menu written in Huttese, you can just plug the phrase under question right into that sapsucker and voila! The pen of my aunt is on the bureau of my uncle!<br><br> makah chisae!FirstNationshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13387748372500478809noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5460203489560847658.post-80151992040220823642009-01-13T23:09:00.000-08:002009-01-13T23:09:00.000-08:00Most Esperanto speakers, myself included, would ag...Most Esperanto speakers, myself included, would agree with both JoJo and Margaret: learn the local language of the part of the world you live in, and learn languages earlier rather than later. What may come as a surprise is that Esperanto can help in both cases.<br><br><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaedeutic_value_of_Esperanto" rel="nofollow">Studies</a> have shown that, under the right conditions, Esperanto can not only help learn other languages, but, incredibly, can save more than it costs. For instance, if you start with a year of serious study of Esperanto - long enough to really master it - followed by three years of, say, French, you come out farther ahead in French than if you had taken four years of French but no Esperanto. Plus, you've got Esperanto. Replacing Esperanto with a more "useful" language, such as Spanish, would indeed speed up learning of French, but if you learned Esperanto before Spanish, you would get the same savings effect in Spanish, plus you'd have Esperanto, making it worth learning first anyway. There are several reasons this occurs, including Esperanto's unparalleled simplicity, logic, regularity and flexibility, the confidence engendered by rapid progress, and the complete workout in language study that results from learning an entire language.<br><br>So what does that have to do with learning the local language, or learning languages in school? Furthermore, wouldn't learning a common language like Esperanto actually discourage learning other languages? As mentioned in the previous paragraph, learning Esperanto first makes other languages, whether the local language or languages proposed by the school system, that much easier to learn. It also boosts one's confidence in one's language-learning ability. Esperantists often report discovering an unsuspected liking for languages after learning Esperanto, and many go on to learn several. Finally, using Esperanto to communicate with those who speak other languages makes them and their culture come alive. Esperantists have also reported acquiring a taste for the languages spoken by those with whom they first became acquainted in Esperanto.<br><br>Apart from those considerations, although not yet spoken by everyone - the best estimate we have is around 2,000,000 - Esperanto is spoken in most countries and has been used every day for over 120 years in every imaginable circumstance. More than a novelty, it actually works, and can be used right now. I believe that when enough people become aware of that, it will really take off. The Internet has certainly been a shot in the arm to the language in recent years.<br><br>You're on the right track with Esperanto - go for it! :-)Miĉjohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11382032037129884685noreply@blogger.com