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DIR Return to: Questions about the Use of Language
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#Post#: 8323--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: SHL
Date: October 24, 2018, 4:24 pm
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Wouldn’t that be hilarious, Jerry, if one day you got a note in
the mail that a long lost uncle of yours died and left you his
lemon yellow 1958 Cadillac with the bent tail fin? Of course, it
doesn’t run, and has a little rust, but they can tow it over and
you can park it in your front yard? Like hitting the lotto. Oh,
and they`ll throw in the pro-Trump stickers and American flags
for free! :D
#Post#: 8332--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: Truman Overby
Date: October 24, 2018, 9:23 pm
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--- Quote from: SHL link ---
>
> a long lost uncle of yours...
>
--- End Quote ---
And that he was Georgian. You really aren't a Hoosier unless you
have a junk car up on blocks in your front yard. And of course
you need a hound dog tied to a tree or laying on your front
porch.
#Post#: 8334--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: SHL
Date: October 24, 2018, 9:32 pm
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That’s it Jerry. You got it. Good ol middle America.
California`s got that too. Hey, what all-American US town hasn’t
got at least a few houses with one 1958 Edsel out front rusting
away that doesn’t run? You can have the hound-dog tied to a tree
guarding this treasure, or in the backyard with a Beware of Dog
sign on the gate.
#Post#: 8339--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: Alharacas
Date: October 25, 2018, 12:33 am
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Yes, I think I can relate to what you say about that soft spot,
Jerry. Years ago I met a guy from Greenland and, well, if I'd
had just a little additional motivation, I'm quite sure I'd have
started to learn Inuit. ;D
At any rate, I can't understand people who say "Why learn
language X? What for? You'd be much better off learning language
Y!"
Whichever language you're learning, it's sure to teach you lots
of things besides new words. And unless you're the Pope, there
not that much use in being able to adress millions instead of
hundreds or thousands, is there?
And while we're about it, I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd
like to know more about what it's like to learn Georgian, Jerry.
How long did it take you to come to grips with that beautiful
alphabet? What do you find most frustrating? Are there lots of
loan words? Which language do they come from? Russian only? If
not, how do they change? (Let me give you a German-Polish
example to show you what I mean: the German word Schlafrock
(dressing gown) becomes szlafrok in Polish. So, the orthography
changes, but the pronunciation remains pretty much the same.)
#Post#: 8340--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: Aliph
Date: October 25, 2018, 1:43 am
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I love Malti, the language spoken in the Mediterranean archipel
of Malta by half a million people. It is considered originally a
dialect of Arabic, from the ancient Siculo-arabic. The Semitic
vocabulary was enriched by Italian words and English. On italki
I had one lesson with a nice teacher. Malti or Maltese is
written with a modified Latin alphabet with lots of dots that
make it boring to read.
#Post#: 8341--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: Alharacas
Date: October 25, 2018, 3:59 am
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"boring to read"?? What do you mean, Sofia? I found a language
that looks as if you'd accidentally typed on an upside down
keyboard (Birzebugga, Imqabba, Marsaxlokk) so irresistible that
I actually asked around on the island (about 25 years ago), but
sadly was unable to find anybody willing to teach me.
#Post#: 8343--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: NealC
Date: October 25, 2018, 4:22 am
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I had a junk car once. A 1949 Dodge Cornet that I sanded down
to bare metal and repainted. Did the interior, had the motor
overhauled, all on the cheap and amateur but it was fun. Didn't
matter too much as the car is not really worth anything.
The problem was when I got in to drive it. It was fun enough,
but it was from 1949! Compared to a modern car it was
uncomfortable and drove like a tractor! So that pretty much
ended my interest in it.
#Post#: 8346--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: Aliph
Date: October 25, 2018, 5:39 am
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--- Quote from: Alharacas link ---
>
> "boring to read"?? What do you mean, Sofia? I found a language
that looks as if you'd accidentally typed on an upside down
keyboard (Birzebugga, Imqabba, Marsaxlokk) so irresistible that
I actually asked around on the island (about 25 years ago), but
sadly was unable to find anybody willing to teach me.
>
--- End Quote ---
I should have written « difficult ». It is easier for me to try
to understand spoken news than to read a newspaper written in
Maltese. I am not a « visual « learner.
Usually, for other languages that I never learned (I just
mention Portuguese, Danish or Dutch), it is the contrary:
reading is more accessible than listening.
#Post#: 8352--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: Truman Overby
Date: October 25, 2018, 6:43 am
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--- Quote from: NealC link ---
>
> I had a junk car once. A 1949 Dodge Cornet that I sanded down
to bare metal and repainted. Did the interior, had the motor
overhauled, all on the cheap and amateur but it was fun. Didn't
matter too much as the car is not really worth anything.
>
> The problem was when I got in to drive it. It was fun enough,
but it was from 1949! Compared to a modern car it was
uncomfortable and drove like a tractor! So that pretty much
ended my interest in it.
>
--- End Quote ---
Not only do they drive like a tractor but they're death traps.
Old cars are good enough to drive locally but other than that,
they're a risk to drive on the interstate or even a busy
highway. Contrary to popular belief, the thick, heavy metal
these old beasts were made of are actually much less strong than
the alloys modern cars use. I know you know this but most people
don't.
#Post#: 8353--------------------------------------------------
Re: Orphan Languages
DIR By: Aliph
Date: October 25, 2018, 7:03 am
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--- Quote from: SHL link ---
>
> Jerry,
>
> Well, with the German roots you should study German. Forget
that Georgian stuff. Like you said, no one is going to speak it
anyway, and where are the resources to learn it even if it had
utility?
>
>
--- End Quote ---
Steven, don’t tell me that you are learning German because it is
useful for you. I think that you rather fell in love with the
language or/and the country. That’s one of the biggest
motivation triggers, the one which works the best PASSION. How
could anybody effectively learn a language without being
passionate about it. Except Gryzzie, but maybe she just is
pretending that she choose randomly Spanish and German.
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