>>
wasn't Dirac in the habit of chiding Oppenheimer for 'wasting' his time on Sanskrit and poetry?
On 1/30/06, Frank Pohlmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >Q. Whats a person who knows only one language
> called?
> >A. American
> >;-)
>
> Too true, alas, too true. We've so long taken an
> arrogant attitude
> that we often believe that what Marie Antoinette
> said was, "Let them
> speak English."
Don't feel too bad. Although many on silklist will
just nod their heads sagely and despair at
Anglo-French monolingualism, learning foreign
languages was not really very high up on my list of
priorities until the age of 20. Of course, I then
chose to learn Japanese and failed rather miserably.
English became the focus of my obsessions 3 years
later. I wasn't a very worldly young man.
The general point I am trying to make is that I don't
really think that Americans are alone in their refusal
to learn anything having to do with another language.
Indians may think that they have to simply because the
linguistic situation in India makes it imperative to
study several languages, but except for English, few,
if any, are usable outside an Indian context. So, they
end up knowing half a dozen languages, but they would
still starve in Paris. Except for Udhay. He would just
order a beer....;) (Sorry, couldnt resist).
It is very much a matter of priorities: I have met
Americans who spoke a few languages and they had been
willing to sacrifice the time and resources to achieve
literacy and fluency in another language. It takes a
large chunk of your life and the usual frustrations
one encounters when learning anything.
I believe we still face a huge prejudice when we try
do such a thing. Say, someone wants to learn Mandarin.
That means that 3-4 years of your life are pretty much
gone. If you want to learn Spanish and you have got 8
hours a day, I doubt that more than 9 months are
necessary.
But if you suggest to your average UK/US student to do
such a thing, things get a bit iffy, since learning
languages is supposed to be some kind of luxury that
does not impinge favourably upon your professional
life.
Or does anyone remember what John Kerry went through
when it turned out he spoke French fluently? Or that
Tony Blair speaks fluent French, was a well-kept
secret for quite afew years.
As long as speaking foreign languages is regarded as a
liability in the job market and for long-term career
development, nothing will change.
-Frank
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does the frog know it has a latin name?
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